Vendée Globe

November 15. 2008 at 18:54Letting some air in

"In general, I'm pleased about my trajectory to the west.  I willingly gave up a little ground to head off  in that direction and I don't have any regrets about that, as it has allowed me to move away from the wind shadow of the islands.  If I'm managing to catch up those in front, it means things are going well.  Temenos II is sailing well and it's great for the morale, when I see the miles being won back.  The night started off nicely, with a steady 20 knots with 25-knot gusts and a few squalls. (...)  Then, after 3 in the morning, the wind dropped and I only have around ten knots.  The trade winds seem to have been interrupted and we're going to face two days of light conditions.  The boat doesn't sail by herself and the sea and waves tend to move her to the left and right, as the wind is so irregular. So it's better to stay at the helm and trim to ensure she keeps going well.  That requires concentration, and quite  lot of coffee, but it's not unpleasant. It's really nice weather and the conditions are quite pleasant.  I opened up the boat to let some air in and dry outside the inside, which is a good thing.» Dominique Wavre (Temenos II)

November 15. 2008 at 16:12Jean-Baptiste Dejeanty to restart the race

Jean-Baptiste Dejeanty (Maisonneuve) has called the measurers in Les Sables d’Olonne to ask them to seal his engine: he intends to start the race again at around 17h (local time) on Sunday 16th November. 

"Having spent a long time reflecting on this decision and in spite of how far behind the fleet I shall be, I have decided nevertheless to set out again. My sponsor, Jean-Paul Hembise, CEO of Groupe Maisonneuve, joined me yesterday in Les Sables d'Olonne and we talked things through. Whether it was with him, the whole team or the race directors whom I have just informed, everyone agrees that it is out of the question for me to take any risks. Once in the South Atlantic, if I have the slightest doubt about going any further, because I am still so far behind the rest of the fleet or I feel like fate is against me, I shall take the necessary decision.  We will thus be able to avoid having any regrets and have a sense of fulfilment, whatever happens. For the moment, it does not look unreasonable to set out again. On Maisonneuve, the glue work is over. We have the painting left today and then we have to tidy her up.  As far as the weather is concerned, I'll be setting out in light conditions in the Bay of Biscay, which will allow me to find my feet.  It should take two days to reach Cape Finisterre and pick up a favourable northerly flow of around 20-25 knots off the coast of Portugal. From the race point of view, my goals are firstly to attempt to catch up a  few competitors before the Cape of Good Hope and, secondly,  to race to improve on Vincent Riou's 2005 reference time of 87 days."
 

November 15. 2008 at 15:28Speed is Bernard's priority for now

"Things haven't gone as we planned. That's the way it is. I'm going to continue to make the best headway I can, grabbing any opportunities that may present themselves. Of course, it's not the race I was looking forward to.  I don't have the same conditions as the others.  It's a different race. All I can do for now is to try to get going as quickly as possible, without even thinking of catching up the others.  There's a long way to go.  We shall have to wait and see what happens. I'm just concentrating on Cheminées Poujoulat's speed."   Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat)

 

November 15. 2008 at 14:50The Life of Brian: Day 6

I’m not just a dot on the screen!
  
" A very busy couple of days on Bahrain Team Pindar, as I head southwards towards the equator. I am just passing the Canary Islands which are 140 miles to the east now. It really feels like hardly any time has passed since the start, it has been  so full on since then, concentrating on getting the most out of the boat, navigating and dealing with the inevitable problems along the way. I realized that it was high time to write a report and tell you my latest news. "

 

"Literally as I was writing this, the autopilot just decided to turn itself off!!!!!!  This was a minor disaster..We had a full main and fractional code0 (reacher) up in 20 knots of wind, and the boat went into a gybe, ending up 60 degrees on her ear, with keel and stack on the wrong side.I had to sort all the gear out (runners, keel, main, mast rotator, jib sheets, etc), and unfortunately in the melee, one of the reef lines got around the wind generator and broke it off its mount at the 45 degree bend in its support tube. Otherwise boat unscathed, but  a loss of the wind generator is a really big problem for our fuel consumption but I think I can find a way to fix it on to the remaining tube. I think I can do it. The bigger issue, is this going to keep happening to the pilots? This is my 4th time so far over on my ear, which is unheard of in such a short period. I am not keen to do one of these with a spinnaker up, it is very likely to damage the spinnaker."

 

" Nobody said the Vendee was easy, that’s the challenge, and its normal to be dealing with a myriad of issues as well as sailing around the planet, and I was about to write about those issues when this new one just came along! "
 

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)