Newswire : Brian back in the race

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December 23. 2008 at 19:16Brian back in the race

"It's been a very tough few days and I'm pretty tired, but I've been careful to eat and drink as much as possible, to keep my energy levels up. I feel really pleased with how the repairs have gone and a big thanks to the shore team who were a massive support. The next few days will be crucial to see how it holds."
Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar) getting back on track today after completing his long repairs

December 23. 2008 at 18:27A second Christmas at sea

"I can't believe it's already Christmas!!! I'm thinking more about the pace in the lows. The notion of time has changed. I pick up the weather for ten days ahead to see what is coming. I'm not really aware of the time slipping by. My goal is to get through each low. The charts are so big that it makes me dizzy looking towards the future. This is the second time I shall be spending Christams at sea. The first time was in 1998 aboard Aquitaine Innovations on her delivery trip back from Tghomas Coville's Route du Rhum. It was with a crew and if I remember rightly, we reached La Rochelle on 28th December."
Arnaud Boissières (Akéna Vérandas) in his daily message

December 23. 2008 at 17:14Fear of ice

"The next in the series of low pressure systems is upon me as we get ready to honor the West Australia gate. Ice has been reported near this gate so we are especially vigilant in making sure we get through safely. Right now it's raining/foggy outside with about 25 knots of wind from the west. I have the radar running to spot ice if possible. Ice makes me very nervous as it is the one unknown that can damage the boat very quickly and it won't take a very big piece to break a rudder. Breaking a rudder is a race ending scenario for us as we cannot replace one at sea. I must climb a little higher to gain some latitude on the gate and I will lose some ground on the two boats in front of me. But once past the longitude of this end of the gate I can start south again."
Derek Hatfield (Algimouss-Spirit of Canada)

December 23. 2008 at 15:51Second beacon dropped

"Dominique Wavre on Temenos II dropped a beacon called «Atlantic Girl» on his route towards Australia. We are very grateful for his continued involvement in this project, considering his situation. the beacon was dropped at 1h30 (GMT) this morning at 37° 34 south and 96° 56 east. «Joséphine» dropped on 9th December by Jean Pierre Dick on Virbac Paprec 2, is continuing to drift around the polar flow very quickly; yesterday it covered more than 50 km in one day. The third beacon will be dropped by Arnaud Boissières off the Falklands, as he begins his climb back up the Atlantic."
E-mail from the Argonautica project, aimed at studying maritime currents using Argos beacons dropped on the Vendée Globe race course.

December 23. 2008 at 13:49Yann Eliès out of theatre

24 hours after arriving in Fremantle, Yann Eliès was operated on by Dr Scheryil at the Royal Perth Hospital. He left the operating theatre early this morning (French time). He came around from the anaesthetic and seems to be feeling fine. The Vendée Globe race doctor, Jean-Yves Chauve confirmed: "Yann was operated on to have a pin fitted to his femur, as planned. Examinations found that his ribs were not fractured, as the doctor aboard the frigate had thought. No other medical problems that have been mentioned could be confirmed." Some reassuring news for Yann's family , who will be paying him a visit, as they were due to arrive in Australia this morning. As Jean-Yves Chauve explained, Yann is going to have to remain patient for a few days, until an assessment can be made concerning his condition.

December 23. 2008 at 12:21The luckiest unlucky person

"I had somehow managed to continue to work the boat, convincing myself that “my" keel would somehow be OK. Whilst the engineers studied the problem and gave me some rather unconvincing assurances, I ran the boat with the keel at 80/90% cant, reducing the risk but making staying with the lead pack ever more difficult. With the shore team we decided that we would monitor the keel head cracks and make a final decision, “in or out of the race” at the W Australian ice gate. We either turned right and continued back down into the Southeast and the next gate or we keep going northeast retiring from the race, like Dominique and head for Perth.
Each and every skipper in the Vendee has a huge investment with their participation in this event, including myself. This is not simply a 90-day race but encompasses years of hard work and preparation. It is not an event so much as a way of life, to do it you have to live it for years prior to the starting gun. In this spirit, I was not about to quit easily and certainly not from such a competitive position in the race .But continuing was easily going to rank as the most stressful situation I have ever put myself in. Despite the wranglings I had basically made my mind up even before I put down the phone to Dominique – this is the Vendee, I am a serious contender – I want to continue!
So it’s a cruel irony that it is entirely possible that the mast breaking has inadvertently actually saved my life! Perhaps someone “up there” really is watching out for me? And quite possibly I am as I have always thought – the absolute luckiest – unlucky person on the planet."
Mike Golding (Ecover 3) talking in his blog about his feelings after Dominique Wavre's keel head problem

December 23. 2008 at 11:57Christmas comes early for Sam

"Day 43 is finished, and that means that Roxy is halfway through her record time of 87 days!!! I think we are pretty much halfway distance-wise too.... so it might be still be possible to break Roxy's record time from the last race! After a long night of "wallowing" and a lot of hard work by me to squeeze the maximum boat speed out of just a few knots of wind, we were rewarded by a lovely sunrise, and the first zephyrs of the "new" Northerly wind! This extra bit of wind, meant that I could leave the pilot to do the job and I managed to get a bit of sleep. Now, there is 16 knots of wind and finally the speedo is reading 15-16knots - AT LAST!!! We are tight reaching, so the daggerboard is down and I can hear it "singing"! It is a sweet sound that I haven't heard for a while and as we accelerate, the pitch gets higher and higher! The objective now is to try and stay in front of the low pressure that is behind us! And finally, I have a confession to make (to my Mum.) She's made me a lovely Christmas cake, and today I gave in to the temptation and I have eaten a piece - a day early..."
Sam Davies (Roxy) in her daily blog

December 23. 2008 at 08:12Do albatrosses make mistakes?

"A few days ago, an odd event, thought an albatross made an aerodynamic mistake, starboard gybe, came in low to leeward under solent, in turbulence, flapped wings a couple of times, rare for an albatross, then looked as though it realized it couldn't bank to make the bow, and nose-dived into the water 2 meters off the side of the boat, then, after the boat left, it ran along the water to take off again, flapping its giant wings. Then I thought, maybe fishing for squid, can't imagine an albatross making an aerodynamic mistake. Until this morning, when, after some more work out at the end of the boom, I was in the cabin, standing behind the chart table, looking at the computer screen and instruments, when crash/bang, and whenever on a boat there is a new noise, its high alert for all human systems, then saw through the cabin window to the mid-deck, that an albatross had crash landed there. It scrambled to its webbed feet, trying to get a grip on the non-skid paint, got its wings out from underneath, started flapping, and climbed/flapped through the wire lifelines, and splashed into the water. I was definitely startled, but I think he was much more startled."
Rich Wilson (Great American III) in his daily log

December 23. 2008 at 07:19Upside down world

"Nothing. Nothing at all. Not a lot at all. Nothing new. That was what happened last night to the south of New Zealand. We sailed as best we could, while waiting for windier times. In other words, we didn't do a lot. Sleep, tidy up, sleep, eat and trim. Time is slipping by and at night it is your day, so we sleep at day and chat to the world by night, as we're on the other side of the world. But in any case, our world is upside down anyway, so it doesn't make much difference!"
Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) in his daily message

December 23. 2008 at 06:38Repairs before the storm

"Another long day in the boatyard, worked all day yesterday, all night last night, then had 2 hours sleep at dawn before carrying on all day. Will probably go all night again and then I should be done, and can get some sleep, but actually feel ok. Been eating and drinking to keep up the energy levels. The wind is just starting to creep up to 20 knots and I am on double reefed main. Some of you may be wondering why I am going so slowly, and it is because I need the hull not to move and allow the crack to propagate further. Also now that I am more than half way through the repair, there is a lot of adhesive setting, and the steadier the boat, the more likely it is to hold in the correct position. It’s a bit like superglueing a broken plate – you have to hold it very still so that it can set. That’s the plan anyway, but it is far from perfect working conditions, so fingers crossed that the sheer amount of material added will overcome the lack of technical perfection. Another perfect sailing day today, but sadly I could not take advantage of it, but I did have a wonderful view of a pair of albatross this afternoon, circling the boat. They really are breathtaking animals, with their wings like a competition glider’s. Tomorrow big wind coming, and I will be monitoring the repair closely during the low. Tonight I got the big furling sails down and bagged up and am rigged and ready for the breeze to arrive. "
Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar) in his daily message