On Sunday morning, the thirty Vendée Globe monohulls will be leaving the pontoon in Port Olona in a precise order and on a very tight schedule: Each boat will follow the previous one four minutes later, with the procession beginning at 9h15 with Dee Caffari (Aviva). The right-hand side of the pontoon (looking outwards) will start the procession through the harbour entrance channel between Les Sables d’Olonne and la Chaume. Please note all times here are in French time:

9h15 : Dee Caffari (Aviva)
9h19 : Sébastien Josse (BT)
9h23 : Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss)
9h27 : Mike Golding (Ecover 3)
9h31 : Derek Hatfield (Algimouss-Spirit of Canada)
9h35 : Loïck Peyron (Gitana Eighty)
9h39 : Marc Guillemot (Safran)
9h43 ; Yann Eliès (Generali)
9h47 : Jean Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac 2)
9h51 : Jérémie Beyou (Deta Dore)

They will be followed by those moored up diagonally.
9h55 : Raphaël Dinelli (Fondation Ocean Vital)
9h59 : Marc Thiercelin (DCNS)
10h03 : Vincent Riou (PRB)
10h07 : Jean Le Cam (VM Matériaux)
10h11 : Jonny Malbon (Artemis)
10h15 : Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar)
10h19 : Armel Le Cléac’h (Brit Air)
10h23 : Jean Baptiste Dejeanty (Maisonneuve)
10h27 : Dominique Wavre (Temenos II)
10h31 : Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat)
10h35 : Steve White (Toe in the water)
10h39 : Unai Basurko (Pakea Bizkaia)
10h43 : Arnaud Boissières (Akena Vérandas)
10h47 : Norbert Sedlacek (Nauticsport-Kapsch)
10h51 : Rich Wilson (Great American III)
10h55 : Samantha Davies (Roxy)
10h59 : Yannick Bestaven (Aquarelle.com)
11h03 : Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia)
11h07 : Kito de Pavant (Groupe Bel)
11h11 : Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement)

Jean Le Cam, VM Matériaux: "Everyone thinks I chose 118 because it is two times 59, which was my number in the 2004-2005 Vendée Globe. In fact, it was by chance: at the time when I had to give in my number to the IMOCA, it was when everyone was talking about the 118 telephone numbers for enquiries and I thought that would be funny. Now, when I tell people that they just won\'t believe me!"
 

Final half day for sea trials! However, only the British sailor, Steve White has decided to leave harbour today for some adjustments. From two o\'clock, all the boats will remain moored at the Vendée Globe pontoon right up until the start on Sunday.
Toe in the Water [ex-Spirit of Weymouth] : 07h30 – 12h50
 

On Thursday between eleven and noon (French time), Pierre-Louis Castelli and Frédéric Ottenhof will be talking to Yves Parlier, Yannick Bestaven, Loïck Peyron, Alex Thomson, as well as to Louis Guédon, MP and mayor of Les  Sables d\'Olonne and to Christian Lepape, Head of the Port La Forêt training centre ...

11h-12h : live on the website www.vendeeglobe.org

«Four years on, the atmosphere is very different: we can see it\'s much more serious. In the past, the monohulls remained in harbour, as everyone was busy preparing their boat right up to the last moment. Today we see at least five boats leaving the port to test their sails or electronic systems and that is something I haven\'t see before in the Vendée Globe! Personally, I\'m much more relaxed than four years ago. I\'m ready, the boat is ready and I know where I\'m going,» said Sébastien Josse on Wednesday.

It is going to be cloudy today, but temperatures remain mild and it is not likely to be very wet, as we are still under the influence of a low-pressure area centred over France. However, this will be weakening and give way to a shallow low with very few isobars. The wind will be moderate with a north-westerly flow this morning, gradually backing south-westerly and dropping to under ten knots. Tonight a front will be moving in from the ocean bringing rain across Vendée, but this will soon clear and a mild, moderate westerly stream is expected tomorrow. Saturday looks variable, while there are still uncertainties about Sunday: the south-westerly wind will be above twenty knots, veering westerly in the Bay of Biscay, but when they reach Cape Finisterre, the fleet is likely to come to a standstill… High pressure is building over Spain leading to the disappearance of the wind at least on Monday.

Tide times
Thursday 6th November: coefficient 32 - 32
High tide: 10h21 – 23h29
Low tide: 3h40 – 16h19
Friday 7th November: coefficient 34
High tide: 11h43
Low tide: 4h55 – 17h35