Vendée Globe

December 04. 2008 at 13:32The low down on the first low

Mike Broughton,  Dee Caffari's weather trainer describes, in a little more detail, the  low pressure system which is reaching the fleet  at the moment:
‘There is a pernicious little low pressure system approaching Aviva from the north-west and is set to bring storm force winds for a few hours on Friday. A lot of people think the low pressure systems just roll eastwards in the Southern Ocean, whereas every ten days or so, a tropical low slips south in the centre of the South Atlantic.
Originating in Brazil, these low pressure systems develop on a long 'waving front', they hold a huge amount of moisture in the warm air and generate big thunder storms and gusts up to 60 knots. The system is deepening through the next 24 hours and will probably give Dee storm force winds around 'rush hour' time on Friday afternoon!’

December 04. 2008 at 11:28Roxy Rock n Roll

"Writing is becoming harder, as Roxy is moving around quite a bit on the waves now!! There are around 35knots of wind and we are reaching fast in a rather rough sea - quite fun!  Last night, when the wind was at my "limit" of 27 knots I furled the big gennaker. As you can imagine, to roll away 250 square metres of Cuben Fibre in nearly 30 knots is quite a task! The law works that the windier it is, the tighter the roll, hence, the more turns you have to do! So that makes a fair amount of winding to get the thing under control. "Under Control" is perhaps not the best word to describe what is now a very slim, but very stiff "snake" that is now dangling from the masthead. The next task (I remind you that the "platform" on which we are working is FAR from stable) is to get the said "snake" into the forepeak! Ha - easy I hear you say! Well, sometimes! The only trouble is that the thing seems to have its own idea of where it is going and how it wants to descend. It is so tightly rolled that it will only bend at certain points, and at other areas it is more like a spring! It reminds me of a TV out-take of a little boy with a live eel in his hand trying to put the eel in a jar, the eel will not go in no matter how hard he tries! Last night I was that boy, the gennaker was the eel and the forepeak was the jar!"

Sam Davies (Roxy) in her daily message

 

December 04. 2008 at 10:23Catch up on the daily news each evening

A reminder that each day you can catch up on the latest news from the Vendée Globe by watching the short daily summary online.  Yesterday, the leading boats were passing through or preparing their way through the first Ice Gate.  To view the video, just click here and select daily report.

 

December 04. 2008 at 09:18Rudder box damage on Pakea Bizkaia

This morning at 0530 GMT/UTC, Gonzalo Terceño, the Pakea Bizkaia project manager, informed the Race Directors that Unai Bazurko had a rudder problem.  After hearing a loud noise, the Basque sailor saw that his starboard rudder cassette is damaged

The damage has forced him to change to a NE’ly course, towards the lighter winds of the St. Helena high pressure system, seeking relief from the strong winds. He will then be in a better position to evaluate the extent of the damage and consider the possibilities of carrying out repairs by himself.

This morning at 7h30 GMT/UTC, he was sailing at 37°28 south and 17°16 west. He was on a bearing of 73° and proceeding under reduced sail averaging 2.6 knots. Pakea Bizkaia is currently right in the middle of the South Atlantic, more or less halfway between the coast of South America and Africa, 1730 miles from Cape Town.

December 04. 2008 at 07:14A damned awful night

"I don't like being messed around with like that.  Let me explain. Yesterday was a nice day with sunshine, calm seas, the waves from behind, but not too much wind, 15-20 knots. The forecast said the wind would gradually strengthen, as the low moved in.  So when the wind arrived, we'd deal with it by lowering some sail.  Yesterday evening under spinnaker, the wind strengthened to above 20 knots.  I'm watching.  Above 24 knots.  I get ready to take down some sail.  A first gust at 27 knots.  It's already dark.  The boat is surfing at 23-24 knots.  That's done.  With a third of the moon, we can see what's going on. Clouds scudding along.  Another gust at 29 knots.  Get ready for a blow.  Final manoeuvres.  A 31-knot gust.  Usually I take down the spinnaker to be on the safe side at 25 knots at night.  So it's time to do something.  I drop the spinnaker sock.  28 metres of rope to deal with. In 30 knots.  Spinnaker down.  Stowed.  Up with the solent.  Wind 30 knots.  I tell myself I've done the right thing. I'm going back to bed. A bowl of Chinese noodles.  Wake up an hour or so later. Look at the dials.  Only 20 knots.  We're pitifully slow.  Up with the gennaker.  More quickly than I remember doing before.  The sun comes up.  In an hour it will be above thirty again. A damned awful night.  Too much caution and you lose confidence."
Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia), in his daily message, written as he was 18 miles from the first Ice Gate

 

December 04. 2008 at 06:51The Pied Piper

"Bahrain Team Pindar is the pied piper of the avian world today and I must have a hundred sea birds spiralling around the boat as I head eastwards, 470 miles from the ice gate, and 1300 miles from Cape Town. Perhaps they are hoping that my wake will stir up some food for them, or perhaps it's just a change of scenery from waves, waves and more waves.  There are no albatross amongst them but four very large black petrels and lots of smaller grey and white birds." 

Brian Thompson (Pindar) in his evening message

 

December 03. 2008 at 20:32Greatest distance in 24 hours

Today, it is the Canadian, Derek Hatfield, who has covered the greatest distance towards the finish.  Between 20h yesterday evening and this evening, he is credited with 354 miles.  Derek is now in 22nd place, 1488 miles from the leader.

 

December 03. 2008 at 20:05Jonny's damaged daggerboard

In his latest video, Jonny Malbon (Artemis) explains the damage to his daggerboard.  A chance too to see the new-look Jonny with his beard.  Just click here to view the clip.

 

December 03. 2008 at 19:10Snowing over Temenos

"Last night I experienced a snow squall just behind the front. There wasn’t enough to build a snowman but mid manoeuvre I could see the snowflakes falling in the light of my head torch. You can sense that the weather’s going to change thanks to the appearance of the sky. Yesterday there were some cirrus clouds really high up and today we’re surrounded by low cloud. When the lows hit in this part of the world, it’s always preceded by this type of sky. For the moment, we’re still feeling the effects of the high pressure to our left, but this will give way to a fine low. We should get a good thirty knots or so tomorrow, and that’ll be just the beginning...”
Dominique Wavre (Temenos) in 12th place this afternoon, 260 miles from the leader

 

December 03. 2008 at 18:13How to pass the Ice Gates

The Ice Gates are there firstly for safety reasons: they stop the fleet from going too far south  and coming too close to the ice.  They are a sort of firewall.  To pass a gate correctly, you need to either:
- Cross at least once through the gate from south to north
- Cross at least once through the gate from north to south
- Remain on a route to the north of the gate
In short, for a valid passage, a competitor must be positioned at one moment to the north of the points of the segment comprising this gate.