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December 08. 2008 at 14:37Norbert's cold ears

"After the video transmission worked so well today, I was really motivated and just went for it: Sealed the deck house, checked the tension in the the steering lines and the drive belt, sealed the hatch at the front, tidied the cockpit, Sliced some bread, processed photos and video clips…It is simply unbelievable how sensitive I am now, after just 4 weeks. On the one hand I have tears in my eyes when I read that Unai had dropped out. Yet, I know only too well how he must be feeling. There are still 590 nm to the first gate, roughly 1300 nm to the Cape of Good Hope. That should mean a reason to celebrate next weekend – big time! Now I have the winter things on as well, as my ears were cold for the first time today."
Norbert Sedlacek (Nauticsport-Kapsch) in his daily log

December 08. 2008 at 13:52Derek caught in the high

"A very slow night on the good ship Algimouss Spirit of Canada. I think that I have sailed just a little too close to the St. Helena High, the second time I have made this mistake. The highway corridor of wind that made us look so good for the past week has now been officially closed and now we pay the toll. The only real consolation is that the mid fleet is slow as well in parts and are not getting away as much as I expected. I probably have another 20 hours of the light airs and then will pick up speed a bit more towards the east and the next gate. I have officially complied with the first gate having passed north of the west end of the line. Now I can start to think of the next one. I've always said that slow sailing is more stressful than lots of wind and generally that is very true. The frustration level goes through the roof and the time starts to go slowly as well."
Derek Hatfield (Algimouss-Spirit of Canada) in his daily message

December 08. 2008 at 12:13Jet lag

"Well, week five is starting a little slowly, as Roxy is tinkling along in a little light patch. Yet again, a frustrating moment, that I can do nothing about as we slow down, and the others speed up! Never mind, soon we will pick up the wind - I can see that the boats behind me have already started to accelerate. In the meantime, I'm wiggling Roxy towards the Ice Gate the best I can, quite a few gybes and sail changes in store..... It is interesting, now we are speeding along towards the East, we are really starting to "properly" go round the world! The Longitude is counting up, approximately 12 degrees per day! That brings me to one of my favourite expressions - "Chasing the Dawn" - which is literally what we are doing! I learnt this lovely expression from Nick Moloney. It is so accurate, as every day, we get closer to the sunrise.... and if you are lucky enough to get a morning with little cloud, the sun rises right in front of the bow of the boat, which is a rare, and warming sight for the skipper lucky enough to witness it. The only tricky side to this is that every day, the "local time" changes by about an hour and our natural body-clock likes to run with the sun. But Roxy's clock stays in UT (GMT) as that is the time used for my weather info, navigation, and race organisation. So, each day I get to eat breakfast earlier and earlier! Mealtimes change, my ideal "cat-nap" times change.... And I just worked out that during our trip around the world, we win an "extra day" - because in the end we'll be back to where we started!! So, in the time that it takes to get back to the S Atlantic - say 6 weeks - I will have eaten 6 weeks and one day's worth of food!!! Interesting fact of the day!"
Sam Davies (Roxy) in her daily log

December 08. 2008 at 09:05A change in scenery

"Hi there, the wind has eased off. I was a bit exhausted after so many sail changes, so much so that this evening after sleeping for half an hour, I wondered whether I wasn't going to turn on the autopilot on Cheminées Poujoulat, when in fact it was already on. It took me ten minutes to get my head straight and understand that there was nothing to do; And yet I still had the feeling that I hadn't done everything I should have. In short, it wasn't easy waking up. This afternoon was fine, but now the drizzle has returned. It's just like at home. At the moment there is very little wind. You get used to the wind and when it drops off, it feels like there's something wrong, when in fact, all is well. I can't find the right setting for the pilot in wind mode, so it's set for compass, which isn't very practical. It's working, but there must be a problem in the calculation of the real wind. It's not easy to get things organised aboard the boat . There's no separation between the cold and wet and the living quarters. We had planned an area to dry my clothes, but it doesn't work unless the heat is on all the time. The scenery has changed. There are a lot of birds. I'm not a specialist, but I think they must be petrels, terns and of course albatrosses. Haven't seen any marine mammals, except one or two dolphins off the Canaries, but nothing since. At least if I don't see any, I'm not running into any. This is after all their home."
Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat)

December 08. 2008 at 08:02Dee washes her hair to celebrate

"It has been a very ‘Jack Johnson' Sunday. Steady and consistent. The sky began blue and the seas huge again with gusts of 30 knots and above. As the afternoon has crept forward the wind has eased and the waves have reduced, although the blue sky has been lost to Southern Ocean grey with complete cloud cover. This has rapidly reduced the temperature although my northing course before the gybe has taken me to slightly warmer sea temperatures. It is my Mum's birthday tomorrow so as a treat I washed my hair before I called her to wish her birthday greetings. It made me feel a lot better and also I thought my Mum would approve. It is a celebration for her birthday and for crossing the longitude of the first Great Cape."
Dee Caffari (Aviva) in her daily message yesterday evening

December 08. 2008 at 07:40The sea according to Mich Desj

"The other day, someone asked me: "describe the sea!". He should have asked me to describe a sheep. I don't know how to draw, but I could have managed that. But the sea? I think there's a lot of white, as the Swiss say. How can I explain that? You often hear sailors saying "There are some seas!" Obviously, as 75% of the planet is sea. What they mean is there are waves. The waves are made by the wind blowing. The stronger it blows in the same direction, the higher the waves, to keep it simple. Behind the low-pressure area , this morning, the seas became rougher, the wind shifted and is still blowing strongly. Now it's completely confused, blowing in every direction. I think that tomorrow in the high, it's going to be hard and light. Just be careful, if someone offers you a sea platter - that can mean anything."
Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) in his daily message

December 08. 2008 at 06:51Surrounded by foreigners

"Hi there, For more than two hours, I have had light winds with sleet. Hat and gloves time ... It's not easy to push the buttons on the pilot with gloves on! This truly an international Vendée Globe, as I'm surrounded by foreigners. So how do I say Verandas in English? Take care!"
Arnaud Boissières (Akena Vérandas)in his daily message

December 07. 2008 at 20:48Dee in her yellow submarine

"All is good on the yellow submarine today. This morning we had strong gusts and I was shipping lots of water which made me feel like a submarine but that has eased as has the size of the surf. Gybing and moving the stack around below decks will keep me warm tonight as it is very cold at night but the dawn arrives early at about 3am which confuses your body clock slightly."

Dee Caffari (Aviva) in 16th place this evening, 736 miles from the leader.

December 07. 2008 at 20:05Greatest distance in 24 hours

Jean-Pierre Dick's southerly option on Paprec-Virbac 2 has enabled him to cover the greatest distance towards the finish of all the boats in the fleet today. Between 19h UTC yesterday and this evening the leader sailed 424.1 miles towards the finish or in other words achieved a VMG of 17.7 knots over 24 hours.

December 07. 2008 at 19:33Groaning in the gray

"After the strong winds of the last few days, sandwiched between a high and low to create a good gradient, we finally slipped out of the funnel and were faced with lighter winds to the east. So decided to gybe south toward the stronger breezes, likely for a day, then to gybe back for the next icegate, hopefully in stronger wind. Worked down the job list, re-seal a stanchion that was leaking, go into the keel compartment to lubricate the sheaves. There have been some big groans coming from in there and hopefully this will help. Bailed a half bucket from forward and from the sail compartment, still trying to understand where the leak forward is coming from, perhaps the ballast tank vent, just can't tell. It's gray, misty rainy, gray, but it's nevertheless always a wonder to see the albatross fly. They have forgotten more about flying than fighter pilots ever knew. One grandpa came by, enormous, 10' or 11' wingspan, huge body, and never, ever, flapping his wings, just gliding, gliding, gliding...amazing. Got several naps last night, but still seem very tired. Think the toll of the stress of the high speeds the last few days has added in, and also I think that the healing of my rib just needs more sleep. Likely ashore, the prescription would be 2 weeks of bedrest, not, go sail the Vendee Globe!"
Rich Wilson (Great American III) in his daily message