Dominique Wavre contacted his shore team this morning with concerns that the very large steel part  weighing almost 100 kilos which had been attached to his keel head was   not resisting the huge strains that are being imposed on it.  

The Swiss skipper reported this morning that the winds have been much more than forecast and that he has been struggling with an acceleration zone around the Kerguelens, and the skipper is currently dealing with a cold front  in cross seas and winds varying between 30 and 40 knots

Temenos II was reported to be sailing at slow speed with all his ballast tanks full in order to give the boat maximum stability, with both dagger-boards down the movements have been stabilised. Wavre has been managing to make headway at between 8 and 10 knots under storm sail and three reefs in the main. To escape these strong winds, Wavre has no choice but to head north, but the damage to the keel limits the point of sail he can choose.

"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)

 

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.

 

"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  

 

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.»

 

"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