Vendée Globe

January 21. 2009 at 06:21Brian kept busy

“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
 

January 20. 2009 at 07:08Sam's holiday heaven

“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
 

January 20. 2009 at 06:50Equator - done and dusted

«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
 

January 19. 2009 at 15:24Steve talks about his repairs

“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
 

January 19. 2009 at 11:12The Vendée Globe boutique open 24 hours a day

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.

January 19. 2009 at 07:52Invitation to dinner

“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
 

January 19. 2009 at 07:33Runner caught in spreaders

“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
 

January 19. 2009 at 06:53Christmas Dinner for Sam

“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
 

January 19. 2009 at 06:25Sunday, a day of rest

“A beautiful night with clear skies, stars and a moon gave some good sailing. Fortunately the wind has been consistent and is allowing us some direct sailing, making good ground north. A sign of being back in the Atlantic was seeing two large offshore fishing trawlers last night. I have not seen another vessel since heading south in the Atlantic apart from Pindar and Akena, so it was quite exciting to see life. They were trawling with a stream of thousands of birds following them. It was quite a sight. Sunday really has lived up to being a day of rest. I had a lie in, then a hearty breakfast and then have been chilling out in a horizontal position for most of the day. Sponged a bit of water chucked on deck a couple of times but generally I have not done a great deal and Aviva has done her best at looking after me. She has been sailing well and fast and we have enjoyed the afternoon blue skies with a cup of tea.”
Dee Caffari (Aviva) in her daily message
 

January 18. 2009 at 19:55A sunny day in the South Atlantic

“Fantastic sailing on board Bahrain Team Pindar this afternoon as the wind has started to appear and push me fast towards the finish at least as far as Buenos Aires. Last night I fixed the engine problem that I had, which was caused by the clutch sticking on the engine driven hydraulic pump. This was overheating and causing the burning smell I had earlier. To repair it, I had to ease the clutch away from the engine, and then cut some shim plate and use it to keep the clutch away from the engine by just 2mm. Now working on the open port iridium communication system and the wind generator.”

“Happily the solar panels are really kicking in some power in the bright Southern hemisphere sun and clear air. I would be really keen on working on the alternative energy sources for this boat. It is particularly applicable to a really long race like the Vendee, where it adds redundancy, saves weight and reduces our carbon footprint. With a combination of the latest technology solar panels, wind generators, and a specially developed water generator off the transom it could provide all the power needed. It has been interesting to see what an impact the alternative energy has made to our fuel consumption on this trip, I think I am taking less than half the fuel of most boats.”

“Earlier today I had to stop for 20 minutes to clear weed from the keel and the leeward rudder. There are lots of clumps of heavy kelp around, probably broken free during storms from the Falkland islands. I rolled the gennaker, trimmed in the mainsail, eased off the mast rotator and runners and spun the boat into the wind. It soon weathercocked head to wind and started to go backwards. I saw the kelp come off the rudder and a little bit float away from the keel. I went down to the bow and looked underwater with the endoscope, there was still kelp on the keel, that had somehow wrapped itself around the keel fin. I was pondering whether I would have to go swimming in the 9 degree water, as I went head to wind again and then tried sailing off on starboard. Luckily for me, that did the trick, and the weed had gone when I checked again”

Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar) in his daily message