Vendée Globe

January 06. 2009 at 15:02Riou approaching, extra means being put in place

Vincent Riou will be reaching VM Matériaux at around 14h30 GMT, and Armel Le Cléac’h should arrive thirty minutes or so later. The two sailors will then be focussing on one goal: getting in contact with Jean Le Cam to get a reaction from him. The hope is to obtain some sign of life, as it would appear that Jean did not hear the foghorn of the oil tanker, which has been positioned alongside the upturned Lombard designed VM Matériaux since this morning.

The French authorities are in contact with the Chilean authorities

The MRCC have asked the tanker to remain on the spot, which it will now be doing. In addition, two extra boats have become involved in the rescue operation: a fishing boat located 120 miles from VM Matériaux is diverting to the area, and a Chilean naval tug has also been dispatched. It should be in the area in 14 hours time.
Philippe Etienne, the Cabinet Secretary to the French Foreign Secretary, with whom the organisers are in contact, is awaiting the imminent arrival of the report from the plane pilot, who flew over VM Matériaux this afternoon.

January 06. 2009 at 11:21Shrimps for Steve

"It is strange to be torn between wanting to go fast and catch up the others in front, and really needing to slow down to get the pilot calibrated in order to be able to go fast! It is really nice up here at these higher latitudes - quite warm and often sunny. The shrimps seem to think so to, there are countless millions of them, and every wave brings dozens onto the deck, and usually they leave again on the next one, but if not they can survive for ages under a bit of damp string, and they are big enough to pick up and throw back if you find them stranded! All the bad weather seems to be lurking around below our latitude at the moment, which is a welcome respite from the beatings we had in the Indian Ocean. I had a good look at the islands in the South Pacific earlier today, and I must admit I can see exactly why Bernard Moitessier decided to go around again and then stop there, they do look ideal and it would be a perfectly natural thing to do. Still, this is not the time and neither is this the ideal boat to go messing about near reefs - I will have to wait until my racing days are over and the kids have left home, not that I want either of those things to happen in a hurry! In some ways all of those adventures happened in a simpler time I'd have loved to have been around in, but I must admit an IMOCA 60 is more fun and arguably more fit for purpose than a thirty foot plywood trimaran!"
Steve White (Toe in the Water) in his daily message
 

January 06. 2009 at 10:05Séb Josse in Auckland

One week after officially pulling out of the competition due to rudder damage, Sébastien Josse (BT) reached New Zealand and the safe waters of Viaduct Basin in Auckland yesterday January 5 at 23.45 GMT.
"Of course, it's great to see the guys from the team, and I really enjoy their welcome, but I can't help thinking that my former rivals in the race have now rounded Cape Horn and are now on the last stretch, headed for home. I was really anxiously waiting to be back in the Atlantic because I knew I could potentially make great gains there: I wanted that tactical battle. I was waiting for my time to come, and it's hard to be watching the game from the touchline. Looking at the bright side of things, we have a boat in one piece. I have spent a week taking notes on what can be optimised and made better for the 2009 season. I've learnt a lot once more, and at least proved that I was right up there with the best of the fleet, both in terms of speed and tactics. I'll be back on the water very soon... but right now, what I want is a haircut, a nice shower, a decent meal and a good night in a real bed!"
 

January 06. 2009 at 07:06Perfect for the tortoise

"It's really nothing new. La Fontaine used it to make people laugh. Sometimes you just have to accept that you need to go slowly to advance rapidly. Damned sailboats, which depend on the wind. When there is some, they advance and when there's none, they don't.. The only thing is it's always bizarre, when you're stopped with no wind to tell yourself that this is good for your progress, as one day there will be a favourable wind here. I get the feeling that down here this is going to be the case more than anywhere else in the course... Lets have a cool drink and take some deep breaths to get the neurones working."
Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) in his daily message
 

January 06. 2009 at 06:44Five good things for Sam

"Roxy is through the last gate and her bow is pointing directly at Cape Horn! Good thing number one! Yesterday I had lighter winds which enabled me to do a thorough check all over Roxy, inside, underwater and on deck, before our last run into the Horn. All seems well and Roxy and I are in good shape! Today started well, as the wind began to build and our speed crept once again above 15knots and the daggerboard began to sing again! I've been working on the sail trim and other settings to get max speed. Good thing number two! The third good thing today is that I'm really really hungry and just haven't stopped eating, which is good because I haven't been hungry for ages and now I know I am getting the energy I need. The fourth good thing (linked to the third) is that I managed to fiddle around with my 5 Euro lightweight toaster and get it to make toast. The fifth good thing is that whilst rummaging in "week 9" section of my food bag I found a present - a CD called "The Girls" - full of cheesy girly songs! So for the first time in the whole race (I normally listen to my i-pod) I put the music on full blast on the loudspeakers (inside and out)! So today, we have been getting very strange looks from the Albatrosses as Roxy hoons across the Southern Ocean at 17 knots blasting out tunes such as "Girls Just Wanna have Fun", "Smile", "I'm So Excited".....occasionally with a crazy blonde chick leaping around the deck -karaoke-style! Thank goodness it's only the albatrosses that can see and hear us!"
Sam Davies (Roxy) in her daily message

January 05. 2009 at 12:03Almost the same time

While the weather conditions were very different (much tougher this time) and the decision to move the Ice Gates further north meant the distance to sail was longer, Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) took more or less the same time as Mike Golding in 2004 to cross the Pacific… Between the south of Tasmania and Cape Horn, the current leader took 16 days 05 hours and 40 minutes, while the British sailor was fifteen minutes quicker covering this stretch!
 

January 05. 2009 at 11:28Rich Wilson alone again

"We came a bit more north than the direct route in anticipation of a wind shift to the north. We're making a slowly arcing route toward the west end of the New Zealand ice gate. We sailed off the Campbell Plateau into deeper waters. Think I could see a difference, but the wind was also coming down at the same time. Now we're back up on another shallow plateau, the Bounty Platform, which has the Bounty Islands in the middle. These must be from Capt. William Bligh's Bounty, and the epic Mutiny. Spoke with Jonny as he headed north toward the lee of the South Island of New Zealand. He was in as good spirits as one could be having had to make his difficult decision. Received nice email from Sam Davies on Roxy, understanding that I'd lost my running mate, as she is also sailing far from the next boat, she sent "virtual' company. She is doing a spectacular job in this race, just awe inspiring. Michel is around Cape Horn. I'm speechless."
Rich Wilson (Great American III) in his daily message
 

January 05. 2009 at 06:34Roxy's tune

"Today is a quiet day on board Roxy. We are flirting with another ridge of High pressure that is at the next ice gate. When I say a quiet day, I do mean it. Out here we get accustomed to the noise that an Open 60 makes, but when I was describing that to a friend, it made me realise that it is pretty special, and most people think it's a bit of a din! As an example, yesterday Roxy was making several noises, aside from the general vibrations of water crashing around at 20knots past a carbon hull: The daggerboard "sings" at a fairly high pitched sound, that changes pitch every time Roxy accelerates over 18knots. The bobstay vibrates in a low pitch each time Roxy stuffs her nose into the wave. The understays of the jockey pole have a seperate tone, like strings of a guitar, as they skim through the waves, and occasionally there is a bigger disturbance if the pole itself gets dipped in! The propellor sometimes hits resonance too, and sings from underneath the chart table. The keel occasionally "clack"s if Roxy jumps over a big wave, as the whole system is slightly flexible and the rams move within their bearings; If there is a big gust, I can hear the rumblings of the air bubbles in the rudders as they cavitate whilst trying to keep control. So all of the above noises are "normal" and create a really special kind of music that I am now totally in tune with. However, the important factor is to be able to pin point and single out any noise or vibration that is not normal, for example, the little 'pop' that signifies that I hit something small and a rudder has popped up, or the vibration associated with something wrapped around the keel, a vibration caused by a piece of deck gear failing, or simply the change in pitch of the normal sounds signifying that Roxy is no longer at 100% and a sail needs to be re-trimmed or changed...Quite often I will wake up and not know why, but know that something is not right, as I am so finely tuned into the sounds my little boat makes I can sense immediately any change. It is better than any alarm clock, as I know I will wake up if I'm needed, and if all is OK then my boat lets me sleep!"
Sam Davies (Roxy) in her daily message
 

January 05. 2009 at 05:3082 hours for Marc Guillemot

On 18 December at 11h30, under Direction de Course approval, Safran alters course to give help to the injured skipper of Generali. Safran who was sailing South East alters course to North, then to North-East in order to approach Generali’s position. Since at position, Safran remained close to Generali until the injured skipper had been rescued. On 20 December at 11h30, Safran continues in the race on a South East course, in disadvantageous wind conditions compared to boats having followed southern proper course. In order to facilitate assistance process, the skipper of Safran broke the propeller shaft seals. After the skipper has been rescued, the Australian Navy vessel delivered to Safran’s skipper a box with some fruit and a cap.  Simulation made by Météo France expert states that without alteration of course, Safran should have reached longitude 136 E approximately at the same time as PRB and BritAir with uncertainty of more or less 1h30. Safran’s skipper estimates that a time bonus equal to his delay on PRB and BritAir at a longitude close to Auckland Island, before he changed course towards it for some repairs, should be a fair compensation. The gap between Safran and PRB/BritAir was 82h (+/- 1h30) at longitude 136 E, and 80 hours at longitude 155 E (close to Auckland Island longitude).

Conclusion and decision
Safran is entitled to redress under rule 62.1(c). Safran infringed notice of race 2.2 by receiving supplies and 12.3 by breaking propeller shaft seals. Safran is given 82 hours redress to be deducted from his finishing time. Infringements to notice of race 2.2 and 12.3 have been committed in relation with the assistance process; therefore Safran is exonerated under rule 62.1(c). However, the skipper shall set a system that will prove at the finish that the propeller shaft could not move. Photos of this system shall be sent to the Race Director.
 

January 05. 2009 at 05:2732 hours for Sam

On 18 December at 11h30, under Direction de Course approval, Roxy alters course to give help to the injured skipper of Generali. Roxy who was sailing South East alters course to East, then to North East; the skipper considers she deviated from optimum course from 19 December at 00h00. Since the injured skipper was rescued, on 20 December at 11h30, Roxy was still a few hours apart from Generali position.
Roxy then continues in the race on a South East course parallel to Safran course, in disadvantageous wind conditions compared to boats having followed southern proper course. Simulation made by Météo France expert states that by staying in the wind system Roxy was sailing in before she altered course, she should have reached longitude 136 E on 21 December between 9h00 and 15h00. Roxy reached longitude 136 E on 23 December at 01h00, about 37 hours after above estimated time with uncertainty of more or less 3 hours. Roxy’s skipper estimates her prejudice being between 17 and 30 hours. Gap at some longitudes with leading boats as PRB and BritAir show that lag increase after Roxy changed course is about 30 hours.

Conclusion and decision
Roxy is entitled to redress under rule 62.1(c) and is given 32 hours redress to be deducted from her finishing time.