Sunday 26th December  2004  Less than 10,000 miles to go for the leader, Jean le Cam
Sébastien Josse back in the race after hitting a growler on 23rd, which threw his rudders out of alignment

Monday 27th December 2004 Jean-Pierre Dick and Sébastien Josse continue with the repairs to their rudders

Tuesday 28th December 2004  At the front, Jean Le Cam increases his lead

Friday 31st December 2004  Marc Thiercelin in a bay in New Zealand announces he is abandoning the race.
A violent storm with 60-knot winds batters Sébastien Josse and Dominique Wavre.

"Two nights ago I was in the centre of a big low pressure with around 46 knots and big gusts of 50-55 knots plus snow. During the night a big wave catch the boat and put the mast on the water at around 120 degrees - close to a capsize. For a few minutes I didn't' really know what had happened - if the keel had gone or wave - but finally I could check the keel and realise it was okay and that a wave had knocked the boat over. The mast was fine but inside food, clothes, electronics were everywhere."

" After the near capsize I tried to put the boat back on the right course and I understood that the rudder system was not right. First thing I did was to furl the staysail which was okay and drop the mainsail but to drop the mainsail in 40 knots is not easy as the wind push the sail against the spreaders and it gets stuck so it took around 45 mins to get the sail down. When I finished I came back inside to look at the structure and I see the roof is broken (cracked both laterally and longitudinally) because some water was coming inside the boat and also realised the central bulkhead had cracked."

"The plan now is to go north and catch the high pressure where there is less waves and wind to check the rudder system in a safe environment - although the waves will still be around 4 meters!  The auto pilot has now reference point now so it is not functioning properly (the rudders are misaligned so the auto pilot cannot configure a reference point)."

"During the time of the incident it was very tricky- big squalls of 55 knots and 10 meter waves and you are on the limit in this size of boat and the limit for you too in trying to do any manouevers.  The problem is at the bottom of the wave there is no wind but you need speed to escape and at the top of the wave you have too much speed going down into the wave so in 50 knots you are at the limit."

"My options now? Now I have 2 options: first is to check the rudder system and if I think its okay, I go east and keep in the race but in a safe condition but ahead is the rest of the Pacific and Cape Horn which is famous for storms... Second option is to go back to New Zealand and the race is finished but I make sure the boat is safe."

"Front has gone through now and as the satellite photo showed there are clear skies behind, though the wind is much lighter than forecast. Seas were very lumpy when I got lifted after the front, and I had to go on starboard gybe for 2 hours during darkness to stop the boat crashing into too many waves. Now back on port as the seas have calmed a little and sailing under masthead code 0 and full main at 9/10 knots. Wind has to come back soon as Akena seems to be making over 12 knots behind me. Going to use the mild conditions to do some jobs, repair some small holes in the fractional 0, rebuild a halyard swivel, fix the port primary winch, do some more work to the A3, and give the boat a good check over after the Christmas Eve storm. I've read about Seb Josse’s knockdown, that sounds horrendous. The force of the water to do that much damage to his coachroof meant that the boat would have been picked up, turned sideways and then plunged into the water, not just a rollover. I know how impeccably that boat was built so there was no weakness in the structure, just the overwhelming might of nature. I hope that he does not find any problems that cannot be fixed, and that he can be back in the race soon; he has done an awesome job so far."

Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar)
 

The Race Directors today informed the competitors that the East Pacific Ice Gate (Number 10) has been modified due to ice being detected by Sat radar on their potential route after passing the West Pacific Gate. The new coordinates are 44°00 South between 110°00 West and 102°00 West.
 

Marc Guillemot (Safran) reached the Auckland Islands to the south of New Zealand this morning at 9h GMT. He has stopped in Sandy Bay, to the south of Enderby Island. It is already dark, but Marc must now climb his mast to repair his damaged mainsail track.
 

"This morning I managed to climb up to the second layer of spreaders to deal with the starboard lazy jack. There was still a very heavy swell before the calmer conditions arrived as the wind backed to the NW. Then, I changed a broken batten. Finally, Fondation Océan Vital is back on course and I'm pleased to be able to see her logo again in the mainsail and I can finally get out my Christmas presents. So rather late, Happy Christmas to everyone. I'm exhausted. I need to get some rest now, especially for my right arm. Before resting I'm going to take care of some damaged solar panels. I'm going to have to limit my consumption still further."
Raphaêl Dinelli (Fondation Ocean Vital)