Vendée Globe

January 09. 2009 at 06:55Sam preparing for Cape Horn

"60 days! That's amazing - time goes so quickly in one sense I can't believe that we have been out here for two months, but at the same time it seems so long ago that day we left the channel of Les Sables d'Olonne! So much has happened since! Today I have been sleeping, after my last two days of eating lots, my body has changed request to one for lots of sleep! I think my body is trying to tell me something! Luckily the conditions have allowed me the time in my sleeping bag, lots of 60-90 minute sleeps with a few manoeuvres in between,some tidying of Roxy, and obviously the important weather and strategy work. I'm trying to plan a route past Cape Horn that is safe and fast, staying away from the lee shore, the islands and the ice, and dodging a little secondary low that is going to pass over us! I am a bit worried as I am starting to talk to my Roxyboat!! I never thought it would come to this, but today I found myself talking to her, telling her off for going to fast!! Oh dear, is this the first sign of madness? It can't be too bad - I even heard that Bilou calls his boat his "baby"..."
Sam Davies (Roxy) in her daily message
 

January 08. 2009 at 20:20Yann Eliès's physiotherapy

Contacted during the weekly French Vendée Globe special, Yann Eliès gave us his news today, saying that he had turned the page and was now looking towards the future and thinking of his racing career. He has a busy physiotherapy schedule: getting up at 7h00, swimming pool at 9h00 for walking in the water, walking exercises at 11h30, physio at noon, ice session at 13.30. He hopes to begin to put down his left leg in February and be back on his feet in 6 months. He talked about taking part in the Figaro Event, but has other projects that he will be discussing with his partner, Generali. Before that, he is going to have to be patient to become completely mobile again.
 

January 08. 2009 at 11:30Starry starry night

"A very successful boat repair day yesterday. Fixed the crack in the transom with shaped plates on the outside and inside of the hull and bolted together - sikaflex as a glue on the outside and epoxy on the inside. That seems to have stopped the noise of crunching nomex as the crack flexed, and with the amount of material I added I think that should be good till the finish. Also went halfway up the mast with the climbing gear, just before sunset to check chafe on the lower shrouds and made  some extra taping of some worn sections of cover. It was my smoothest mast climb so far in the Southern Ocean, my third and final one I hope. So they were the two most important jobs, next is to get the primary pilot system working again, before the wind kicks back in later today. The wind is forecast to fill in from the SW soon and that wind should take me half way to the Horn, once I can pass this gate. Good news is that the moon is getting bigger and it has just set, the skies have cleared slightly and above me I can see the constellations of Orion, the Southern Cross and arcing across the sky right above the mast is the milky way, with just near it, the faint outline of the Clouds of Magellan. That has made this rather frustrating night a bit brighter. Saw a satellite moving rapidly across the sky and realised that is the only man made thing I have seen, apart from Aviva, since entering the southern ocean. I have not seen any plane contrails here, nor any ships. It really is a wild place, and hope that it remains so. Soon it will be light, I should try to get a little sleep in, but strangely not tired at all, it might be the adrenaline from going up the mast earlier, or some quirky effect of the epoxy, though I hope not!"
Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar) in his daily message
 

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.