Vendée Globe

November 11. 2008 at 10:1453 on the scale.

Mike Golding reported to his team from ECOVER 3 last night that he had seen 53 knots of wind.

November 11. 2008 at 10:04Special media conference this morning

Following the damage caused since the start of the race, a special media conference will take place this morning at 11 at Vendée Globe HQ.  This will be in the presence of Philippe de Villiers, Denis Horeau and Alain Gautier and will be broadcast live on the Vendée Globe website.  It will be followed by the live link-up with the skippers at 11h45.

November 11. 2008 at 10:02Dejeanty due in Les Sables this evening

Message received from Jean Baptiste Dejeanty this morning. "All is well on board. At  9H00 this morning 100 miles from Les Sables d'Olonne.  17-knot westerly wind.
ETA this evening (11th Nov)   
Support team ready to get to work on the deck.  Damage: cracks in the deck, port and starboard of the coach roof.
No idea yet of the time required to repair.
Will do our utmost to restart the race."

November 11. 2008 at 06:04Last night's messages

1h36 : «Everything is fine on board. Will write more when I'm able. xxxx » Dee Caffari (Aviva)

1h39 : «Lots of little repair jobs to do . Tomorrow will be better. I'm sad about Yaya (Yannick Bestaven) and Kito (de Pavant). I'm trying to look after my « veranda » in these seas. The change in wind direction was extremely sudden: the boat came around all by herself, as it was so quick. Afterwards, there was a quick clean-up operation below to get everything stowed… » Arnaud Boissières (Akena Vérandas)

4h58 : «We're taking advantage of the calmer conditions to eat and sleep a little. Have seen several cargo ships off Cape Finisterre.» Armel Le Cléac’h (Brit Air)

November 11. 2008 at 00:13Statement from Alex Thomson/Hugo Boss

Alex Thomson's Hugo Boss team have issued this statement:

" After 32 hours of horrendous Biscay conditions in the Vendee Globe race, Alex Thomson is returning to Les Sables d’Olonne following the discovery of a structural problem onboard HUGO BOSS.  A crack has appeared on the port side hull, the opposite side to the recent repair.

At 19.45 GMT Alex Thomson turned HUGO BOSS around to head back to Les Sables d’Olonne. Thomson is in no imminent danger; the boat is taking on water, but at a manageable rate. On arrival in Les Sables D’Olonne the damage will be assessed. He is currently approximately 290 miles from the port.

HUGO BOSS will be the eighth yacht to return to Les Sables D’Olonne since the race start on Sunday afternoon.  The Vendee Globe rules only allow the competing yachts to return to Les Sables D’Olonne to carry out repairs using outside assistance and restart the race within a 10 day window of Sunday 9th November (the start date)."

November 10. 2008 at 20:59Another mast

Groupe Bel have just informed the Race Office that Kito de Pavant has been dismasted and has been forced to head back, probably towards Les Sables d'Olonne. As well as the mast breaking, the boom and one of the carbon deck spreaders is broken. Bel was positioned 260 miles from Les Sables d'Olonne.

November 10. 2008 at 20:47Short delay

Apologies but there is a short delay to the publication of the 2000hrs local/1900hrs GMT classifications.

November 10. 2008 at 19:26Fifth skipper returning

Derek Hatfield on Algimouss Spirit of Canada is reported to now be the fifth skipper who is returning to Les Sables d'Olonne. He is the third citing some form of electrical problems as the reason to return to the start port.

November 10. 2008 at 18:57Message from Arnaud Boissières

"We can't wait for the front to arrive. Everything is very wet and we have 3 reefs and are sailing under ORC storm jib. There are some huge waves, the visibility is reduced and there are cargo ships all around. I took advantage of that to try out the radar. Several times, I had to stack the gear away. The stacking boxes tend to get thrown around right up to the ceiling. Everything is fine and I'm pleased to be at sea."

November 10. 2008 at 18:15 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.