Vendée Globe

Here is a selected summary of what the French speaking skippers said in today's Radio Transmission live from Race HQ in central paris.

Armel Le Cléac'h (BritAir): 4th + 48 miles ----Great to be up in third place, but all very close.  Match racing under spinnaker with Jean-Pierre Dick.  Group of young Figaro racers in the leading group.  Not surprised to see Loïck at the front, but proves the master is still just as skilful and it's nice to be not that far behind him.  Pleased with his boat, but thinks all the boats are close, so it's going to be down to the skipper and his trajectory. Not much wind, but blue skies and pleasant sailing conditions.  Turned on fan inside to get some air circulating.  Got some sleep during the night to prepare for light winds ahead.  Once in Doldrums, weather charts not much help, and it will be down to studying clouds.

Vincent Riou (PRB), 5th + 61.5 miles:  Tidied up as calm day under the sun.  Wind irregular (6-9 knots), but can't complain.  The Doldrums not looking as nasty as first thought.  A few clouds in the sky for the moment, but not a sign of the Doldrums. As always will be watching clouds once in the Doldrums, as there are tactical options inside them. A surprise each time and it's where you need to remain fully concentrated, so not much sleep in the Doldrums.  The die is cast as far as westerly/easterly  option is concerned, so now it's a question of getting through and out the other side.

Jean Le Cam (VM Matériaux);  6th + 61.5 miles Could be better, but OK.  Stopped for 4 hours yesterday with pilot problem. All repaired now, but one of the bad moments of his Vendée Globe, as he reckons he lost 40-45 miles when hove to. "A character-building moment."    Emergency pilots failed too. Problem with the system, as all four failed.  Problem is it could have been electronic or hydraulic and anywhere in boat.  Particularly frustrating, as he knew the others were getting away.

Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement): 10th, +150.2 miles, Sun-cream on as sun is out too. Sailing under spinnaker, but very light winds.  Furthest west - was fed up with following others, so wanted to try something different.  In 24 hours, will know if it was worth it.  Admits it is a bit of a gamble and no one really knows where the best place is, but just felt like doing that.  Doldrums are always remembered for problems, whereas all his other memories are good.  Man is tiny and clueless facing the Doldrums.  Now has two crickets on board he picked up off Mauritania and is looking after them.


Raphaël Dinelli (Ocean Vital Fondation) 22nd + 655.4 miles: Gennaker ripped apart and never easy to bring down.  Then it went under keel.  Fortunately, he did not have to dive to free it, but hurt his finger. Exhausted after these efforts and wants to get some rest.  Managed to tidy up the boat, so now feels ready to face the southern seas.

Jean-Baptiste (Maisonneuve): 26th + 2105 miles:   A long way off Vigo, planning to gybe late this afternoon.  20 knots NNE wind with gusts of 30 knots.  Hopes to sail straight down afterwards towards the Doldrums between two low-pressure areas.    Found the send-off from Les Sables incredible, as several thousand came to wish him well, which helped motivate him.  Surfing at 20 knots, so pleasant sailing, but needs to be alert.
 

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