"Hi there.  My night message is actually my day message, as from 20H30 TU it has been light on board Foncia. There's a moon out and the skies were covered in stars as there were just a few clouds on the horizon.  The moon came out,  a full moon, firstly orange, then yellow, lighting up the waves.  With 30 knots of wind you could already see the white tops.  It lasted for ten minutes, but it was a magical moment.  A little moment to savour.  Tried to get some sleep in the bunk, but it was moving around too much, so I tried the pouffe and fell asleep.  It's nice to be able to say that I'm sleeping when others are working.  Hope that doesn't upset anyone."
Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) in his message received during the night

 

"Hi there! During the night something got caught up in the keel. I thought first of all it was a piece of rope or a mooring cable.  I stopped the boat and went backwards and it came away!  An hour later and it happened again. I zig-zagged with the boat and set off again.  I think it must have been weed.  Apart from that the Véranda is gliding along ahead of the next low-pressure system that should take us along quickly to the Australian gate. "
Arnaud Boissières (Akena Vérandas) in his daily message

 

Over the past 24 hours, it is Sébastien Josse (BT), who covered the greatest distance towards the finish. Between 19h yesterday evening and this evening, Sébastien currently in 5th place, 78.1 miles from the leader, covered 442.5 miles

 

Norbert Sedlacek (Nauticsport-Kapsch) on today's radio session: «I have had some small electrical problems, but now they are solved.  Everything is fine on board.  the worst was three days ago with 45 knots. But it was the sea state that really poses the problem. I have been talking with Raphaël Dinelli this morning, as he's within fifty miles, and you could say we're sailing along together, which is good.»

"It's a bit like a dream this morning. A short respite before the next big blow. The first went over yesterday evening; I had 55 knots at times. The boat did really well, but I found it really hard. I'm taking advantage of the calmer conditions to tidy up the boat and clean up.  I've been talking on the phone with Brian, Jonny and Arnaud.  There's a real camaraderie between us."
Dee Caffari during today's radio session

 

Bernard Stamm talking about Cheminées Poujoulat early this afternoon
“She is floating albeit low in the water and heeled over. Everyone here has given me a hand and Dominique Wavre also helped me out a huge amount. If we manage to load Cheminées Poujoulat in time, I will also embark on the Marion Dufresne bound for Reunion or elsewhere. I don’t yet know what’s going to happen but there’s a lot of work ahead. The most pressing matter is to get the boat out of the water. It’s not possible to leave her in the water in the Kerguelens. This Vendée Globe started off badly and has ended painfully, because there’s nothing worse than seeing your boat driven onto the shore."