Newswire : Decisions to be made later, rather than sooner

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November 23. 2008 at 21:26Decisions to be made later, rather than sooner

Between the high pressure area in the south and South Africa, a series of small low-pressure area are bubbling up with fronts, and erratic winds have been in place for several days and this will be the case until Wednesday. By then, the leading group will already be at the latitude of Salvador da Bahia, still with east south-easterly winds. Thus there is no short cut to cut across towards the Cape of Good Hope, as the further east the boat, the stronger the headwinds. The normal route, which means a gradual route towards South Africa seems to be blocked for the moment. If this configuration lasts they will have to sail upwind down almost the whole of the South Atlantic to 32° South, or more than 1500 miles and practically a week of sailing… Already 46 hours outside of the 2004 record time to the Equator, the fleet would lose even more days in this stretch to the Cape of Good Hope.

At the moment, it is too early to tell what exactly will happen in the South Atlantic, but the question will be raised by the solo sailors on Monday evening, as choices will need to be made: a move towards the Brazilian coast to sail more quickly or hug the wind to move south-eastwards to pick up the headwinds as soon as possible. Or maybe wait patiently for the situation to evolve so that a decision can be made later. They will all be watching each other. Once again, those chasing on behind should have an advantage watching what happens to then leaders. It's not easy being at the front!

November 23. 2008 at 21:25Jonny Malbon, A difficult few days

Hi, had a very difficult few days, lots of squalls, totally becalmed while boats sailing past me to the east! Yesterday was 1 long squall with 20-36 knots for ages. Thunder and lightning in the night…. Last night was better with less squalls and less wind.

I have a problem with my charging system, which has caused a spike to the fleet 77. the Fleet is no longer operational. I have spent all day trying to fix it, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. Fingers crossed!!

Other than that life is good, I need some rest for sure, so will try in a minute. hope the next few days will be less frustrating and that I can recover some of the lost miles.

Cheers, jonny and Artemis II

November 23. 2008 at 20:18Greatest distance in 24 hours

Once again, it is the sailor bringing up the rear of the fleet, who has covered the greatest distance in 24 hours. Jean-Baptiste Dejeanty (Groupe Maisonneuve), who restarted the race a week after the official start covered 326.9 nautical miles towards the finish over the past 24 hours. Still in 26th place, he is currently sailing to the north of the Cape Verde Islands around 146 miles behind Derek Hatfield (Algimouss-Spirit of Canada).

November 23. 2008 at 19:45Jérémie Beyou proceeding with the utmost caution

Jérémie Beyou (Delta Dore) has decided to head for the Brazilian port of Salvador da Bahia, following damage to his spreaders. He has reduced speed and is attempting to avoid putting any additional strain on the rig. This evening he sent the following message to the race directors.

"I'm heading for Bahia. That should allow me to continue with the wind on the beam and stay on the port tack. I'm trying to sail heeled over (keel down) to stop the spreaders from banging into the mast tube. I tried to get hold of them, but with the sea state, it's moving around too much and I almost had my head cut off. So I just hope they don't destroy the mast before I reach calm waters and that the mast will remain standing."

November 23. 2008 at 18:34Popping the cork

You can watch Dee Caffari (Aviva) cross the Equator in her latest video. She offers a gift to Neptune and toasts him with some champagne. Just click on 'videos' in the media section.

November 23. 2008 at 17:44Séb Josse's analysis of the weather

"The St. Helena high is much further west than usual. It is completely blocking our route, but in the next few days, it should move back eastwards. That is exactly what we want, as we should then be able to return to downwind sailing." Sébastien Josse (BT)

November 23. 2008 at 14:51Derek's daily message

Currently to the north-west of the Cape Verde Islands, Derek Hatfield (Algimouss-Spirit of Canada) is in 25th place 1401 miles from the leader. Here is his daily message:

"Hot hot hot. 34 C inside the cabin so I will be quick today. As I sit here dripping with sweat, the trade winds are weak again today so a little slower progress. All is well and I have been able to make some headway with the charging system and I think we at least have a chance to fix the wind generator. I have to wait for a calm day to go out on the back of the boat to try the repair."

November 23. 2008 at 13:37More gifts for Neptune

"Hi there, I crossed the Equator at 10H40 UTC. Offered a gift to Neptune, some vanilla cream, a nice glass of water (mineral water) and the southern hemisphere welcomed me with a big squall with 25 knots winds and heavy rain to wash off the Veranda and its owner. Goodbye to the northern hemisphere. See you in a few weeks!"
Arnaud Boissières (Akena Vérandas)

November 23. 2008 at 10:51Decent speed for the moment

"Everything is fine here! I'm still sailing in the trade winds. On board the boat, all is well. I slept well during the night and am eating well. I'm taking advantage of some quiet time to carry out some repairs before reaching the far south in ten days or so. My home is heeling over and it's wet out on deck. This tack looks a bit long. I'm trying to keep ahead of those chasing after me. The goal is to stay in the first three. I've a decent speed for the moment, but everyone is sailing quickly!" Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac 2)