«That’s done and dusted! At 6H14'10" on Tuesday 20th January 2009, Foncia crossed the Equator for the second time in this Vendée Globe. I don’t think I paid the toll on the way down, as there was no one in the booth. This time they made up for it and charged me double!”
Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) in his daily message
“Last time I wrote I thought I was in the clear and on the last lap, but there were a couple of what I hope will be the final twists before I round Cape Horn at about 2100 GMT tonight; the first was when I looked up out of my window at first light and saw the rig twisting. Normally this is because when you go downwind with the sails eased too far they can push on the spreaders which is a bad thing, but I don't sail like that, and when I saw some really funny saggy creases in the main as well then I knew I had a problem. I dashed out on deck to look and the main was not attached to the track at the top, the top car, the headboard car, had broken! I got the main down in a hurry because once one car goes, they can all go like a broken zip. There are fifteen cars that run up and down the track on the back of the mast which the mainsail goes up and down on. Each car has sixty to eighty little plastic ball bearings in to help it run smoothly, but the headboard cars remained jammed on the track up at the top spreaders. The sea state was really chaotic, and it was actually difficult to stand up on deck with no main to steady the boat, so after some deliberation I decided a mast climb could wait until after Cape Horn and flat water. I tried to rig up various things to snag the cars from on deck but they are designed to be smooth and snag free, so that wasn't going to happen, so then I pulled another car up on the halyard and tried to tap them and see if they would come down - all that happened was I sent them further up the mast, above the top spreader and into the real "No-mans Land" where it is difficult to climb because there's nothing to hold on to. I was pretty despairing at that point....then I had some inspiration! After trying to get them down all day, why didn't I just send them up out of the way? There is spare track at the top, so that's what I did, and there they will stay. There is no damage to the track itself luckily, I think the cars had got distorted and pinched the balls onto the track tightly enough to stop gravity doing its thing! I spent the rest of the night taking the main off, taking all the cars off, and putting two new cars on at the top for the headboard, and putting them all back on again. The boat was rolling like a pig, and no matter how careful I was there were balls everywhere - it was a bit like one of those games you used to get at Christmas where you have to get several balls into several holes all at once!
Then I found that the aluminium plate which forms the bottom bearing of the gooseneck had broken free where it is welded to the mast base, so I had to winch and beat that back into place and bolt it through the deck (drilling through 10mm of aluminium and 15mm of solid carbon with a blunt drill from underneath with the boat rolling was not easy!) but by 0600 we were up and running with two reefs in again, and I went to bed! ”
Steve White (Toe in the Water) in his daily message talking about the damage he suffered this weekend
Why not dress up in the colours of the Vendée Globe for the finish of the race. The online boutique is open 24 hours a day, and can be visited simply by clicking on Boutique on the right hand side of the home page or by clicking here.
“Here in the South Atlantic, there is no respite. A race based on speed is on and it’s not going to be easy with my rudders. This has been going on for sixty days and I’m wondering who is able to sail their boat to 100% of it capability. We’re going to be benefiting from a steady flow, which should propel us along north-north-eastwards, which is something to be pleased about. Aboard my veranda, the cleaner has been busy. I bailed out the bilges, stacked the gear on the right side and brought the sails up to the middle of the boat from the stern. The barber dealt with my beard, but I cancelled the haircut, as he doesn’t have a lot of experience and I wasn’t very confident. Checked to see how much food I have left and it looks like I could invite my two English friends over, when they want.”
Arnaud Boissières (Akena Vérandas) in his daily message
“Made 8 sail changes after I reached ice gate. Dodged a big bullet for now with offside topmast runner getting hooked around second spreader, with shock cord that is supposed to prevent that, stretching and allowing it, and then holding it there. Can't gybe. Brought runners forward, swinging violently to try to unhook. In past, happened once before, in big wind, wind stretches shock cord and allows you to yank it free on the right roll,. but not now w/less wind, was at reacher and one reef, rolled reacher up, went to 2 reefs and then 3 reefs for control, all the while fearing the worst, have to try to climb up there to unhook it, or at least to 2nd spreader to cut the shock cord system that doesn't work. Tried detaching topmast runner from runner group and swinging separately, no go, then thought one more idea, bring main into middle, grind it tight to support mast, then release the windward runners. Very very dangerous, but had rolled up reacher so no sails. It worked, runner released on off side from spreader tip. I scrambled to get those runners back and snugged so they wouldn't hook again, then diving across the cockpit to the windward runner to put it on again. So until and unless I get aloft to cut that shock cord off, we are in danger of hooking that topmast runner. If it hooks, and goes unnoticed, then you gybe or tack and bring on the runner with it hooked around the spreader, it will break the spreader and the mast will come down. When I did this operation, I had on long underwear with foul weather gear on top and the helmet without a stocking cap. When I finished, I was sweating so much I couldn't see out of one eye for the salt sweat in it, and long underwear was just dripping puddles, drank an entire quart of gatorade in 30 seconds afterward, just exhausted.”
Rich Wilson (Great American III) in his daily message
“As predicted, today has been a day of very light winds. In fact, I think I got my record slowest speed with an average of 2.78 knots for 4 hours! I am not proud of that at all. It has been pretty frustrating, and very very tiring, being fully concentrated on sail trim and course changes to try to keep going as fast as possible in the conditions. It is impossible to get rest when it is like this! So, I made the most of a dry deck (very rare in this race) and got to work with the sikaflex to seal up the worst my leaks. I'm not proud of the aesthetics of my job, but I think it will be effective! When the swell had calmed down a bit, I climbed up my mast to do a quick check, which was quick, as the sails flogging around made it pretty hard to hang on! But the few things that I wanted to take a look at were all OK, which is very reassuring! Now the sea temperature is good, I can have a shower at the end of a tough day, and Roxy is now back on track at 10 knots boat speed. And now for the best news of the day: I had my CHRISTMAS DINNER today! Finally it was calm enough to cook and serve the special Langoustine Bisque that Romain had given me for Christmas dinner. It was delicious, with croutons aux algues (hopefully not the kind I found on my keel) and "la rouille", even though the presentation left a little to be desired - it was served in a tupperware box, with a plastic spoon!”
Sam Davies (Roxy) in her daily message
