Derek Hatfield (Algimouss-Spirit of Canada) in 24th place is now only 16 miles ahead of Jean-Baptiste Dejeanty and some 1468 miles from the leader.

"The wind had backed enough to start reaching again and it feels great not to be upwind. I am on the direct route south and the weather files look interesting ahead for the mid fleet positions. I think that there might be some room to make up some time on the frontrunners. Yesterday, my inexperience in the IMOCA 60 boats came to the fore as I tried all day to get the boat balanced and up and running smoothly. It was a very frustrating day knowing that Jean is moving up from behind and there is nothing I can do about it right now. I must have tried every sail configuration possible with the limited number of sails that I have to try and get the boat balanced so that I felt that it was meeting potential. I don't think I ever succeeded for more than a few hours at a time. The wind was variable and shifting 25 degrees each side as well. Today is a much better situation and I am trying hard to hold Jean of as long as possible.  If the weather files are correct, we might have downwind conditions with 30-35 knots in a few days. It's time to start thinking about those high wind days that we all want to experience in the south." 

 

At 16h30, Fondation Ocean Vital was a few hundred metres south of the island of Trindade and is due to drop anchor in the next hour.

Roland Jourdain has his crickets.  Sam Davies, Lucky and Foxy, her duck and flamingo. Jean Le Cam has Léon the hedgehog and his friends.  Today, we discovered that Yann Eliès (Générali) has Aquilon the crow, a cuddly toy given to him by some French school children, and which he is proud to show off in this photo.  

Brian Thompson has completed the four-hour penalty that the international jury awarded Bahrain Team Pindar on the 10 November

Sam Davies (Roxy) in her daily log:

"Hello everyone from a bit too near the middle of the St Helena high pressure!  I have had a busy morning, as I have quite a few jobs on the job-list and a lot of checks that I want to make. At about 5 am when the wind had dropped and freed enough to be safe for me to go out on my bowsprit, I got busy with the first job - replacing the gennaker tack line. With that job ticked off, I hoisted and unrolled the gennaker! The next job was the trickiest one, as part of my rudder system had broken, and I didn't have a replacement piece, so I had to get the tools out and make one! I had checked out with the Roxy team what we thought the safest and best solution would be previously. The broken piece is on the starboard rudder, so I needed to gybe to finish the work! Luckily, there was a nice wind shift, so I managed to gybe and install my new piece.  I had been hoping for light winds for the repair to the rudder, but now I have finished it, I am hoping that I have not cut the corner of the St Helena High Pressure too much, and that the wind gods will be kind to me an let me escape!"

 

"Yesterday, it wasn't easy in the calms. Today, the wind will get up. I'm sailing downwind under spinnaker.  That's great after so much upwind sailing.  The boat and sailor are both ready to face the southern seas and the Roaring Forties."  Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac 2) by e-mail.