Vendée Globe

November 25. 2008 at 14:51Steve the ornithologist

Having crossed the Equator yesterday morning, Steve White (Toe in the Water) is currently in 18th place, 719 miles from the leader. He wrote this message this morning, as he was sailing off Natal at the eastern tip of Brazil.
   
"I spent an hour on deck standing at the back of the boat and just watching, getting the occasional dousing in spray from a warm sea, and bathed in very powerful sunshine. I stood there until I was at risk of burning just watching a sea bird who was a bit like a racing gannet, very sleek and pointy with a brown back, white and brown underneath and with little orange feet. He was flying about thirty feet up directly to windward of the bow of the boat, with his head looking all about the sea surface just in front of the boat. After a short while it became apparent as to what he was doing; every few minutes, and sometimes more frequently, we would scare up one or sometimes a number of flying fish, whereupon he would do his Peregrine Falcon impression and chase them, inches above the water at high speed. On innumerable occasions he was oh so close that I'm sure he could almost taste them, they would go into torpedo mode, fold up their wings and disappear beneath the surface. He never got one, but he never gave up either. I can still see him out there now through the window as I write. I'm sure he'll get one in the end..."

 

November 25. 2008 at 13:44Crossing the Equator with Rich Wilson

Rich Wilson (Great American III) crossed the Equator during the night and filmed the countdown as the GPS went from north to south.  You can watch this video simply by clicking on the video in the media section.  

 

November 25. 2008 at 12:21Jean-Pierre watching Mike Golding closely

Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac 2) sent this message to his shore team this morning:
"The wind shifted earlier for Loïck and Sébastien. They accelerated before me.  I think now I have the same wind as them and am picking up speed.  Further to the west, Golding is sailing very quickly.  I'm going to have to keep an eye on the English fireman.
Today I have a lot of strategy to work on. I'm going to be spending a lot of time at my chart table studying the weather. Things can change quickly, but none of the weather models seem to agree.  There is a huge high blocking our route, so we're going to have to watch that. The route we decide on is a gamble about the future.  Everyone is heading south. There are no other options for the moment as the situation is not clear.  Apart from that, everything is fine on board: I got some rest to deal with St. Helena and I'm looking after my boat before we hit the south."
 

November 25. 2008 at 10:08Fancy meeting you here

Brian Thompson (Pindar) is currently sailing at the latitude of Bahia in 11th place, 241 miles from the leader.  After over two weeks of racing, it is clearly a pleasure to catch sight of someone else.
"Even though it's an enormous ocean I have seen other boats during the race, Ecover near Madeira, Roxy three times and this is the second time I have seen Dominic. I have talked to all 3 boats and it is great to chat just for a few minutes about the extraordinary experiences we are all having out here in the Vendee Globe.  Saw one gannet yesterday with bright red feet, a storm petrel, and several very large flying fish."  

 

November 25. 2008 at 09:50Watch the day's highlights

Remember you can watch the highlights of the day to catch up on what has been going on in the race. Just click on the daily report video in the media section each evening.

November 25. 2008 at 08:38Sam's late night message

"Hello earthlings!

Out here on the South Express road we are still careening along on a fast upwind angle. Life continues at an angle of 20 degrees.
Today I discovered that a diesel tank has sprung a little leak, so that is a repair on the job list, and luckily I still have some oil absorbing cloths to clean up with. I'm waiting until it is a little less bumpy to do the job properly!
I had a shower like the boys do this afternoon - on the bow in the spray.  Not bad - the sea is so warm - but not quite enough spray to rinse my hair off! obviously the last rinse is with a litre of fresh water, so now I am nice and clean with soft skin! I've even got clean clothes on!
This evening it was "TV dinner" - freeze dried lasagna in front of my computer screen."

Sam Davies (Roxy)

 

November 25. 2008 at 08:06What to wear?

"More of the same sailing with big black clouds mixing it up for us. A wet and hot ride makes it difficult to dress for these conditions. Wet on deck and hot below. Lots of tweaks will keep the progress south going."

Dee Caffari (Aviva)

 

November 25. 2008 at 07:40Rich Wilson crosses the Equator

Jonny Malbon (Artemis), Raphaël Dinelli (Fondation Ocean Vital) and Rich Wilson (Great American III) all crossed the Equator during the night;  Here's a short message from Rich written yesterday shortly before he reached the imaginary line.

"We thought that we'd escaped the doldrums yesterday, but that was not the case. 13 sail changes in 15 hours last night and this morning (Monday). It was beyond fatiguing trying to keep up with the squalls and light air spots, to keep the boat moving in the right direction. It was also very painful for my back and rib, but I can't stop for that. That huge black cloud up there? Will we intersect it? If yes, we better take a reef right now... if not, well then we'll risk being wrong and have to take the reef during the tumult. It's so hard to know for sure whether my sail choices are going to be the right choices. Sometimes I put a reef in, and then the squall cloud goes by without any wind at all; other times I may not put in a reef and then the wind that comes is more than we can handle. Very difficult to get it right all the time.
The good news is that I did get a snooze or two. The computer started acting up yesterday. I should have known it would happen, because it's too hot here in the cabin for it, particularly when charging the batteries with the engine. So I turned off the computer, network, monitor and inverter, to cool them down. Then I didn't fire them up again until late last night, and then only for an hour or so. It will be a little less convenient to have to turn on the computer every time I want to use it, but that choice will hopefully save the computer--and save some amperes and power on the boat, too."

November 25. 2008 at 07:11Rock-climbing

«In these sea conditions and at this heel, moving around the boat is more like rock climbing than sailing. You need to get a good hold with one hand before taking the other one away,as you move around the inside and the cockpit. You had better have a pilot's licence but the runway may not be clear if you need to do an emergency landing. You are likely to have a big mess, if you don't hold on to things. I won't go into details... I heard them say in the that it was going to continue like this for several days. These sailors must be crazy. Looking at it like that, that's true.»

Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia)

November 25. 2008 at 06:13Pleased to be working

"I'm sailing at 17-18 knots with the wind on the beam under solent and full mainsail. She's slamming into the waves, but everything is OK on board PRB. The weather models do not concur with the strength and direction of the wind we are getting. I'm not dissatisfied to have work to do. When sailing upwind, there's not a lot you can do. I was starting to get a bit depressed about it (laughs)!" Vincent Riou (PRB)