“Today I had real problems with my canting keel but I was able sort it out. Anyway it was a tricky situation when the keel cable from the starboard side got stuck on the winch. I tried to clear it by using another winch but in the end I had to fix a 3 tonne belt as a "brake" and cut the cable directly on the end of the keel head. So you see, even this problem cannot stop me from sailing the full distance. I am looking forward to having my birthday just one or two days before passing Cape Horn. So Neptune send us some decent weather !”
Norbert Sedlacek (Nauticsport-Kapsch) in his daily message
 

“Well, the red socks and the whistling finally found the wind, as Roxy hooked into the cold front at last. The wind comes with free unlimited rain. Roxy and I have been rinsed all day in torrential rain. It's actually quite nice because it's warm rain. I even got some of my favourite clothes and handwashed them in the water that was running off the mainsail. There are lots of happy people on board Roxy - me because there is wind, Lucky the duck because he loves the rain, and my salad sprouts enjoyed a little time on deck in the rain too. The wind is pretty erratic, going from 10 to 38 knots, so I have been reactive with my sail changes, especially anticipating the big gusts and reducing sail beforehand. So I spent a lot of time on deck in the rain and it's the first time my hands have been soaked in fresh water for ages. They were all shrivelled up like prunes! I think that I will need a very special manicure after this race to try and turn my sailors hands back into girls hands!”
Sam Davies (Roxy) in her daily message
 

«A line of squalls 250 miles south of Rio. Several stars can now be seen in the sky, so maybe there will be some sunshine today? There ‘s a lot going on around here, oil rigs, fishermen, cargo vessels. The radar and detection system is on all the time. Sea temperature: 26°C. Wind = 20 knots from south east. Choppy seas, but in regular direction.»

Marc Guillemot (Safran) by e-mail this morning

“Conditions are rapidly warming as I climb NE’ward. I was working on some repair projects down below and realised that I was getting very overheated in my thick thermals. It’s even fine on deck in bare feet today. It is getting back to Bahrain weather! Now almost at the latitude of Buenos Aires and out of the Roaring Forties. The miles have passed very quickly since the Horn. When I was sailing in the Southern Ocean, the distances were so vast and the sea so empty that it was hard to measure your progress, now its easy, with Argentina and soon Uruguay and Brasil on the port side. I can tick off the cities, provinces, and countries along the way on the digital chart. Over half way to the next big meteorological feature, the SE trades which sit reliably just to the north of Rio. All the way from the Horn to these tradewinds, the South Atlantic can be a lottery and so far myself, Dee and Arnaud have been filling up our bingo cards very well. But there is a slow section tomorrow, where I need to struggle through a light airs transition zone to reach a new wind that is blowing from almost the opposite direction to the NW wind that I have now. Then a couple more days of steady sailing till the final transition near Rio to the tradewinds. But to have done two-thirds of this section on the same weather system is very fortunate and it has been relatively gentle conditions for the boat.”

“Last night had another interesting repair job before I could charge the batteries. The clutch problem that I had fixed two days before, reappeared, and it did not make sense that it would need readjusting so soon, so there had to be something else wrong. Sure enough, on taking it completely to pieces I saw that a screw in the clutch plate had worked loose and destroyed the clutch. So, over a few hours, I removed the hydraulic pump, then the clutch assembly, them remounted the pump. The pump won’t work anymore without the clutch, but it is only the back-up keel motor and so long as the electric keel pump keeps working, I will be OK. Or I will be hand pumping the keel like Bilou in second place! It was an interesting job as it was interspersed with sojourns on deck to reduce sail, as the wind increased steadily over the period from 20-35 knots. Now its back to 15-20 knots. Next major job after ensuring power is to get weather data and I was also working last night trying to get the Iridium Open Port working again. Whilst working on the iridium, I found a corroded plug on the long time non-functioning Fleet 77 satellite system and I am working on this now by crawling like a contortionist into a 12 inch high space at the very stern of the boat, to make new connections with crimps. If I can get at least one of these systems working it will really help me avoid the light wind areas in the South Atlantic and pick the correct course across the Doldrums, as well as sending images back.”
Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar) in his daily message
 

“Another frustrating 24 hours on Roxy! We are still running into the windless zone and I can see Safran zooming up behind.... DON'T LOOK BEHIND YOU! So I am trying to look forwards to find the way through to the trade winds, as Roxy can't wait to get going fast again! These last days have given me time to check the gear and sails, and as far as I can see, everything is in great shape to get "sending it" as soon as conditions permit! Today has just been ideal cruising holiday conditions - blue sky, sunshine, turquoise sea, calm, 8 knots of wind, 28deg air and water temp.... just holiday heaven. I wish I could somehow put these conditions into a box and save them for when I'm on holiday! As I write this, Roxy is gliding along under a starry sky with the code 0 doing 5 knots in 4 knots of wind- not bad! I have been growing little bean shoots, as an attempt to have some vitamins and minerals from fresh food, and tonight was the first harvest! I had salad with my dinner. Just delicious. Although I have been taking so much care of my little seeds for the last few days they have almost become my friends as I nurture them and see them grow, so I felt slightly guilty when I ate them this evening.”
Sam Davies (Roxy) in her daily message
 

«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