"The wind is fairly turbulent and annoying, as it varies in strength and direction depending on the clouds in the squalls. In one squall as I furled my gennaker, I tore the top of my "day" oilskins. It felt like someone was pulling me back in the cockpit, but no, I was all alone. It was the grinder handle. So I had a bit of a tumble and ripped off the pocket of my lightweight oilskin jacket. You can laugh about it afterwards, but at the time I did wonder who was grabbing hold of me. Between the squalls, I shaved. Salmon and peas for lunch today, as it's Sunday. That will leave a nice smell in the veranda..."
Arnaud Boissières (Akena Vérandas) in his daily message
 

"Roxy and I are negotiating the obstacle course of the approach to Cape Horn! I had forgotten about coastal navigation, life is so easy out in the middle of nowhere! The obstacles are: drift ice to the South, The Chilean Coast to the North, the last known position of VM Materiaux, and there are two islands on the approach to Cape Horn, one to the North (Islas Ildefonso), one to the South (Islas Diego Ramirez). We are sailing downwind, so that means we have to gybe our way in to Cape Horn and zig-zag through on the best course. Easy said, less easy done, in 30, gusting 45 knots of wind and 5-7m seas! A gybe is quite a challenge, and during the manoeuvre, the boat, her sails (and her skipper) are more vulnerable to the power of the sea. This is where I am so grateful for all the training I have done in the last two years. So, now that hard work pays off, and I'm not intimidated by gybing Roxy into Cape Horn in these tough conditions, however I respect the power of the sea and I am taking great care with every manoeuvre I make."
Sam Davies (Roxy) in her daily message
 

"There was a bit of a scare last night at around midnight, when the boat suddenly bore away after being hit by a wave in the wrong direction. The pilot didn't cope and the boat gybed. Paprec Virbac 2 went over on her side at an angle close to 70 degrees. From the outside, it was probably quite a sight to see. I was down below and leapt out of the cockpit. This required a rapid response, which is not easy with just one rudder. I tried to bear away using the damaged rudder. Fortunately, there wasn't much sail up and I was able to steer and take care of the staysail sheets at the same time. On my third attempt Paprec-Virbac 2 responded and then I had to gybe again, hoping that the rudder wouldn't be too far out of the water. With three reefs, it just about worked. I eased off the windward runner and pulled on the helm. The boom swung around and the staysail filled with wind on the right side: a successful manoeuvre."
Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac 2) on his way to Tauranga after abandoning the race

The leaders have now completed three quarters of the Vendée Globe. Out of the 24,840 theoretical miles of the course, Michel Desjoyeaux now only has 5500 miles left to cover. He reckons he will be spending around twenty days more at sea, which would mean he would arrive in Les Sables d'Olonne on the last weekend in January. This is also confirmed by the calculations made by Sylvain Mondon of Météo France.
 

"On the final run in to the Horn, the ice gate is behind me and there are 1500 miles to go till the Atlantic. It feels like I am getting close now after the long tour around Antarctica. But it’s not going to be quite so easy… Last night I was getting Bahrain Team Pindar all ready for the winds to come, putting all the sails below before they became soaked, draining any water out of the boat and giving it a good checkover. I went into the bow compartment, through the watertight door, then through the final door to the crash box forward. All looked ok, and on my way back I checked all the bulkheads for damage, but on checking the reinforcing longitudinals on the floor, I found another crack, very similar to the one in the water ballast longitudinals. I saw another important repair coming on, and now with a very sparse supply of materials. I devised a repair plan that should work, just using bolts to attach shaped floorboard pieces either side of the cracked longitudinal. If that does not hold, I can add some precious sikaflex or epoxy filler. Currently I have everything prepared and just waiting for a bit more information before choosing how to get everything bolted up. Sikaflex can take movement but is not very strong, whilst epoxy is very strong but cannot take any movement before it sets, and using just bolts leaves you options and saves adhesives for later, but is the weakest. Weather is moderate at the moment, though there is a swell from forward of the beam that is not helping to calm the motion in the bow and allowing the crack to move slightly. As I get nearer to the Horn the winds will pick up so should be a classic rounding with plenty of breeze. However, the quicker I get there, the less strong the winds will be so it has been frustrating going slowly over the last hours, as I spend time nursing the boat and doing another repair. I am keen to get going again!"

Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar) in his daily message
 

“Going for West Pacific Ice Gate. Intense low north of the high that O'm in has been sitting there, perfectly formed, but grib files showed it originally moving slowly, then dissolving against high. I didn't really believe that, and latest grib shows that it will continue south, and eventually overtake this area with east wind, (strong). That would be bad, so going hard to try to get to ice gate and escape likely ESE’ly into tail of west wind before that happens. We'll see. I don't generally push this hard, but now is the time.”
Rich Wilson (Great American III) in his daily message sent during the night