Vendée Globe

November 08. 2008 at 09:13Sam Davies aboard the champion.

Sam Davies (Roxy) will be setting sail on Sunday at 13h02 (1202GMT) on the IMOCA Open 60 that won the previous two editions of the Vendée Globe: «I'm feeling fine. I know I'll feel stressed in the final hours leading up to the start. After all the excitement of the past few weeks, suddenly you find yourself alone and you don't know if you are happy, sad or nervous. In the beginning, I wanted to win, but today my goal is more personal: I want to beat the boat's record (87 days 10 hours 47 minutes and 55 seconds) held by Vincent Riou. I've written it down on the entrance to the cockpit to make sure I keep that in mind. It is a long race and there are often a lot of breakages, so we never know… »

November 08. 2008 at 08:56Set sail on the Vendée Globe

Several thousand virtual skippers have already registered to line up for the start of the 2008 Vendée Globe. You too, can try your hand at sailing around the world from the comfort of your home or office. To register for the Virtual Regatta: http://www.virtualregatta.com/index_vendee.php?langue=EN

November 08. 2008 at 08:39Everything changes and remains the same

Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement) is back in the Vendée Globe for the third time, but still remembers his retiral in New Zealand in the 2004 race: «In my head, I've already been through it all and the start in Les Sables doesn't mark the end or beginning of anything. For me, it is a continual process. I tell myself that: today, the goal is that… In the coming days there will be all sorts of other questions: how we will get out of the harbour area, make sure we don't collide with any other boats at the start line. And by then, in my head, we're already up to Monday or Tuesday. I'm trying to find the same state of mind that I was in before the start of the last Route du Rhum. You forget the most painful moments quickly enough and pick yourself up and start again… I'm also pleased to be returning to a place where it may be cold and not that easy at times, but that I really like. And there's something I haven't done for a long time that I want to do again: that is the second part of the course, even if the conditions in the Atlantic are hard on the way back… »

November 08. 2008 at 08:02Sunfish

Arnaud Boissières (Akena Vérandas) is able to set sail on his first Vendée Globe, not only because he is supported financially by a partner, who was already involved four years ago, but because Jean-Philippe Chomette is the owner of the boat. She is officially called Solune: «That means sunfish, but it is also the name of the son of Incal in the comic book by Moebius… »

November 08. 2008 at 07:17Full circle

Each Vendée Globe monohull has a number given by the Imoca class, but the skippers are able to choose their own number, which may be simply their lucky number or refer to a particular event. Kito de Pavant (Groupe Bel) has chosen the symbolic 360: «We're going to be sailing around the world, returning to the same point, which means we'll be going 360°! »

November 08. 2008 at 07:02Brownian movement

Some drops of rain can be expected today (Saturday) on the eve of the start of the Vendée Globe: a low-pressure area off Ireland is deepening and a front will mean the wind will veer from the south west (15 knots) to the west and strengthen this afternoon (25 knots). We can therefore expect a rather showery day, but it will remain mild with temperatures above 12° this morning and increasing to 18° this afternoon. The low pressure area is swirling around the south of Iceland and will be deepening further tomorrow; we can expect some strong south-westerlies.

The sea will be moderate for the start of the Vendée Globe at 13h02 with a twenty-knot south westerly wind, but for the thirty solo sailors is the Bay of Biscay is going to be rough. Still not that difficult until Monday lunchtime, it will become very heavy afterwards with 35-40 knots winds later in the day on Monday veering south to south westerly and strengthening to 45-55 knots. Fortunately this rough weather will rapidly move off after the two fronts go over and by midnight on Monday, there will be a 25-knot west to north westerly breeze taking the competitors down to cape Finisterre. The boats should be passing the tip of Spain early on Tuesday morning in much quieter weather wit a ten knot wind veering north-westerly and then northerly.

Tide times
Saturday 8th November: coefficient 38 - 43
High tide: 0h33 – 12h45
Low tide: 6h07 – 18h41
Sunday 9th November: coefficient 49 - 56
High tide: 1h22 – 13h34
Low tide: 7h05 – 19h33

November 07. 2008 at 17:05Norbert Sedlacek: 40 kg of noodles

In 2004, Norbert Sedlacek became the first Austrian to line up at the start of the Vendée Globe. A keel problem forced him to retire at Cape Town (South Africa). The former tram driver,who is now a chandler (Nauticsport) in Vienna, is setting sail aboard the same boat that he has strengthened and improved over the past two years. With one of the smallest budgets, he hopes to complete the voyage at his second attempt and to be able to build a new 60-foot boat for the next Vendée Globe. Here area few extracts from this morning's press conference…

 «I have an old boat, a small budget, but the experience of my first attempt. I would like to see IMOCAs taking off in German-speaking countries. If this Vendée Globe is successful for me, I would like to build a new 60-foot boat for the next race.»

 «My goal is to enjoy a great adventure, to sail well and return in under 110 days. If I end up somewhere around twentieth, it will be extraordinary. But I don't want to be last.»

 «After the 2004 Vendée Globe, I put the boat into the yard for two years in Port Bourgenay. An assistant and my son worked on her, taking her apart to improve and strengthen her. She weighs 800 kg less than four years ago. With a small budget (just 750,000 euros), it is not easy to change everything. But going to and fro from Vendée, we now have a lot of friends here and have been well supported. This human aspect is very important in this project. »

 «My supplies are 70% food that has come from Austria. I have got some French meals for festive occasions: birthday, New Year, Cape Horn. And as I really love Chinese noodles, I have 40 kg of them on board.»

November 07. 2008 at 16:32500kg taken aboard without counting the sails

A few interesting facts and figures about what has been taken aboard Roxy by Sam Davies:

Sails: The heaviest element. Taking into account the sails that are ready and those that are stowed.
117 kg of food: Samantha Davies is taking only freeze-dried food. But she loves her cup of tea with a touch of milk and is also taking a lot of chocolate with her, as this is something she enjoys. There are also 7kg of dry biscuits and 8.5kg of bread.
50 kg of clothes
30 kg of spare rope
25 kg: The weight of the hydro generator, which she will use to recharge her batteries
20 kg of tools for any repairs
20 kg of spare equipment: automatic pilot, electrical, hydraulic and electronic equipment
18 litres of drinking water: The Roxy Sailing Team has opted for two desalination units, one fixed and one portable. This option means Sam will only take 18 litres of water (2 packs) instead of the normal 72 litres. She will require 9 litres of drinking water for emergency purposes
14 kg: this is the weight of the cleaning and washing equipment required for the boat and Sam
14 kg is the weight of the engine parts (Belts...)
12 kg of deck fittings and 12kg of other products (adhesive tape, grease…)
10 kg of composites to allow repairs to be carried out
9 kg of spare computer equipment
8 kg of small items required to repair the sails (material and thread…)

November 07. 2008 at 16:28Ellen MacArthur: Maybe four years from now

This morning Ellen MacArthur, who was the runner-up in the 2000 Vendée Globe, was back in Les Sables d'Olonne paying a visit to the pontoons in Port Olona. She talked on this morning's Live from the Pontoons radio show and gave us her impressions of this year's Vendée Globe.

« This year has been the first time I've really been able to look around. I can really take in everything and experience it for myself. It's absolutely amazing what is happening here. The Vendée Globe changes from year to year, but there's always one thing that remains and that is the adventure. It's what makes the event what it is. Yes, it's a race, yes, it's fast, yes, the boats are becoming better and better, but at the same time, it is still a round the world voyage. As a human being, you cannot go any further on the sea. It is also a dream. Already, if you manage to finish, it's an achievement, so racing around at full speed is something else! Even if it remains a top level competition, they are still going into the middle of nowhere. Everyone looking at the boats here has the same feeling.»

Memories of the race
«For me, the Vendée Globe is a long story, which begins from the outset, when you are looking for a partner and only ends, when you cross the finishing line. It's difficult to look at just one part. The thing I remember most is the fear before the start. In 2000, the start was delayed, as the forecast was for sixty knots, which is quite a storm. That was tough, because deep down, you want to get going. You have such a fear inside you that you just want to be at sea. It was a real mixture of feelings.»


The boats
«As in all sports, there is progress each year. The boats are getting better and better, but at the same time getting closer and closer to the edge, so there is the risk of breakage. As it's a round the world race, you have to finish to win.»


BT and Sébastien
«We really love our boat, as this is the first time we have built our own. We wanted to be there from the first piece of carbon to the last. We raised her like our own baby. We designed her in collaboration with Farr, then set up our own yard and fifteen of us set about building her. The result is that we know the boat extremely well and have every confidence in her.(...) As for Sébastien Josse, I have a lot of respect for him, as we've known each other for ten years. He has a wealth of experience: he has already done the Vendée Globe, knows the tune, knows what it is like to be alone for so long.»


Current work
«I spend a lot of my turn on environmental work. When I sailed around the world, I became aware of a lot of things. Aboard a boat, you have to ration your resources, because they are limited and you live differently. It's vastly different when you are ashore. At sea, you are completely dependent on the wind and nature. Those, who are at one with the elements, are the ones that win. When you are ashore, you are completely cut off from that. We no longer feel dependent on nature, while in fact, it is the basis of life itself.»


One more time?
«Yes. I'd really love to do the Vendée Globe again. For the moment, my work on the environment is more important to me. But when I see all these boats, I really feel like doing it again. Maybe four years from now...»

November 07. 2008 at 15:39The final Live from the Pontoons

Pierre-Louis Castelli and Frédéric Ottenhof will be broadcasting their final show live from the Vendée Globe pontoons tomorrow (Saturday), when they will be talking to three previous competitors, who are now spectators, Jean-Luc Van Den Heede, Hervé Laurent and Patrice Carpentier. They will also be hearing from Sébastien Josse with 24 hours to go to the start and will finish with an interview with Philippe de Villiers, President of the Vendée Council and the SEM Vendée, which organises the Vendée Globe.