Vendée Globe

November 06. 2008 at 15:38Zizou on Saturday in Port Olona

The famous French football star, Zinédine Zidane will be present on Saturday between three and five on the Vendée Globe pontoons: godfather to Yann Elies's boat, Generali, he has decided to come and visit the Breton sailor. After a short sailing trip together, they became great friends. This is essentially a friendly visit and the football star has not planned any interviews. The star is after all the sailor, rather than the footballer this time…

November 06. 2008 at 14:18An up and down night for Hugo Boss

Alex Thomson and the Hugo Boss team must have hoped their long nights were behind them but Alex and the shore team spent the entire last night, 9pm to 9am, trying to establish how bad a halyard chafe problem they had noticed actually was.

With such a short time left the only way to discover how bad it was, and to find a solution was to spend the night hoisting and lowering the loaded main halyard.

In total the team of ten, including Alex, worked hour shifts through the night in total making 1800 hoists over the 12 hour period.

The process both reduced the chafe by simply smoothing off the rough point(s) and is reported to have left only a small mark on the rope.

“It was a big effort from all the guys for more than ten hours. We did about 1800 cycles so a good replication of doing a few miles. We had some chafe on the main halyard and now it looks like some of the solutions have put in place have worked. A lot of it was just fact finding, but the main thing is just to put a different piece of rope in which Blew Stube helped us with supply, providing it almost overnight.”

“Alex did a shift, put his fair share in, he did an hour or two if not a bit more. At the start of the night there were a few more including a few experts. We just had to prove to ourself that we did not have a problem and I think we went as far as we could in doing that.” Explained the team’s rigging specialist Giles.

November 06. 2008 at 11:34Sunday procession

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)

November 06. 2008 at 10:06118: Number please

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!"
 

November 06. 2008 at 09:52Only one going out

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
 

November 06. 2008 at 09:04Live from the Pontoons

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

November 06. 2008 at 09:04Sébastien Josse sees changes

«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.

November 06. 2008 at 08:20Overcast, but fairly dry

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

November 06. 2008 at 07:02Another Great American

Rich Wilson is the oldest competitor in this sixth Vendée Globe and his boat\'s name expresses this long history of sailing: «It\'s not because I am great or American! The first Great American capsized at the Horn during the San Francisco-Boston record; the second followed the route taken by the clippers. The third is about to be sailed around the world by a solo sailor…»

November 05. 2008 at 18:45Jean-Pierre Dick : «35-40 knots for the first night»

Extracts from Jean-Pierre Dick's press conference (Paprec-Virbac 2) :

«The weather looks being rough from the start. There's going to be a westerly airflow with 20-25 knot winds in the afternoon, gusting to 35-40 knots on the first night. We'll be setting out tacking upwind. Upwind sailing can sometimes be more relaxing than downwind sailing. However, if we need to carry out regular sail changes, it can soon become physically demanding.»

«Spending three months at sea is a unique and enriching experience. It's a privilege to go through this, not a burden.»

«I think my boat is well-suited to a range of conditions. She is not the fastest in every point of sail, but not the slowest either. Upwind in a breeze suits her well. But I think all of the boats are similar in terms of performance. It is the sailor, who will make all the difference. Firstly depending on his motivation, but also on his ability to keep a cool head.»

«Four years ago, I used up all my energy within a week of the start. I have learnt now to control myself, to manage my efforts and not to overextend myself.»