Vendée Globe

November 15. 2008 at 12:41Armel missing his croissants

"Hi everyone,
The sun came up and everything is fine on BritAir. Lost some ground to Vincent during the night.  I dozed off at the wrong moment..but now, we're off again and we're already west of Mauritania with the Cape Verde Islands ahead.  It's the weekend, so I'm treating myself to a couscous and chocolate cake for lunch.  Couldn't find any baker's out here selling croissants for my breakfast. If anyone knows a good address around here, let me know!
See you soon"
Armel le Cléac'h on BritAir

November 15. 2008 at 11:44Time to tidy up

"I'm up with the first group and hope it will last, as this morning I got into a bit of a mess with the sails.  The light wind backed northerly, as I was changing the sail. Because the wind was blowing across the route, I did two gybes and for a while had the solent, gennaker, and spinnaker up. That requires lots of manoeuvres and a lot of energy for nothing in the end. I'm waiting for the next rankings.  I hope I don't get caught by the calms that are behind and that the leaders avoided... Now we're going to have to get ready to attack the Cape Verde Islands.  Just the west of the islands, it looks dreadful.  This is going to be the first tricky zone, with the second being the Doldrums.  Te sun is out now, but that's only just happened. I'm still in a fleece and am wearing the foul weather gear simply for manoeuvres, because it's a bit wet.  Aboard the boat, it's still a bit of a mess. I need to air her out and tidy up, get out the wet clothes and dry them... " Jérémie Beyou (Delta Dore)

 

November 15. 2008 at 11:30Morning message from Jean-Pierre Dick

"The wind eased off during the night. When the sun came up, it was a beautiful day.  I'm finally going to be able to dry my foul weather gear and boots after a busy week. Today is a transitional day with very little wind. That means checking the adjustments to make sure the boat is at her best speed. Over the past 24 hours, I've managed to get a good rest. I slept for 5 or 6 hours and spent three at the chart table, while the rest of the time I was out making fine adjustments. I took some time out to listen to some music too. "  Jean-Pierre Dick on Paprec-Virbac 2.

 

November 15. 2008 at 09:50Dee still quite pleased

"I have been really struggling with finding the right rhythm and pace for Aviva over the last couple of days. Too much sail I kept wiping out on my ear or only able to hand steer or I reduce sail and wallow in the huge waves that have been surfing us along. It has been strange, a huge sea state that blasts you forward at 20 knots or allows you to sink the depths of the craters the waves create. Trying different combinations has been tricky also as the wind speed is gusting as high as 27 knots or settling at just 15 knots.
I am not complaining just looking at awe of the speed the others are getting with their boats. I have promised Aviva that we will get there and she can go and play with everyone again, until then we shall concentrate on getting past the Canaries and at least staying in touch with the leading pack. I am still pleased to even be on the same chart area as them without having to pan out too much still."
Dee Caffari on Aviva

 

November 15. 2008 at 08:39Message from Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia)

"Hi everyone,
Calm night under spinnaker still.  Very variable wind.  Have been at the helm a lot.  Had a good sleep. Peaceful, but not very fast.  The wind is really calm here for the moment.
Have a good weekend
Mich"
 

November 15. 2008 at 08:20A fright for Dominique Wavre

"Fine night, choppy to begin with, but steady trade wind with a moon lighting the way. Broad reaching with automatic pilot and big gennaker.  I start to snooze, keeping one eye on the dials, as frequently surfing at 20-22 knots, and heeling over occasionally.  All of a sudden the pilot alarm went off.  I rushed outside and saw we were broaching.  I leapt to the helm without my foul weather gear on, with tons of water crashing down.  We were under gennaker (300 m2), staysail and mainsail and heeled over at 50°. I turned the alarm off and bore away and to my surprise, Temenos righted herself.  We were still sailing quickly and the leeward rudder stayed in the water.  Got the boat back on track and put the pilot back on and it seemed to work....Hurried back inside to start up the engine to charge the batteries, as sometimes the problem can be electrical (I'm a bit wary after the problem at the start).  I stayed up for a couple of hours and all seems well.  Waiting to see whether pushing the boat so hard has paid off and whether I've narrowed the gap." 

Message from Dominique Wavre (Temenos)


 

November 15. 2008 at 06:49Message from Arnaud Boissières

«Hi, Who's stolen my washing up liquid? I did a spot of advertising for the verandas in the  Canaries; I didn't hang around, but I'm sure the message was understood. In any case, very busy on board and very little sleep… »
Arnaud Boissières aboard Akena Vérandas

 

November 15. 2008 at 06:43Message from Bernard Stamm

"Hi, I'm just off Cape Finisterre, the tip of Spain. All is well on board and I'm under spinnaker and full mainsail, taking advantage of the strengthening of the wind at Cape Finisterre.  You can't say I've been spoilt since returning to the race. Contrary to four days before, there was hardly any wind in the Bay of Biscay.  But that's behind me now. Have a good day."
Bernard Stamm on board Cheminées Poujoulat

 

November 14. 2008 at 18:46Jean Baptiste Dejeanty-decision tomorrow

The skipper of Maisonneuve, who returned to Les Sables d’Olonne on the night of 11th November after cracks opened up in the deck of his boat, told us in today's radio session that he would decide tomorrow morning, whether he would setting off again or not. Here is  what he said:
«The repairs are 80% complete. According to the inspection, there is in fact nothing more than what we could see on the surface (no structural problem - editor). We still have some work to do.  As far as getting back in the race is concerned, were giving ourselves until tomorrow lunchtime (Saturday) before taking a decision. It's great to start out again for the team for posterity on the one hand, but at the same time, we need to be rational to ensure that in all the excitement, we don't set off again only to fail again after ten days at sea. We're going to have to find the motivation to get the boat moving with no one around to emulate. I'm having dinner tonight with my  sponsor.  I've been talking it over with the team and my weather expert.  Personally, I really want to experience this adventure, but as a racer, it's tough. We're not talking about sailing a long way like Moitessier, but completing the Vendée Globe. »

 

November 14. 2008 at 16:48Sam: Elbow grease and a four leaf clover

Finally, yesterday, I cleaned up the oil! Hooray! It took me 5 hours, three special oil absorber sheets, half a bottle of washing up liquid and a lot of elbow grease - it's still not perfect, but I'm happy. Not too much damage to the spares (except the mess). It's still a bit slippery, but I will be
careful.
Today is the day of sail changes! With the wind between 10 and 30 knots, I have been changing between Gennaker + full main, all the way down to solent + 2 reefs. It's pretty  knackering, so I am trying to find a compromise between course, speed and sail config to economise energy and not loose speed with a pointless manouver. At some points I was doing 22+ knots, which appeared to terrify Pierre Louis on the radio vacation!! I took his advice (!) and calmed things down a little!!! (it was a bit fruity at the time!!) I have also managed to stick up all my cards and photos that I had received before the start, so Roxy is looking even more "homely" than ever! I even have a four leafed clover stuck on my "dash board" too! (merci Nico!) Lucky and Foxy are finding their sea legs, and have returned to their normal "spot" on my chart table, after having rapidly taken cover at the bottom of a gear bag for the first two days to avoid any flying around(I don't think they realise they are birds!)