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December 02. 2008 at 11:45Squid attack

"It seems that as the temperature drops, the size of squid increases, so does the intensity of its ink, thus increasing the overall mess on the deck! Last night's suicide attacker was just one, rather large, inky squid, who landed just aft of the cockpit next to the starboard tiller! That means he managed to cross the cockpit in mid-air. Lucky I was not out there at the time! I thought getting walloped in the face by a flying fish was bad enough, but I dread to imagine getting "squidded" in the face..... must be a bit like getting pooed on by a seagull in Lorient. Last night was the first "rock and roll" sailing of this race. Windy, but not too much, just to get used to it! 22 knots was the surfing speed. Although Roxy was totally under control, I found it hard to sleep. This will take some getting used to!"
Sam Davies (Roxy) in her daily message.

December 02. 2008 at 09:25Jonny completes his penalty

Jonny Malbon (Artemis) completed his 30-minute penalty this morning at 8h05 UTC. Like several other competitors, he was given the penalty by the International Jury for passing a buoy on the wrong side shortly after the start from Les Sables d'Olonne.

December 02. 2008 at 08:08Jonny hits a whale

"At approx 1236 UTC today I hit a large animal, probably a whale at 15 knots. The boat stopped dead in the water, and remained there for about a minute until the animal released itself from the daggerboard. I was under 1 reef and Jibtop at the time. Once we had broken free, we sailed off very quickly, but I could clearly see the animal astern in a lot of trouble. I have some serious damage to my starboard daggerboard, but the boat is fine and the structure surrounding the daggerboard is intact. We have not taken on any water. I will be continuing to race, and will monitor the condition of both the board and the boat."
Jonny Malbon (Artemis) in his early morning message

December 02. 2008 at 07:55Desjoyeaux catching up on the news

"I don't know what it's like where you are, but here it was a dull weekend. Nobody rang, nobody wrote, as it was the weekend. Then on Monday, its starts again:
"- What did you do this weekend?
- Sailing and you?
- Me too. We sailed. It was cold the rain was horizontal, raining cats and dogs
- So you were in Brittany?
- How did you guess? As they say, the weather isn't bad in Brittany. It's the boots that are bad!
- So how did the race go?
- I hopped into the bus lane, which meant I slipped by. Fortunately there were no police around to stop me. Otherwise I'd have been in trouble.
-What about the others?
- I don't know really. I was a long way away. Had a bad start. Haven't seen everything that has been happening. Wondering whether they haven't run into a patch of oil on the road as they were all over the place. Think one may have gone into the ditch and dented his wheels hubs."

Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) in his night message

December 02. 2008 at 07:21With an eye on a lady

"The wind has eased off and is now more from astern. We're making our way around the St. Helena high. As usual a lady is the centre of our attention, even in the middle of nowhere. At the moment, the problem is trying to get as close as possible to the centre of the high to avoid going the long way around, but at the same time not too close because of the risk of falling into wind holes. Looks like a busy night making sail changes to adapt to the wind shifting behind us. Hope we don't get delayed in this high for too long, as our mates have already found the westerly wind."

Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat)

December 02. 2008 at 06:35Dee's knee

After discussions with Dee Caffari's doctor, concerning her knee problem, it appears the inflammation does not concern the joint, but only the tissue around the knee cap. This is probably due to resting too long on this area during the long period of upwind sailing heeled over on the starboard side. Thanks to the treatment and advice she has received, it now seems to be improving. She must, however, monitor the situation over the coming days.
Dr Jean-Yves Chauve

December 02. 2008 at 06:10Steve White completed his penalty

Steve White completed his 30-minute penalty yesterday evening at 20h04 UTC. Like several other competitors, he was given the penalty by the International Jury for passing a buoy on the wrong side shortly after the start from Les Sables d'Olonne.

December 01. 2008 at 20:04Greatest distance over 24 hours...

Today's prize for the greatest distance covered towards the finish goes to Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia), who clocked up 345 miles over the past 24 hours. This evening, he is in eleventh place only 20 miles behind Marc Guillemot in the rankings.

December 01. 2008 at 19:21A helicopter for Loïck Peyron

“I have a big bag containing a mixture of birthday and Christmas presents. As a result I’ve opened a few presents today and of particular note was a present from my eldest daughter as well as one from Gitana Team: a small, remote-controlled helicopter!” Loïck Peyron, celebrating his 49th birthday is in second place this evening, 43 miles from the leader.

December 01. 2008 at 18:54Dinelli's halyard problem

Message sent today by Raphaël Dinelli (Fondation Ocean Vital): "Following the decision not to stop off Trindade yesterday evening, we decided to head for Vitoria in Brazil. This morning I managed to remove the loose part of the mainsail halyard cover and I put two stitches in so the halyard will work. The cover has come off the length of the mast starting with the fixed point at the top of the mast. I'm heading now for the Tristan Islands to try to drop anchor there. I think I can sail without damaging the halyard up to first reef, unless it's gone right through at the top. See you soon. Raphaël"