Vendée Globe

December 17. 2008 at 15:26Derek looking ahead to the Kerguelens

"The fresh winds from the new low pressure system in the south are propelling me along very efficiently towards the next gate and I'm making some miles on the next boats as I bring in the new wind. I suspect the gains will diminish as I get closer and they start to experience the same wind conditions. I am watching the weather closely and trying to make the decision on a strategy to get around the Kerguelen Islands. I have this theory about islands in the middle of the ocean. They are magnets for carbon boats. Seems no matter what, they eventually become an obstacle that has to be dealt with.  The night was relatively easy but at one point the winds reached 37 knots and it was time to furl the solent as the boat was getting over stressed.  I was getting exhausted as I was unable to sleep with the speeds and noise of the waves and boat on the edge all the time. Sometimes you have to throttle back just a bit to save some energy. I slept for two hours in cat naps and feel much better today for it. The winds have diminished slightly and the solent is back working again."
Derek Hatfield (Algimouss-Spirit of Canada)

 

December 17. 2008 at 11:02Cheminées Poujoulat loaded on the Marion Dufresne

Cheminées Poujoulat has now been successfully loaded aboard the supply vessel Marion Dufresne.  Bernard Stamm is on board, and is said to be relieved, but tired.  The boat is due to leave the Kerguelens in a few minutes according to the government representative, Frédéric Martineau.

 

December 17. 2008 at 09:17Very rough seas for Norbert

"Last night at 1000 utc a very strong squall hit Nauticsport-Kapsch. I was sailing at high speed under genoa 1 and mainsail 2.  As much as I tried, I was not able to continue in these stormy conditions. I had to stop for around one hour to bring both sails down. It was a tricky manoeuvre, the genoa went in the rough sea and all the lines from the mainsail got tangled.  In the end I was able to manage the tricky situation without losing a sail or having important equipment broken, just the genoa has a few little tears near the head. Right now I am again under sail heading to the next waypoint.  The sea is very rough and it is not a nice sail so that means it can only get better."  Norbert Sedlacek (Nauticsport-Kapsch) in his daily message  

 

December 17. 2008 at 08:18Temenos II on her way to Australia

In an e-mail sent this morning to the race directors, Frédéric Martineau, the government representative on the Kerguelens confirmed  that Dominique Wavre set sail this morning at 05.15 UTC.  The Swiss sailor set out «feeling much happier and pleased with the new part, which will allow him to move his keel slightly, thus enabling him to feel much more confident about the next few days of sailing as he makes his way to Australia.»

 

December 17. 2008 at 07:22After the Indian, the Pacific

"The Indian didn't dig up the hatchet, but feathers have been ruffled.  Haven't seen more than 42 knots down here over the last 15 days, served up with a few bits of ice for the drinks.  I can remember tougher conditions in this region. 2 masts, one keel and some rudders and some other unmentionable damage, but what else (and I'm not excluding myself)? So the question today is will the Pacific pacify us (with fewer punishments), some good behaviour and serenity."

Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) in his daily message

 

December 17. 2008 at 06:54Sam's letter to Father Christmas

Dear Santa

I hope I have been good this year, and I hope you have time to come and
visit Roxy this Christmas. If not, don't worry, but if you can, here is
my Christmas wish list:

1. A Gore-tex balaclava
2. A second jockey pole, so I don't have all the palava of changing each
time I gybe
3. A hair-dryer (12 V)
4. Rust cleaner (to get rid of the marks where the solar panels rust)
5. A fractional gennaker
6. A fractional halyard
7. A penguin (request from Lucky and Foxy who are scared of Albatrosses)
8. A nail file
9. Some fruit (mangoes, oranges, apples preferably)
10. Noise reducing headphones

I hope you manage to make everyone happy this year, and that the weather
is kind to you out there on your sleigh....

Love, Sam

PS if you have a tow-rope, I'd love a tow, up to be a bit nearer the
leaders too please! Only if Rudolph doesn't mind the extra weight!

December 16. 2008 at 20:05Greatest distance over 24 hours

Over the past 24 hours it is Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia), who has covered the greatest distance towards the finish.  Between 19h yesterday evening and this evening, the race leader, currently 13611.4 miles from the finish, covered 420.6 nautical miles.

 

December 16. 2008 at 19:35Brian does a 'reverse Chinese'

"Yesterday was a day of big winds and even bigger seas as I head away from the Kerguelens and onwards to the first Australian ice gate. Lots of squalls with sun glimpses made a pleasant change from drizzle and fog. But the day will be especially memorable for Bahrain Team Pindar doing a manoeuvre so unusual, so bizarre, that it doesn’t even have a name that I know of. Perhaps only freestyle windsurfers will have one.  This is how it goes - take one IMOCA 60 going downwind with 3 reefs and the J2 sail, add 35 knot of wind and a big wave. Then watch boat round up, the pilot give up the ghost, and the wheel spin hard over. This will take the IMOCA 60 rapidly through head to wind and then settle on to the other tack. This is when a combination of gravity from all the keel, water ballast and spares on the wrong side, and the back winded sails will neatly push the mast to 90 degrees.  So at this point I climbed out of the hatch to, yet again, sort out a boat on its ear. It was a spectacular sight, looking out along the horizontal mast, seeing the masthead just 3 metres off the sea, normally it is 32 metres from the sea. To sort out it took a while as I had to furl the J2 and then tack around, reef the main to 4th reef close reaching slowly and then set the J3 when downwind. Perhaps I should call the trick the ‘reverse chinese’. Once in a lifetime trick I hope."

Brian Thompson (Pindar Team Bahrain) in his daily message

 

December 16. 2008 at 17:40Dominique due to set sail for Fremantle tomorrow

Since Temenos II arrived in the Kerguelens, the local authority has been busy and a way to stabilise the keel has been found.  Work is set to continue again from two in the morning (local time). According to his team, Dominique hopes to leave the Kerguelens later in the day, once the system has been put in place and checked.  He is to set sail on a 2800-mile delivery trip to Fremantle in Australia and will have to be particularly vigilant due to the keel damage on his monohull.

 

December 16. 2008 at 16:31Failures are bound to happen

"It's better now, but last night when the front passed with 45-knot winds, the seas got rougher and there was not much to do. It has been hairy at times, but now with 3 reefs in the main and the reacher up, I'm able to get some rest. The pace remains a bit frantic, and I've done 32.2 knots under autopilot, that's the boat's record! Sorry to hear about Mike's dismasting. but when the race gets that full on, the gear suffers a lot and failures like that are bound to happen."
Sébastien Josse (BT) talking to his shore team this afternoon.