This is the number seen on Cheminées Poujoulat, which was in fact chosen by Bernard Stamm eight years ago. The Swiss skipper explains this choice: «In 2000, few people believed in my project, and thought I would make it to the start or complete the construction of my boat. Poker players will understand why I chose seven: if you play well, with a pair of sevens, you can beat four aces!»
This morning at eleven (CET),the guests on today's "Live from the Pontoons" programme will be Jérémie Beyou, Kito de Pavant, Rich Wilson and Raphael Dinelli (in order of appearance). Moreover, Pierre-Louis Castelli and Frédéric Ottenhof will be joined by Denis Horeau, the Vendée Globe Race director, who will talk about the line-up of this year's race. "Live from the Pontoons", the Vendée Globe radio show, every morning live on the website at 11h00.
The weather in Les Sables is fairly dull today with rain forecast this afternoon. The 15-20 knot northerly wind (force 4 to 5) will veer north-easterly this afternoon with gusts around 30 knots expected this evening.
The sea is slight becoming moderate this evening.
Sea temp: 15 degrees.
Tide times
Morning: coefficient 66 - Low tide 0h35 1.66m High tide 6h22 4.77m
Evening: coefficient 61 - Low tide 12h56 1.68m High tide 18h35 4.48m
Spirit of Weymouth and Hugo Boss returned to the fold last night, back at their rightful places at the pontoons in Port Olona. Hugo Boss sailed for just over two hours through a chilly evening in winds around 15kts and assumed her place back in the lineup just after 1930h. Steve White's boat looks resplendent with her new paint job although it will be next week before their sposnor is announced.Bahrain Team Pindar, which is skippered by Brian Thompson, is being officially named today. Hugo Boss is sailing again this morning.
All of the boats have a number on the hull and on their mainsail. This "number plate" is not a number that is handed out automatically. In most cases, it has been chosen by the skipper and therefore becomes a symbolic figure, which in this case hides a little tale. 101, the number displayed by Foncia, is Alain Gautier's lucky number. He, of course, was also sponsored by Foncia and indeed won the 1992 Vendée Globe. Michel Desjoyeaux, the skipper of the Farr-designed boat, simply wished to keep the same number.
Pakea means peace in the Basque language and Bizkaia is simply the name of the area around Bilbao. Through his project, Unai Basurko, the only yachtsman financed by a local authority, is aiming to change the image of the Basque country, which has suffered so much, because of what has been going on in this part of Spain. At the age of 35, Unai is preparing to set sail on his second round the world voyage (after finishing third in the Velux 5 Oceans in 2007). For him, taking part in the Vendée Globe is a dream, which is about to come true and a way to follow in the footsteps of the Spanish yachtsman, José Luis de Ugarte, who took part in the 1992 race and died earlier this year.
