Vendée Globe

After the passage through the Doldrums, life for the well established Vendée Globe lead group takes on a new angle, heeling on the wind for a new speed test as they settle into trade winds sailing.

Racing now in 12-14 knots of fairly settled SE’ly trade winds the challenge of picking the best downwind angles and sail combinations, of sliding through the Doldrums, has been replaced now with a straight test of speed and power.

The leaders with a more easterly course emerged slightly quicker into the new breezes, while those more to the west had some residual messy breezes to deal with, squalls and calms - but the winds do appear to be evenly distributed across the front of the race track now.

With a matter of hours until the leaders break the Equator into the Southern Hemisphere, the pace is two days behind that of Jean Le Cam in 2004, when the fleet were sent on their way by favourable winds across the Bay of Biscay and enjoyed a fast passage south.

For his eighth day at the head of the fleet, Peyron has remained resolutely impregnable. His lead may have expanded and contracted over recent days, but for the moment 19-20 miles is ample against a pack which has so far proven so very evenly matched in terms of speed,  little wonder to an extent when four of the top five are very similar Farr designs. Only fifth placed Armel Le Cléac’h’s Brit Air is from the Finot Conq office.

“There have been the occasional clouds which required the odd adjustment to the sails, but we are well into the southerly trade winds now, well heeled. But this racing is very much like Figaro (one design solo class) racing now.” Explained Le Cléac’h to today’s radio vacation listeners.

While the common consensus among the leading pack was how atypical the conditions have been for them through the Doldrums – no long stops, no big clouds, no squalls – many remarked today that even if they have had it ‘easy’, the passage for the group chasing some 100 or so miles behind looks set to be quicker.

Indeed Dominique Wavre, who leads a Swiss-British trio – his Temenos II, Bahrain Team Pindar and ROXY, was matching the leaders’ speeds this evening, despite being into what was previously considered the domain of the Doldrums. Wavre leads Brian Thompson by ten miles, who in turn still has just six miles on the doggedly persistent Sam Davies on ROXY.

Dee Caffari, GBR, (Aviva) appears to be doing sterling work keeping Michel Desjoyeaux at bay for the moment. The 2001 winner is 11.2 miles behind Caffari this evening.

Steve White, GBR, (Toe in the Water): If I can sort out this problem I’. The pilot works, but it is just the second set of instruments, I just can’t see what it is doing. Once I get the second instruments then I can give it a test and put it to bed and know it all works, but I want to find a definite fault that I can put right rather than just have it start working again so that by the same token it may stop working again. I am looking for a nice clear cause as to why it is not working.

It is a lot easier if you don’t have to re-build the boat as you are going along. And, once this is done, that is pretty much it, regarding big jobs. Then it is a bit of string here, a bit of string there, and get myself up the rig.

We only did about three hours sailing with the new rigging before we set off, and so you just have to go up there for your own peace of mind.

Jonny Malbon, GBR, (Artemis II): It has been a pretty frustrating morning. I had the big spinnaker and full main all of yesterday and most of last night, and then the breeze dropped off a little this morning, so I went for the Code 5, because the angle was a bit hotter, and then that changed again, so I put the 3 up and now we are moving along quite nicely. I was worried that this light stuff would be her Achilles Heel, but touch wood she seems to be going OK at the moment.

I have 24 hours to weather before I get to my waypoint through the Doldrums at around 25 west 5 north.

I have maybe lost a little bit in terms of Distance to Leader, but I do feel I have consolidated a bit more westing. It is frustrating in the sense that I am still learning the modes of the boat, like I have done two big sail changes this morning, when I really only should have done one. That is the frustrating bit. But what will me most frustrated is if we get locked out in the east, that is my only big concern, so at the moment I am taking all the breeze that I can.

Rich Wilson, USA, (Great American III):  We have had pretty nice, fast sailing these last 24 hours, full mainsail and big gennaker, nice beautiful sailing, you could not get much better than the last 24 hours.

I have been back on it a lot more, the back is feeling a little bit better, so I can just engage a few more sail manoeuvres and push a bit harder, but it is pretty toasty down here.

I am always rooting for a guy like Unai out there, taking a risk, if he can pull it off I will be delighted for him.

For the first week I was taking a little bit easy, but the back seems to be a little bit easier, and with a few less sail changes in the steadier going it has been a little easier on it

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