Vendée Globe

December 27. 2008 at 20:05Greatest distance over 24 hours

Over the past 24 hours, Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) currently in the lead, 9841.8 miles from the finish, sailed the greatest distance towards the finish.  Between 19h yesterday and this evening, he covered 337.1 miles
 

December 27. 2008 at 19:39Same themes, same problems, same places, even the same people.

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.

December 27. 2008 at 15:25Seb Josse speaks about his knockdown

"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."

December 27. 2008 at 14:10Words of sympathy for Josse

"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)
 

December 27. 2008 at 12:00Ice Gate modification

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.
 

December 27. 2008 at 10:27Safran stops for repairs

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.
 

December 27. 2008 at 08:30Lazy jack repaired

"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)

December 27. 2008 at 08:03Pacific war

"It's strange how there is so much subjectivity and everything is relative. This afternoon, a nice breeze on the water, brilliant sunshine, a few squally showers, heavy to very heavy seas, with waves reaching up to 9-10 metres, the equivalent to three floors. Now they're round 6m on average, and we don't take any notice. Wind: a bit, let's say 40 knots, often 45-48, squalls up to 53 knots, not km/h! White water, parallel to the wind, the crests of the turquoise waves as they break. Not easy though to find the right pace and sail to make headway. ET said: "Throw a bale of hay up and it will come down again." Coming down. Sailing downwind. We'll get there somehow. Somewhere out to the east. I said it was all relative... A day spent studying the sea. You know the squall coming up will have 55 or 51 knots, you know if you should furl the staysail or whether you'll stick it out as the front goes over in ten minutes. So I'm taking a sleep after dinner, there was 42-45 all the time. I wake up 40 minutes later, get up and look at the sea: It's really eased off! I'd say 25-30 knots, almost calm here. I look at the dials. It's eased off, but there's still 35-40. That's what the machine says, but I thought there was less. You get used to it... Pacific, means peace, anti-war?! The Roman said: «Si vis pacem para bellum». The sailor says "If you go to the Pacific, prepare the lowest reef"
Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) in his daily message

December 27. 2008 at 07:10Rich gets a black eye

"Well it was inevitable, the being thrown from the bunk, finally happened last night, and I had a one point landing on my left eyebrow after a fall of 1.5 meters with my head leading the way. Coming out of the bunk and through the opening in the bulkhead is as if your body is funnelled so that your head lands first. I'd had several good naps, this was the third, I awoke either in flight or on impact, scrambled to get up, onto the chart table bench, felt my head, no bumps, forehead, no bumps, then felt that it hurt just above my eye, felt there, not damp nor wet but soaked in blood, the whole left side of my face was dripping blood. On the floor, on my down booties, on my sea boots, went to the mirror, what a mess, didn't know what was underneath all that blood, took paper towels and cold water and started to gently mop up, and gradually got down to the core problem, a cut under the eyebrow about 1" (2.5cm) long. I tried to see if there was anything in it, but couldn't. Eventually got it to stop bleeding, then let it scab a bit, cut and put a bandage over it. A black eye is coming. We checked for double vision, after all my whole head took a real hit, no problem with the vision, that's good. Another gale is en route, this one looks severe, will try to get organized for it early, we've had a wind shift already, totally "unforecast" on grib files, so don't know what the future here holds."
Rich Wilson (Great American III)
 

December 27. 2008 at 06:25Sam back on the attack

"At last, the wind has shifted aft of the beam, after what seems like days of upwind sailing. That definitely wasn't in the brochure! What's more, the sun's come out, and the fire hoses have (temporarily) switched off, and it's actually quite pleasant on deck! Roxy's been averaging an easy 15 knots all day and so we're BACK ON THE ATTACK! The Wind Gods are definitely smiling on Roxy today! I actually feel rather guilty here enjoying the "summer sailing" I've got, when a lot of the fleet are suffering storm force winds and perilous waves. I am so sad for JoJo, who was having an amazing race, before his boat, BT, got "dumped" by a freak wave. I am in pain for him, I can imagine what a terrible feeling it must be to see potential victory snatched away from you in an unlucky handful of seconds. I really hope he manages to repair and get going quickly. He's one of my favourite three skippers in this race! Go JoJo - you can do it! Yet again, these are signs of how powerful this ocean is, and how fragile we are within it."
Sam Davies (Roxy) in her daily message