Vendée Globe

Wardrobe and weather decisions....what to wear on deck and what will the St Helena high do? Just some of the ideas and throughts revealed at today's radio sessions from skippers speaking French.

4^th  +50.9 miles Armel le Cléac'h (Brit Air): 25-26 knots of wind on the beam, which is perfect for Brit Air. Boat speed around 15-16 knots.  Lots of water out on the deck. Each time there is work to do, he gets soaked, in spite of protection.  Stable wind angle, so doesn't have to re-stack inside. Has to move ballasts and keep making small adjustments, as squalls pass over, but in general they quickly pass over.  St. Helena high looks like it may move eastwards again, so in a few days may be able to get around, but so far this week they have been heading south.

5^th +56.9 miles, Vincent Riou (PRB):  Fast sailing but heading into choppy seas, so needs to keep alert, particularly as occasional squalls.  Currently at 17 knots of boat speed.  Lost a bit of ground during the night, when wind vane stopped working.  Had to switch to another, which took some time to connect.  Necessary to continue down the coast of South America on route southwards.  Hoping to pick up low further south, but forecast still not sure about timing.

7^th + 98 miles Jean Le Cam (VM Matériaux): Yesterday was not easy as some very strong gusts (25-26 knots) but very variable in direction and strength.  Out on deck very wet, with water washing over deck all the time, so better inside than out.  Still heeled over and boat still slamming into rough sea.  Still forced to head south for a few days because of high blocking the way.  The leaders will start to encounter lighter winds, so those behind may reduce the gap, but it all depends what happens afterwards, who gets out first.

8^th  -- not polled at 1000hrs: Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement):  Off the coast of Brazil in choppy seas, so really like a samba as being shaken around.  Still too hot for foul weather gear, but too wet to take clothes off.  Hoping St Helena will be moving east as they get down there.  19 knots of boat speed at the moment.  Thinks he may have touched favourable wind after those ahead. Boats may have changed, but weather hasn't, so length of round the world voyage may not be any faster than in past.  So was very cautious about quantity of food on board, when he loaded supplies.  Still heeled over, but wind is slightly further east than forecast.

16^th + 570.3 miles: Arnaud Boissières (Akena Vérandas):  Wind a bit stronger first thing this morning, but has calmed off again now. Bit cooler, which is pleasant. Looks like this point of sail will continue for several days.  Heeled over takes time to get used to, but not a real problem.  More stressed by noise as boat hits waves. Has never been further south in Atlantic than Bahia, so south will be something new for him.  So Vendée globe is a way to discover these regions of the world. Has been sailing on the same latitude as Aviva, but about 60 miles apart. Cargo ship in the zone triggered his alarm and currently studying AIS to identify it.

21^st + 815.6 miles, Rich Wilson (Great American 3) : Nice to see the sun is out and weather has changed.  Is sailing under staysail. Incredible experience and the new boats are amazing. Rich didn't speak any French two years ago, but is a fast learner!

22^nd  +1000.1 miles: Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat):  Upwind in fairly strong winds.  Pleased to have passed through the Doldrums, where he met squalls, but no real calms, and stressful as worried about gear.  Should be crossing the Equator shortly.  He's following his route as best he can, not worrying about what leaders are up to, as the situation can change very quickly, so no long-term plans.  Doesn't think this is the right place to honour Neptune, as not the most pleasant place, as a lot of squalls.

Heading to Recife: Jérémie Beyou (Delta Dore): Heading for Recife breakwater as shelter possible there.  Needs to climb the mast to inspect all the damage.  Already saw spreader root was broken when he climbed part way up.  Needs to inspect standing rigging and possible mast damage, where hit by spreaders.   No spreader on starboard side, but mast holding up for moment.  No one knows why it broke.  His team have been studying photos to try to understand.  He is relieved it happened here rather than in southern seas.  Thinks he should reach Recife tomorrow morning, but wind shifting, so will need to gybe, as otherwise will be heading too far south.

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