Vendée Globe

November 12. 2008 at 16:16In the words of the Basque

"For two days we have not been able to sail for the race. We have been simply trying to survive. I hope we can now start sailing and live the race. It has been really hard, we knew the difficulty of this zone and what we could expect. Now the wind is calming down and the sailing is more bearable. I am very well and so is the boat," said the Basque sailor, Unai Basurko (Pakea Bizkaia) this morning.

November 12. 2008 at 15:10In La Coruna

"I'm extremely disappointed that this Vendée Globe has come to such a quick end after all the work done with my team and the DCNS group over the past year or more, as we prepared this race in record time. The dismasting happened after a horrible, stormy night, when the monohull experienced waves higher than six metres. The dismasting caused significant damage, as we lost the outriggers, sails, and part of the electronics. The impact was huge, and I had no choice but to retire from the race and head for la Coruna. My priority was to save the monohull. As the repairs are being carried out, I'm going to become more and more involved in the DCNS talent hunt to pass on my knowledge,» commented Marc Thiercelin (DCNS) on his arrival in La Coruna this morning. After an inspection to discover the extent of the damage, a decision will be taken concerning the schedule for the next few days and how the boat will be taken to Lorient, her home port. 

November 12. 2008 at 13:49The trade winds, finally!

"I'm very relieved to have got through the first 48 hours. It was terrible. There was a lot of shipping around and the seas were horrendous. All that crashing into the waves wouldn't have done Aviva any good at all but she was really good and I haven't found any damage as yet.  I tried snoozing that first night but there was so much shipping around I had to really concentrate and it wasn't until I rang the shore crew to tell them I was through the front that I was able to have a proper sleep. I just couldn't concentrate any more.  Since then I have been concentrating on eating and sleeping and I feel quite a lot better now but need to get on top of everything down below - there are quite a few jobs to do down there," indicated Dee Caffari (Aviva).

 

November 12. 2008 at 11:06Today's radio session, 12h-14h

Exceptionally, today's radio session will be between noon and 14h (local time) because of the official inauguration ceremony for Race HQ…Thank you for your understanding.  See you shortly...

November 12. 2008 at 11:06Jean-Pierre under spinnaker

«I'm sailing under spinnaker. Everything is fine on board. It feels good. I'm getting used again to life at sea. I slept well during the night and am starting to eat properly. The fresh produce is gone and I'm on to the freeze-dried. Yesterday evening it was pasta bolognaise and this morning scrambled eggs, my favourite breakfast. After the Gulf War (the Gulf of the Bay of Biscay), it's time to recharge the batteries. At the moment it' s a bit choppy with 20 knots of wind and little gusts in every direction. With our towering sails, we need to be careful! Today, I'll continue my inspection of the boat to make sure everything is OK and then I'll be spending time at the nav desk drawing up the strategy for the coming hours. Time to go, as the wind is getting up!» Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac 2)

November 12. 2008 at 11:01Golding holding station

On his 0900GMT morning media call today Mike Golding (Ecover 3) reported that he was relatively content that he is holding his position on the lead boats, and is following the routing close to the rhumb line. Winds are still reasonably gusty with quite a big sea running and he reported that he is sailing under a big gennaker and full main. He had encountered a period of nasty adverse current during the night.

“We are just trucking south really, rotating around the high pressure there will always be some compression ahead, and then extension again, but that is really looking at what is happening over the next five days or so."

November 12. 2008 at 10:22Trade winds today

The Azores high (1032 hPa) is moving eastwards, while a low 1014 hPa far off the Canaries, is almost stationary. The wind, which is due to be a 15-20 knot NNW'ly off Cape Finisterre, will ease off to 5-10 knots and veer N'ly, which is not very favourable for Michel Desjoyeaux… Ahead, off Madeira, the wind will be blowing at 18-23 knots between the east and north-east, causing the leaders to gybe during the afternoon.

November 12. 2008 at 08:50Race HQ opens tomorrow in Paris

Vendée Globe Race HQ has now moved to Paris and the facilities are currently being installed. It will be open to the public from 10h to 19h (local time). An opportunity to attend the radio sessions from 11h to 13h, look at the latest developments in the use of satellite data and watch the latest videos from the race.
Please note: Race HQ will be open to the public from Thursday 13th November.

November 12. 2008 at 07:23Jean Baptiste Dejeanty back in Les Sables d'Olonne

On his arrival back in Les Sables d'Olonne at around 4h this morning, Jean Baptiste Dejeanty (Maisonneuve) said a few words about the damage that had forced him to turn back:

«It was as the front was going over in the middle of a squall. I had just changed tack and was taking advantage of the wind dropping off to stack inside the boat. A wave that was more violent than the others lifted up the boat. It felt a bit like floating in space. The boat came crashing down. I think she came down on two big waves, one at the bow and one astern. The keel between the two made a loud cracking sound. It was like a gun going off inside the boat. My ears were ringing. On the way back, the water was halfway up to my knees inside, but fortunately the pumps worked perfectly. Structurally inside, nothing has changed.
I don't really understand. I have sailed 25,000 miles with the boat and have never seen that. It was just bad luck and that's what I find hard to take. I had already experienced heavy seas like that before on several occasions. Maybe the only difference was the boat was loaded in Vendée Globe mode, meaning the strains were that much higher. I think the boat has done well given the violence of the impact. Personally I took a while to recover. We'll see what we can do. An engineer is on his way and an expert should be here later today to look at the damage more closely. With the team we'll discuss whether to set out again or not. »

November 12. 2008 at 06:08Hugo Boss due in later this morning

At 5h00 this morning (Wednesday), Alex Thomson was 25 miles from Les Sables d’Olonne. However, Hugo Boss will probably have to wait for a few hours off the South Nouch Buoy until the tide late this morning.