Vendée Globe

December 03. 2008 at 17:36An English voice in the South Atlantic

"I got within 3 miles of Gough Island, a dark mass covered in clouds, full of sea birds with dozens of seals around.  Suddenly I saw a house on the cliff.  There can't be many around here.  I called up on the VHF just to see and five minutes later, a woman answered in English.  They were doing scientific research… We chatted together for a quarter of an hour.  It was a magical moment.  We talked about this and that, the race, what they are doing there… " 

Marc Guillemot (Safran) talking to his shore team today

 

December 03. 2008 at 17:02A personal best for Derek

"Great sailing for the last 24 hours, a personal best in mileage at around 368 miles. Knock on wood (carbon), the weather forecast is still showing the possibility of cutting the corner on the St. Helena High and making some miles on the leaders. I'm watching this very closely as I don't want to get caught in the high pressure system that is coming, it will be brutally windless in this area for a few days on the weekend. The temperature is still very warm and daytime it's shorts and t-shirt and night time a fleece. I can feel the coolness in the air as I head south and it won't be long until the full layers of long underwear and fleece are required. Of course, on deck, it's foul weather gear all the time due to the spray and waves breaking over the boat. Top speed last night was 22 knots with sustained surfs on 18 knots for long periods of time, it was fantastic sailing. Today I've had to back off a gear from the genoa to the solent as the wind is getting up to high 20's. The boat is on the very edge of control and I felt it better to save the genoa to fight another day, given that it's the only one I have on board." 

Derek Hatfield (Algimouss-Spirit of Canada) in his daily message.

 

December 03. 2008 at 16:08Good or bad vibrations?

"Last night had a development. Normally, at 12+ knots, we have a low hum in the keel. At about midnight, suddenly there was a new sound, a very high pitched vibration, very loud, coming also from the keel. Rapid inspection of bulkheads, plus the two huge stainless steel pieces that hold the keel hinge, plus inspection inside the keel compartment, both visual and manual, feeling for cracks, or anything unusual, showed nothing. The keel could cant normally. It was not an electric sound from the motor. We have 2 half conical pieces outside the hull which are fairings for the water to flow past the hinge of the keel. In the past, we have had a corner, or piece, or nick of one of these come off, and I'm pretty sure that that is what our new sound was. The fairings are not structural. The sound was loud and insistent last night. This morning, the sound was different, not so loud, different pitch, mostly water sound, not the sound of something vibrating. Another complete inspection this morning showed nothing unusual in the structural parts, at least what can be seen. So I think we're ok, we've just lost part of a fairing."

Rich Wilson (Great American III) in his daily blog.

 

December 03. 2008 at 15:22Acrobatics

"The wind has eased off and it's much quieter.  I did a few acrobatic tricks in the night. I broached at one point and hurt my foot, but nothing's broken. As a result of that, I don't feel like hoisting any more sail.  As far as the decision to move the gate is concerned, I think that's very wise.  Sending us off to play in the ice would make no sense.  Well done to the organiser."  

Vincent Riou, PRB, on this morning's radio session.

 

December 03. 2008 at 14:30Riding on a juggernaut

Dee Caffari (Aviva) talked again today about her knee infection.
"I still have to be careful and am shuffling everywhere on my bum. I am wearing a knee pad all the time and trying to stay off it but it is amazing how many times you wedge yourself in using your knee – I never realised how much I did it. Even if you are putting a reef in and leaning over a winch, you generally bend your knee and wedge it against something but I can’t do that with that leg.  I have been doing 22 knots and the boat felt like it was a juggernaut but it’s not because it is really windy. She just catches a wave and she’s off on one. It’s a bit weird It’s like being on a train on the edge of control. The noise is awesome - down below you are thinking this is absolutely horrendous then you go up on deck and the boat is fine. The noise does not relay how good it is. ."
 

 

December 03. 2008 at 13:20Thrills and spills in the Forties

Discover what it is like to plough through the southern seas by watching the latest video sent back by Yann Eliès on Générali. Wet, noisy and thrills guaranteed...  Just click here to view this short clip

 

December 03. 2008 at 11:55Jean-Pierre Dick on the attack

"Conditions are not making it easy to sleep. There are sudden gusts of wind, where you have to be very cautious. Yesterday, there was a lot of hard work.  I decided to go on the attack, as I was feeling on form. I kept the small spinnaker up. There was a large swell, but the boat sailed well and kept on track without pitching.  The trim tabs are down and I have stacked everything at the rear.  I spent a  long time at the helm and I'm back in the running. Even if it took a lot of energy, it was worth it. The toughest moment was gybing in the night. I'm heading for the ice gate, which I should reach tomorrow.  this morning, I'm grabbing some rest as there is a steady 25-knot wind." Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac 2) talking to his shore team this morning

 

December 03. 2008 at 10:54Doldrums in the Forties

"Here I am in the "Roaring Forties" and I am going slower than I did in the Doldrums!  An incredibly frustrating night on Roxy. My weather information didn't show that this light spot, otherwise I'd have avoided it. Being pitch black - I didn't see the cloud! I spent a lot of time gybing to try and wriggle out of the clutches of Mr Nasty Cloud. The trouble was, as it was pitch black it was hard to see the best way to go. Obviously, each time I gybed the wind shifted round so I had to re-gybe! In the end, at about 4am, I started feeling some more steady wind, I had to consolidate my route S to escape towards the East. I managed to snatch a bit of sleep right at the end of the night, so I missed the sunrise AGAIN! I am SO frustrated to have lost these miles. I can see that I was the slowest of the fleet all day. The leaders have done a runner, and those behind me have caught up. It is very annoying. It means I have some work to do to make up....." 

Sam Davies (Roxy)

 

December 03. 2008 at 08:08Norbert's busy day

Norbert Sedlacek (Kapsch-Nauticsport) took advantage of some good downwind sailing conditions yesterday to carry out a few odd jobs around his boat, such as the messy job of filling his diesel tank from a can and  he also replaced his faulty satellite beacon.  During his clean up operation, he discovered a small leak around a hatch as the deck has warped slightly, leading to some dripping in the bow section. He is paying attention too to his feet, as treating a fungal infection, which he hopes will clear up before it becomes necessary to wear boots all the time in the deep south.  

 

December 03. 2008 at 07:10Broken bowsprit on Cheminées Poujoulat

"Before entering the Doldrums, on carrying out an inspection of the boat, I realised that my bowsprit was broken again.  It had been compressed towards the bow on the starboard side.  When I looked more closely, it appeared that the new bobstay that was  fitted in Les Sables was not taut.  From the start to the Doldrums, the headsails were up and the load was just too much for the bowsprit.  So consequently, regrettably it's broken and there's a lot of work to do.  I had hoped to take advantage of the calms in the Doldrums to get it fixed, but I had strong winds and thunderstorms, so it wasn't very practical. Around St. Helena there aren't any calms and working on the bowsprit, when  you're heading upwind isn't easy, or even possible. A few days ago, one afternoon, I managed to tighten the bobstay and yesterday, with the spinnaker attached to the bow, I carried out repairs on the carbon. I was pleased to get that out out of the way before 55°S.  Keeping the fingers crossed that it will hold out."
Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat) in his message during the night