Two and a half days after a chance encounter with a sea mammal, Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement) has finished repairing the damage that was done to his boat, in particular to the mast bulkhead. Roland Jourdain contacted by his shore team today:

"I'm pleased about my night and this final piece of work using bunches of battens from the mainsail, which I stuck together to form a solid bar, and then stuck onto the bulkhead at the foot of the mast to consolidate everything. It should be as solid as concrete to ensure we get home, unless there is something I haven't seen of course. Now I'm going to have to get the speed back up. I'm going to try to clean up a bit, as there's dust everywhere. It makes you itch all the time. It's hell!"
 

Three members of Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac 2)'s shore team have arrived in New Zealand to welcome their skipper. He is expected to arrive on Tuesday morning (local time) or Monday evening (GMT)
 

"It is the stuff nightmares are made of. I woke from my slumber and saw a slow boat speed and immediately dropped the ballast tank. I couldn't decide if south was better than heading east, but one thing was for sure, I couldn't actually head the direction I wanted to go in. "I went on deck to take a look around. The dawn was just breaking so it was light enough to see everything. I was looking at my mainsail, which has been a concern for the whole of the Southern Ocean, and I noticed some more sail flapping in the breeze. My shoulders slumped and as I continued to look I realised with horror that it wasn't the layer that is blowing away daily but the layer on the good side of the mainsail. In fact the only layer of mainsail left! I cursed, gybed quickly and dropped the mainsail to the third reef. I grabbed my sail repair kit, which is now running extremely low, and spent an hour patching the tear in the cloth. With the forecast set for the winds to increase and knowing that moving the sail up and down cannot be good for the cloth I have elected to remain at three reefs and keep my fingers crossed. If it can just get me to the Atlantic then I can choose a route with no scary wind and nurse my sail home. My biggest fear now is will the sail last the final big blow from the Southern Ocean depression before I turn left? So miles won and miles lost, the important thing for me is to stay in the race."
Dee Caffari (Aviva) in her daily message
 

"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