Vendée Globe

November 18. 2008 at 18:51Steve the mop top

"I might have a go at cutting my hair later, I look like a mop. I didn't get chance to have it done properly before I left. I'm not too worried about the outcome.  It's got three months to grow back if I make a mess of it, which I'm sure I will. If you see me wearing a hat in any video footage you'll know why!"   Steve White (Toe in the Water)

November 18. 2008 at 18:39Today's top performers

 - Over 24 hours, Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) covered the greatest distance towards the finish, 256.7 miles (averaging 10.7 knots)

- Yann Eliès (Generali) and Arnaud Boissières (Akena Vérandas) both climbed two places in 24h, moving from eighth to sixth in the case of Eliès, and from thirtenth to eleventh in the case of Boissières.

 

November 18. 2008 at 17:27Armel Le Cléac'h's view on the Doldrums

"We have more to lose than to win in the Doldrums.  Everyone will be fighting to try to reduce the risk of getting left behind. The fact that we're all bunched up could limit the danger of seeing huge gaps develop on the way out. But at the same time, we all know that there is something completely random about the Doldrums.  It takes just one calm to find yourself stuck for hours on end, while the others make their getaway. We'll be able to see the first set of results 24 hours from now..."  Armel Le Cléac'h (BritAir)

 

November 18. 2008 at 17:12Caffari judges her performance

Back in 16th place, 345 miles from Peyron after a great start to the race, Dee Caffari has been reflecting on he performance since the start:
"I started so well and within a week I have lost it so quickly so it’s very frustrating. I started at the top and I suppose there was only one way to go. I really believed at the start that I could do it but as soon as these islands got in the way and they required a long-term strategy. That is where I don’t really have the experience and it shows. I’ve made some silly mistakes in going for short term gain over a long term strategy. Now it’s going to take a long time to catch up but I have the South Atlantic to catch them up. If you lose touch with everyone in the south, it is really hard. I will make some gains while the others are entering into the Doldrums and hopefully I will have a good Doldrums but who knows. It’s all a bit of a lottery."
Dee Caffari (Aviva)

 

November 18. 2008 at 16:45Into the great unknown

"We're in a small group of ten boats, battling it out.  Yesterday I was sailing within sight of Roland Jourdain on Veolia. It's fascinating looking at the rankings and trying to analyse them.  It is clear we could see the race starting all over again in the Doldrums, with everything being put back to zero. I could find myself in the lead or relegated 100 miles back.  I hope I'm well placed to the west, even if it's difficult to plan for what we are about to face…" Yann Eliès (Générali)

 

November 18. 2008 at 15:30Moving on up

"I'm sailing permanently between 15 and 17 knots having found some wind that wasn't really forecast. I was just about to hoist the spinnaker and in the end I had to sheet in the sails.  Ahead it looks a real mess, and meanwhile, I've moved up a  few places. It was about time for the trend to be reversed."  Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) speaking on today's radio session.

 

November 18. 2008 at 13:59Sébastien Josse kept busy

Sébastien Josse on today's radio session:

"The sea is calm and I'm sailing at ten knots with the wind from astern… It's better than last night, when I came to a standstill for a few hours.  I had a lot of manoeuvres to do and a series of tacks.  I was kept busy on the winches. We don't really have the normal pattern of trade winds.  They are already disturbed by the Doldrums. I think we should reach them tomorrow (Wednesday) late in the afternoon.  But it's not easy to be more precise, as the situation keeps changing with each satellite photo, between yesterday's and this morning's.  In any case, we'll all be arriving there at the same time. The routing programmes show us (the leading group) arriving at the Doldrums with only ten miles separating us." Sébastien Josse (BT)
 

November 18. 2008 at 13:55Fantastic sailing for Derek Hatfield

Currently in 25th place, 1608 nautical miles from the leader, after restarting the race, Derek Hatfield is currently sailing at the latitude of Southern Portugal and has finally picked up some strong winds.
"From flat seas and little wind to 25 knots and building seas. I've had a fast and furious night as the wind has kicked in from the NE. It started to build around midnight and I had the gennaker and full main and the boat took off on the flat seas, hitting speeds of 20 knots or more. With a moon lite night, it was fantastic sailing and I spend the night on deck watching the water rush by. I've changed to the genoa and one reef and am still getting surfs up to 20 knots. But now I'm tired and must sleep for a while to catch up."  
Derek Hatfield (Algimouss-Spirit of Canada)

 

November 18. 2008 at 13:02A question of instinct

Contacted by his shore team this morning, Jean-Pierre Dick confirmed the weather in the Doldrums is particularly difficult to predict at the moment.
«About 400 miles from here, I'll be entering the Doldrums.  The weather info in the various models does not concur.  We have to take advantage of any opportunities that may appear.  I tend to be working by instinct in addition to what I see in the computer data."

 

November 18. 2008 at 11:50Light winds for Sam

"I went past the island of Santo Antao, the westernmost island of the Cape Verdes, last night. I was careful to leave 60 miles between me and the island to avoid any wind shadow... and I had checked on the satellite images that there was no nasty wind shadow..... BUT, between me checking, and me arriving there, something changed, and consequently I plonked myself in a bit of a patch of light wind. So, to take my mind off the fact that I had finally let Dominique overtake me, I got out my ipod and listened to some music out in the cockpit, where I could keep an eye on the sail trim at the same time, as in the light and shifty winds it is important to trim to perfection, and I did NOT want to give away any more miles than necessary! Although I am a bit frustrated, the consolation is that (except Dominique) I think the option to pass West of the islands will gain some miles on the others."

Sam Davies (Roxy)