Vendée Globe

January 08. 2009 at 10:03Vincent and Jean about to step ashore

Vincent Riou's monohull with Jean Le Cam on board is due to arrive in Puerto Williams, the Chilean naval port, in the next few minutes. PRB entered the Beagle Channel this morning under tow by the patrol vessel Alacalufe, with the NW'ly winds set to strengthen this afternoon. The two skippers are set to step ashore at around 9.30 GMT and will be talking shortly on a live radio link-up with Vendée Globe HQ in Paris.  
 

January 08. 2009 at 08:02Raphaël continues across the Pacific

"It's a nice day and the sun is out, so I was able to recharge my batteries to 83 %. It was a difficult decision to take, but I shan't be stopping at Stewart Island. I obviously need to repair my mainsail halyard. While that problem remains I shall be sailing under reduced sail, which means I will take ages to reach Les Sables d’Olonne! The thing is if I stop on Stewart Island, I'll be even further behind Norbert, and will be crossing the Pacific alone… If there were any problems, there would be no one to come to my aid. If I decided to stop after the Horn, the distance lost to Norbert won't matter as I'll be near the coast and rescue teams. I just hope the halyard holds out until then. The news of Jean Le Cam also influenced my decision as it proves that the quickest help can come from a fellow competitor"

Raphaël Dinelli (Fondation Océan Vital) in an e-mail last night. 
 

January 08. 2009 at 07:41Multi-talented Sam

"Today brings yet more sad news about PRB dismasting It really is not fair. Vincent does not deserve this after saving Jean. I am so sad for the two of them. On board Roxy, things have been "challenging" me all day. First of all the Fleet 77 stopped working. I chased that down to a faulty Voltage converter which has suffered from the extreme conditions by succumbing to condensation inside it (I discovered on dismantling it). I tried to dry it out, but no luck yet. It is in the engine box as a final attempt. As I packed away my electricians tools, I went on deck for a check around, as the wind is dropping. I discovered the first reef line badly chaffed through. So then I put on my "monkey" equipment, with a "riggers" hat on and scrambled out to the end of the boom to fix the rope. In fact, this one is a temporary repair in the form of a bowline to get us into the Atlantic where I can do something more "neat"! I didn't want to spend too much time out on the end of the boom, as although the wind is not too strong, there is a nasty swell which was flinging us around a lot. Just as I had put away my rigging kit, as we got to the end of a surf there was a loud bang, and the boom fired into the air. The vang cable had broken neatly in two. I was very lucky it hadn't happened ten minutes earlier when I was on the end of the boom. So, I got the rigging kit back out, and luckily I have a spare vang cable pre-made, so I got to replacing it. The spare is not as solid as the original, so once the vang was back in place I settled into being a rigger for the afternoon and preparing a better cable so I have another spare ready to go on. I will put this new one on in the Atlantic."
Sam Davies (Roxy) in her daily message
 

January 08. 2009 at 06:50PRB under tow

The Chilean patrol vessel LSG Alacalufe reached the two skippers at 23h00 local time (2h00 GMT). Under tow, PRB is due to arrive in Puerto Williams at around 8h45 (GMT) with the two skippers aboard. Both are safe and sound and neither was injured when the boat was dismasted.
 

January 08. 2009 at 05:53Stunned and speechless

"Huge relief at hearing the news of Jean Le Cam's rescue. The whole episode was 200 miles east of where we capsized in 1990, so that brought back many scary memories, of the dark, the cold, the water, inside the boat. I think that Jean Le Cam showed incredible courage, courage beyond description, to depart the bow compartment. Think of it, he must have had to go down into the cold water, the survival suit wanting to buoy him upward, against the deck, sails in the water, or ropes or stays, could trap him, or tangle him, or hook onto him, he would have had to go down deeper to get past the lifelines and outside the perimeter of the boat to then get back to the stern to hopefully climb on the bottom and hold onto a rudder. He really had no idea what he would find then. He had heard Vincent, but... Stunning courage, no words to describe... And Vincent, to make 3 passes and on the fourth push it so close to save his friend that he damages his own boat, deck spreader against the keelfin, to do anything for a friend, what skill, what courage he showed himself. Speechless here...."

January 07. 2009 at 19:07Jean-Pierre 1250 miles from Tauranga

Jean Pierre Dick, talking to his shore team: «All is well today. The wind is not exceeding 15 knots, but it's raining heavily. Only 1250 miles left to go. It's wash day on Paprec-Virbac 2. The weather is calm, so I'm taking advantage to get the bucket and sponge out. She'll be nicer like that and it keeps me busy. This evening some reading - an adventure story, Shantaram by G E Roberts, which is set in India and then time for a sleep. I'm trying to recover from the race, which was very tiring. Stronger winds are forecast for 7th and 8th and gales for the 9th. I've just gybed to head southwards, where the winds will be lighter. It's a huge tropical low, which is quite rare in these latitudes. These winds should stay with us until we reach Tauranga, on 11th or 12th January. »
 

January 07. 2009 at 18:30Jean and Vincent round the Horn

Vincent Riou and Jean Le Cam on board PRB have just rounded the Horn in thirty knots of wind. They are now 70 miles from the rendezvous with Isabelle Autissier at the entrance to the Beagle Channel.
 

January 07. 2009 at 17:40DIY day on Bahrain Team Pindar

"On board BTP it is a ‘bricolage’ day, which is French for  'DIY', as the weather is quite mild. It’s the last quiet day till the Horn and the first since the south of Australia. Yesterday the pilot ram tripped out in a squall, so I was in the process of checking the steering system and changing over rams when I heard some noises in the port rudder area. On a good look around I found a small crack in the transom, so I am now doing a mini version of the big repairs to the fwd longitudinals, and cutting floorboards, carbon plate, getting bolts, sikaflex and epoxy ready to secure the area of the transom. The damage was probably caused by the loads on the rudders in the wipe out from the pilot before it tripped out, probably more than a crew would ever impose. A crew would have also have eased the mainsheet sooner. I was asleep below and felt the boat heel over and went up in my thermals to ease the mainsheet and take the helm before the boat went head to wind, so I was a few seconds late and totally soaked as well. It’s a shame to have damage, and the boat has survived many other wipe outs before. Even after the repair, it will be another area of concern till the finish. It’s a typical problem with a new boat, they normally have little areas that need reinforcement. Boats seem to go through a cycle where they get better and better as the little problems are discovered and rectified, before old age creeps in and then they start breaking again. Some people call it the bathtub principle, a steep slope of improvement, then a flat line where everything works, and then another steep curve of regression. Its just that out here on the Vendee I am doing the new boat reinforcements on the go! Another job is to work on the pilot rams, as the new one I put in yesterday does not work, and seems to have upset one of the pilot brains, so will have to troubleshoot that. The ram on the opposite side is working so ok for now, but would like to have original set up working as that has the more advanced pilot brain.  More sail repairs to do, and I would like to go up the mast to check the taping on the lower shrouds from some earlier chafe. Otherwise will do this in any calmer conditions after Cape Horn."
Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar) in his daily message
 

January 07. 2009 at 13:47Unaï sets sail again

Unaï Basurko (PAKEA BIZKAIA), who was forced to retire from the race on 7th December following rudder damage, made his way back up the Atlantic and had a short stopover in Cascais in Portugal. He set sail again this morning and is now heading for La Coruña in Galicia, NW Spain, which he is due to reach on Friday or Saturday, before taking his boat home to Bilbao.
 

January 07. 2009 at 12:10Cautious and vigilant

"Seeing the reports from race headquarters last night and getting calls updating me sent shivers down my spine because it was so scary. It was a reminder that this race is far from over and Cape Horn is notorious for a reason. It was very sad but we saw fantastic seamanship by Vincent and Armel and some great news in the end. Awesome. You try not to think about these things happening but everything that has happened could have happened to any of us at any time. We are on the same types of boats, in the same area doing the same thing. Having said that, you could get run over by a bus any time but it doesn’t stop you crossing the road. You just have to be vigilant."

"I have a light patch on the way to the next ice gate and of course the delay means I am taking longer to get to Cape Horn. On the weather file today it looks like I will arrive at Cape Horn in horrendous conditions. I was trying to get round before they arrived but it looks like I am going to get another kicking from the Southern Ocean before I leave. My sails are not looking pretty. It was a big shock when Jonny Malbon retired and it did make me look at the mainsail differently. I haven’t exhausted all the options for repair yet so will carry on until that happens. As a result I‘m probably sailing a couple of gears lower as the priority is to get home.”

Dee Caffari (Aviva) in her daily message