Vendée Globe

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)

 

November 18. 2008 at 09:58Back to porridge this morning

"A good night for me – better speed and better direction.  Hopefully I will have taken a few miles off the guys directly in front of me. It's amazing to watch Mich sprinting down the west at such pace. Incredible.  Anyway, breakfast time once again.  I think I will have some porridge today, a bit more traditional than the curry I had yesterday!"
 
Jonny Malbon (Artemis II)

November 18. 2008 at 07:21Brian Thompson through the middle of the islands

Brian Thompson (Pindar) has just passed the Cape Verde Islands and last night explained his decision to cut through the middle. 
"I was not expecting to take this route through the islands, but the weather reports from both the European and US models were showing very light winds to the west of the archipelago for when I got there.  Going west would be the route that I would normally want to take.  The two weather models are wildly divergent on what will happen after the islands. The US model shows 25 knots of wind and the European one 5 knots! Something in between would be fine by me. The doldrums still look messy, and I am sure all the skippers are looking at the satellite pictures, quickscat data and gribs, and still looking at their tea leaves as well."

 

November 18. 2008 at 06:14Last night's messages

"Hi there, a dark sleepless night.  Lots of sail changes in the pleasant warmth of the night.  Sailed upwind of Boavista, but couldn't see anything."
Arnaud Boissières (Akena Vérandas)

"The half moon is shining and the stars are out. The spinnaker and mainsail are looking very white in the moonlight. Calm seas given the wind. 20-24 knots of wind and a boat speed of 14-16 knots. The boat is sailing well and I'm doing fine. See you tomorrow..." Rich Wilson (Great American III)