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June 20, 2008Veolia Environnement’s new mast ratified

Last week, Roland Jourdain accompanied by Jean-Luc Nélias, Guillaume Soubranne and Luis Guervos headed out to sea to cover the 1500 miles required under Vendée Globe rules for Veolia Environnement’s new mast to be accepted. They took advantage of this first major outing to carry out a general check-up on the boat and on the skipper! The four men began by setting sail on a return voyage across the Bay of Biscay, «just to pick up some wind,» according to Bilou… In steady 25-knot winds, the conditions were ideal for carrying out some adjustments and checking the sail configurations. They noted down every little detail, which in the coming weeks will be looked at to do some fine tuning on the boat. Back in Concarneau, Roland made a pit stop to drop off his mates, before setting off again immediately for five days of solo training. «Obviously, it’s not the same as being in a race. I managed to get a bit more rest! However, you do need to remain vigilant and it does allow you to get used to manœuvres and try out the onboard computer system.» After reaching a point 450 miles south west of Brittany, Bilou then turned off westwards, before turning around and coming home. «In the end, I covered a little more than the 1500 miles required by Dr.Vendée. It was a short week of sailing that was not very fast, but highly enjoyable! It’s nice to be back on board my boat.»

June 19, 2008Alex Thomson becomes number 22

Alex Thomson has become the 22nd skipper to register officially for the Vendée Globe. The British yachtsman, who completed his qualifying run in May, has now fulfilled all the requirements. Alex is likely to be a serious contender for a place up with the winners on board Hugo Boss that he sailed two-handed to second place in the Barcelona World Race. Alex Thomson did not take part in the recent Transat, in order to avoid taking any unnecessary risks of damaging his boat with the Vendée Globe coming up. On board a powerful boat, Alex has the reputation of pushing her to the limit, which means he is someone else that is in with a good chance…

June 11, 2008Akena Vérandas back in Les Sables d’Olonne

It will be at around ten this evening that the AKENA Vérandas monohull will be mooring up back on the Vendée Globe pontoon in Port Olonna in Les Sables d’Olonne. After leaving the harbour in Vendée a month and a half ago to take part in the Artemis Transat, the single-handed transatlantic race between Plymouth and Boston, Arnaud Boissières is finishing his second transtlantic crossing of the season and will be completing the return delivery trip, this time with a crew, after twelve days of sailing. With 150 days to go to the start of the single-handed round the world voyage, this early part of the season has shown how reliable the Finot design is. Arnaud Boissières: «The boat is in good condition and that is a good thing, as I now have a busy schedule with schools, public relations, and tasks that require the 60-foot boat to be ready to sail. We did not encouter any rough conditions during the delivery trip, as the wind did not get above 30 knots. I took advantage of that to get as much rest as possible. It feels almost as if the Transatlantic race is just finishing. It’s never an easy matter to sail a boat home. Now I’m looking forward to the Vendée Globe. I shall soon be receiving the new mainsail.»

June 10, 2008No rest for Jonny Malbon

Since having to take the decision not to take part in the Artemis Transat, Jonny Malbon and the Artemis Ocean Racing team have been continuing to prepare the monohull. Yesterday, Jonny was finally able to set sail from Southampton to start a 4000 mile solo sail to prepare for the Vendée Globe. During the night, he stayed to the north of the shipping lanes in the Channel and this morning, was getting ready to head down towards Ushant. Once out of the Channel Approaches, he will then begin a long dive down to the Azores, but for the moment, in fifteen-knot winds, it is in particular the fishing boats and cargo vessels that are keeping him awake, as a permenent watch is necessary. During the first 24 hours of sailing, he only managed to grab twenty minutes of sleep and so is looking forward to the luxury of a ten-minute nap.

June 08, 2008Roxy hit by a violent storm

Accompanied by three members of her support team, on her way back from the Artemis Transat, Sam Davies (Roxy) was yesterday around 400 miles west of the Azores. After a few days of sailing in very light conditions, an Atlantic low crept up on the pink monohull and the wind strengthened considerably to reach 58 knots. With three reefs in and sailing under staysail, Roxy set a new record of 29.3 knots on some mountainous seas, which forced the crew to reduce the canvas to a minimum, particularly with some nasty waves breaking over the deck, although there was no real damage. Some extreme conditions, which are however useful for Sam Davies, as they offer her an opportunity to prepare for her voyage on the southern seas in what will be her first Vendée Globe.

June 05, 2008Armel Le Cléac'h 21st to sign up

Armel Le Cléac’h has fulfilled all his obligations to become the 21st person to register for the Vendée Globe. The skipper of Brit’Air obtained his qualification for the single-handed round the world voyage in fine style by finishing second in the transatlantic race - The Artemis Transat – where he fought it out right up to the finish with the three times winner, Loïck Peyron. « The Jackal », as he is nicknamed on the pontoons, because of his determination never to give a metre to his opponents, will therefore be in the race around the world, with some clear ambitions.