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November 17. 2008 at 13:13This morning's 11h rankings

Please accept our apologies for the delay in bringing you this morning's 11h rankings.
The rankings and race tracker have now been updated.

November 17. 2008 at 11:07Jean-Pierre spots Vincent Riou

"I can see PRB a mile downwind of me. He got back up with me during the night. I think I didn't have the spinnaker well trimmed early on , but now I'm off again. He's a good hare to be chasing after today! The major problem is the shift in the wind this morning. The weather is not very certain and the forecasts contradict each other. Between two different forecasts, it's black and white. It's going to take a lot of reflection to find the right route through the Cape Verde Islands without falling into their shadow. We're more than 60 miles from Cape Verde, but you can still find wind holes. A complicated day ahead! " Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec Virbac 2)

November 17. 2008 at 09:53Flying fish attack

"Daybreak over BritAir. The sun is finding it difficult to peek through the clouds, but it's already hot. Some kamikaze flying fish landed on the deck during the night and I've been counting the bits of mess they have left behind. We can just see to our left the Cape Verde Islands and the port of Mindelo (memories of a forced stopover there last year...).
Thought I could hear some music from Cape Verde in the distance last night and maybe even Cesaria Evora...unless I was dreaming...
To keep it short. Am gliding south at the start of this second week and soon time to think about how to approach the Doldrums. We'll see once the conclave has made its judgement."
Armel Le Cléac'h on BritAir

November 17. 2008 at 07:35Norbert at the helm

"Excellent sailing, as can be seen from the log. I'm trying to work on my talent at the helm to be in the best of shape for the southern seas. With a force 6 NE'ly at the moment. Have been at the helm for more than 26 hours now. All's well on board. Should be passing the Canaries early in the morning." Norbert Sedlacek (Nauticsport-Kapsch)

November 17. 2008 at 06:57Because it's worth it

"Since the start, I've been trying to find reasons to do the race, which I've just started. That is quite normal, as I have had to put up with two calm zones since Les Sables. Nothing goes as planned, but I couldn't have imagined this sort of scenario. This is a universe I wouldn't have signed up for, if someone had offered it to me. I'm a bit like a spectator in this race that I have worked so hard to prepare with all my team for months and even years. So there was one question that kept popping up. What's the use? It seems almost impossible to try to get back up with the leaders, unless there is a series of weather complications, which would favour the tail-enders, and that's like playing the lottery. But that does not mean it's impossible. If I hadn't given it a go, it would have stayed with me for a very long time, so that's why I had to do it. Among other reasons. At the moment, I'm under spinnaker and full mainsail with between 15 and 20 knots. Cheminées Poujoulat is gliding downwind with seas that are just crossed enough to make it a bit tougher. That's why it was worth it." Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat)

November 17. 2008 at 06:46Mich Desj' in his slippers

"Ridge of high pressure. High pressure? Not for me. I'm sleeping well, or at least trying to. In fact, the problem is I can only find one shoe. The other one must be buried under the gear. I don't feel like moving everything just for one shoe, so I'm in my special waterproof slippers (...), which are great to sleep in. A quiet night with just a bit of trimming for the gennaker to keep her going. Much better than what the weather forecasts had predicted. Let's just hope it lasts."

Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia)

November 17. 2008 at 06:18Late night curry for Jonny

"Hi, just waiting for my curry to rehydrate!! Had a very busy couple of days, and I am exhausted. Managed to get some sleep today and actually lied down on my sleeping bag for the first time. Have made up some miles on the boats in front, but think this evening has been slow, we shall see. All good on board, had a good tidy up today, the boot and me! Got a few jobs to do tomorrow, but ticked a load off today – the mast rotation sensor is now working so I don’t have to change the offset manually anymore, which is good news. Right, I'm starving, see you later – a plus!"

Jonny and Artemis II

November 17. 2008 at 05:35Arnaud Boissières getting ready for the Cape Verde Islands

"Nice night of gliding along listening to music. Dull and wet night. Ready for the start of a new week of work. Shaved, washed. Cape Verde coming up .... ".Arnaud Boissières (Akena Vérandas)

November 16. 2008 at 21:28The Life of Brian: Day 7

" Last night was one of very light winds as I am close to a small high pressure, and I was sure that I would have lost a lot of miles to all except for Sam (Davies) and Dominic (Wavre) who are close to the same route, but fortunately it was slow for everyone. This afternoon was even slower for me with 6 knots of wind most of the time, and I used the calm conditions to remount the wind generator on the now truncated stern mounting.

I was leaning over the stern lifelines whilst harnessed in as well, and the job involved hacksawing the broken piece off, filing down the remaining piece, sorting out the wiring and then putting the generator on to the pole. The hardest part was to pull through the wiring into the tube whilst fitting the 13kg generator on, as it would have been handy to have someone down below to pull the wiring through from below decks.Not allowed unfortunately, so I had to make do with duct taping the generator to the top of the pole whilst going below to pull through the wires. Great stuff duct tape. The whole job took several hours, and now I need to find some wind to test it. Its not the most elegant looking mount now, but should work.

Lots more jobs to get through today as this will be probably one of the calmest days of the entire voyage, so good to catch up on boat maintenance. Sails, rigging, plumbing and electronics, all the usual culprits - even Nick, our boat captain is sending me emails reminding me of jobs now, and coordinating with the other shore team who are consulting on their various areas of expertise.

Still on the full main and the A2 spinnaker. Wind is starting to fill in so back up to 11/12 knots of boatspeed now. It is astonishing how fast these IMOCA 60s are in light winds, most boats would be motoring and we are gliding along at more than wind speed all the time. Fast sailing to come down towards the Cape Verdes tomorrow, and lets see if we can make some miles on the frontrunners .For sure we will gain when they hit the doldrums but that can be only a temporary, illusory gain, depending on how the doldrums go for each boat - at the moment they look challenging.

Just south of the latitude of Bahrain now, providing the ideal sailing conditions, and heading southwards towards the Cape Verdes. Weather is perfect, warm but not stifling.

Have not seen any wildlife the last couple of days, would love to write of schools of kamikaze flying fish, turtles, but sadly nothing to report.

Yesterday had a wash and a shave, perhaps a little premature after only 6 days, but good to get rid of all that salt from the Bay of Biscay storm.

Spoke to Jeremie Beyou as he was calling Seb Josse but had the wrong number, we had a good little accidental chat, and also had an email conversation with Sam Davies, my current neighbour, and past crewmate on minis and maxicats."

November 16. 2008 at 21:13Dee: Clean boat, clean skipper, faster AVIVA

" Light winds resulted in housework and shower time onboard Aviva. The boat
has been checked from bow to stern and tidied up and also I have taken a
shower and washed my hair which made me feel better despite losing so many
miles. The hard work of gybing and sail changes may have paid off now as we have
come into more breeze allowing us a fast sail south."