Vendée Globe

November 10. 2008 at 06:15 PM Jean-Baptiste Dejeanty heading back to les Sables d’Olonne

The skipper of Groupe Maisonneuve informed the race directors at 17h that he was heading back to Les Sables d’Olonne. He hopes to reach the harbour at around noon tomorrow (11th November). A deck panel was damaged in the bad weather. Jean Baptiste estimates that repairs will take two or three days.

Reminder: Vendée Globe rules stipulate that if they suffer damage, the competitors may only return to Les Sables d’Olonne to carry out repairs before heading off again. They must cross the start line by 13h02 on 19th November.

November 10. 2008 at 05:21 PMA cargo vessel, not a fishing boat

Thanks to the AIS tracker on the onboard computer, Cheminées Poujoulat's support team appear to have identified the boat with which Bernard Stamm collided. In fact, Stamm's team report that is is not to be a fishing boat, but an 80-metre long Maltese cargo vessel which is believed to be a freight carrier. According to reports the paint from the ship's hull side matches that left on the Open 60's hull side.

November 10. 2008 at 04:28 PMMonday afternoon, small gains and losses as the winds build

The 1500GMT positions show Marc Guillemot on Safran making a small increase in his lead to 10.1NM with second and third places changed again as Loick Peyron on Gitana 80 swaps once more with Roland Jourdain on Veolia Environnment who is now 12.2 miles behind the leader. Peyron’s tack to the south from the main pack, now following the same line as Safran, has been a small gain, while that slightly southerly path also continues to pay for Mike Golding on Ecover 3 who is now up to ninth from 13th this morning, with Dee Caffari on sistership Aviva in eighth. Caffari is to his north west on the same line as Veolia Environnment, Kito de Pavant’s Groupe Bel.
Sam Davies on Roxy has gained four to lie thirteenth. Alex Thomson on Hugo Boss is out to the north and west of  the middle group, Veolia, Groupe Bel and BT, working for position and is 14th, while a noticeable drop of four places is that of Brian Thompson on Bahrain Team Pindar.

November 10. 2008 at 03:55 PMToday's radio cast

Every day at 15h30, you can hear Pierre-Louis Castelli's radio programme (in French) looking back on the key events of the previous 24 hours. Today, Michel Desjoyeaux's problems, the leader, Marc Guillemot's satisfaction, Sam Davies's joy of being at sea and Jean-Pierre Dick's tiredness. http://www.vendeeglobe.org/fr/mediatheque/radio/

November 10. 2008 at 03:09 PMPenalty for Brian Thompson

As Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar) still had some of his team on board during the final Vendée Globe start countdown (four minutes before the gun was fired), the International Jury has given him a penalty of four hours.

November 10. 2008 at 02:53 PMDesjoyeaux's support team awaits

Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia)'s support team is in place in Les Sables d’Olonne. "We're all on the spot now trying to get hold of all the engine parts, in case they need to be changed. That is never that easy, but is more complicated as it's a long weekend in France for the Armistice bank holiday of 11th November. Michel has explained the situation to us and we're taking advantage of the wait, while the boat returns to Les Sables d’Olonne to carry out a more detailed diagnosis of the boat's problems. We're trying to understand everything that may have gone wrong by asking Michel various questions to confirm or refute our suspicions."

November 10. 2008 at 02:15 PMStamm against the clock

Bernard Stamm (Chéminées Poujoulat) talking about his repairs:
"It's a race against the clock, but there are things you can't hurry. For example, we're going to have to rebuild the bowsprit in its entirety and you can't change the time it takes to dry composites, whether you are racing or not. This repair job needs to be done as seriously as everything else we have done on Cheminées Poujoulat up until now. We're going around the world and it's going to have to last.

"The countdown has begun. while the others are all sailing upwind. It's not a big problem, but if I could get away today, rather than tomorrow, it would be better. However, looking at what needs to be done, I shan't be leaving Les Sables until tomorrow afternoon to try to sail the best race possible."

November 10. 2008 at 01:14 PMRiding it out

The 10 skippers taking part in the first of the Vendée Globe live radio sessions are all weathering out the storm: "We're really being banged around!" they all agreed. The south-westerly wind was still blowing at around 30 knots with gusts up to 40. They are currently waiting for the wind to veer, as the cold front moves over the 30-strong fleet at around four this afternoon. When the front arrives, the wind is forecast to exceed 45 knots in the squalls, before easing off and suddenly veering NW'ly.

"There's going to be a difficult moment when we carry out the manoeuvres to change tack, as this will take around an hour and we're going to have to hoist more sail as the wind drops to 25 knots… » explained Jérémie Beyou (Delta Dore).

November 10. 2008 at 12:52 PMDesjoyeaux reaction

Michel Desjoyeaux on Foncia: "I had a small leak in the ballast system and underestimated its importance and the damage. This morning I started up the engine and after 40 minutes of charging, I could smell something burning.  The engine was taking a swimming lesson and didn't appreciate it. I have already done part of a round the world voyage with an engine which was extremely difficult to start, but if it wasn't going to work at all... I therefore took the decision to turn around. I hope to reach Les Sables d'Olonne by 2200h and that the sea, which is already high, will allow me to do that, so we can get to work on the repairs."

November 10. 2008 at 12:05 PMLife on an ice-rink - Roxy

Hello!
Finally we are out racing the Vendee Globe. The first night has been full-on, with too many sail changes and tacks! I tried to take advantage of a shift during the night, but tacking is SO hard and takes SO long with all this gear on board! Stacking is a nightmare, especially in 30 knots of wind and big seas! I think I lost more with my tacks than I gained from the shift!
Now it is day one, I am getting into the rhythm. The wind is building, between 30 and 40 knots. Roxy has 3 reefs and the ORC, and we are smashing though the ginormous waves!
All is well on board, I even managed to have a cup of tea this morning. We're expecting up to 55knots in the front this evening, so I am preparing for that.
The only annoying thing is that a little bottle of engine oil has exploded in my aft stacking toboggan, so there is oil everywhere, it's like living on a moving ice-rink (a rather smelly one - lucky I don't get sea sick!) Luckily, I have oil absorbing cloths in my spares, so I can clean that up properly once the front is through and everything calms down!
Otherwise, all is well on board ROXY!
S x