Vendée Globe

January 26. 2009 at 08:44Mainsail car problem on Nauticsport-Kapsch

Yesterday evening at around 22.00 GMT, the mainsail car on Nauticsport-Kapsch got stuck again, but this time not at first reef, but second. It was very windy and wet and Norbert found it very difficult to free the car. After a struggle, he managed to bring it down and lower the mainsail. After that, the Austrian sailor had to remove the car and dismantle everything to be able to get the car back on its track. This took him seven and a half hours, but the result is that now he can only use his mainsail to second reef.

January 26. 2009 at 08:04Rich approaching the Horn

“On course for Cape Horn 150 miles ahead. Solent and 2 reefs in the main, broad reaching, being very conservative, considering where we are. Planning to go across the shelf as seas are moderate. A wave in the weather system is coming through later tonight, don't know what to expect exactly, but will gybe to the south, when the wind shifts to the west, and then back when it shifts back later on. The goal is as much Staten Island, 150nm beyond Cape Horn as Horn island itself, as only after Staten Island can you then turn north. A day of gray, misty rain, some sun between the clouds, steady wind about 20 knots. Hoping this continues through the night and that the fronts of the wave are not too harsh.”
Rich Wilson (Great American III) in his daily message sent last night
 

January 26. 2009 at 07:44No rest on Sunday

“There was no such thing as Sunday being a day of rest today on Aviva. Looking at the weather files I knew today was going to be light and there is a chance that we will only have light conditions for today. After that we should see ourselves in breeze of varying strengths all the way to the doldrums, but this transition zone was going to have to be crossed. This did signal alarm bells but also a realisation that this was my chance to get the repair sorted on the mainsail. When conditions are light you hate stopping your boat but it was a case of needs must. I dropped the main just before lunch as the wind was easing and, asking my pilot to keep us heading in the right direction albeit slowly, I began fixing the mistakes I made last time and then doing the same job on the other side of the mainsail. More sikaflex, perhaps more over me than the sail, more tape and this time some stitching. Three hours of backwards and forwards, especially when stitching, as I had to go from one side of the mainsail to the other - it must have looked quite comical. Then eventually I re hoisted - pleased with my work. I really had then hit the light patch of wind, so my exercise levels continued as I changed headsail for the code 0, to try and keep us moving. Progress is up and down now but I am too exhausted to worry too much. I am drinking loads of water as I have caught a bit too much sun on my back doing the repairs. I am pleased to have got the job done and now I am satisfied that I continue to ghost along with every puff of wind and hope I can make up any miles lost during this maintenance session today.”
Dee Caffari (Aviva) in her daily message
 

January 26. 2009 at 06:52Holiday weather for Sam

“I am writing this as a little squall is passing over Roxy. We are going upwind on starboard. Yesterday has been pretty full-on, as I am sailing Roxy at the top of the wind range for the solent. This is perfect sailing, except the fact that all morning yesterday I had squalls that were shifting the wind quite considerably, so I was easing the sails in the gusts as we were being lifted onto a tight reach. Easing is fine, trimming back on after the shift has returned is a different matter! In these conditions, the sheet load is maximum, and I have to put all my weight on the grinder to get the winch to turn! Quite exhausting work! The conditions are ideal, it is hot, sunny and the sea is turquoise blue - real holiday weather! I'm making the most of it as I believe things are quite different back at home!”

Sam Davies (Roxy) in her daily message
 

January 25. 2009 at 07:25Roxy "on fire"

“Today I have had a whole 24 hours without stopping for the first time in 6 days! Yippee! At last Roxy is happy to be doing speeds of over ten knots. She's skipping over the waves. No more slowing down until we're in the channel in Les Sables d'Olonne, I hope! Everything is in maximum stacked positions, the rig and sails are just perfect and we're "on Fire." When I download my weather information, morning and evening, I take a sneaky look at the messages page on my website. It is so amazing and encouraging to see so many people who are supporting me in this race from all over the world. It is a moment in my day that I look forward to now and afterwards I am motivated than ever.”
Sam Davies (Roxy) in her daily message
 

January 25. 2009 at 06:50An unsettling position

“Solent and 2 reefs. Gray, gray, gray. Albatross flying around. Barograph steady at 993mb. Heading south as a bit more favorable within the parameters of wind shifts in the next few days, bit awkward wind shifts that will make it longer to get to Cape Horn. Not planned, tried to stay away in fact, but had to gybe this morning because of our lift, and now find ourselves eerily in the lat/long of our capsize in 1990 (55s/79w). Did not want this reminder, did not want to think about it if not necessary. A bit unsettling.”
Rich Wilson (Great American III) in his daily log
 

January 24. 2009 at 07:36Dee's special day

“I have had a very special day today. I think being alone at sea allowed me to celebrate my birthday with more people than I would have at home. I had messages and phone calls from other skippers, messages from friends and family as well as an overwhelming number from supporters following the race and Aviva's progress. The team had stashed some presents and numerous cards onboard so I was able to open them and enjoy the fact that a present was a chocolate sponge pudding and a bottle of diet coke. They both tasted fantastic but were over way too quick.  The other present was the fact that the wind filled in this morning.  Probably a couple of hours after Brian on Pindar which explains his get away, but Aviva has been sailing a great pace all day in the right direction. Blue skies with fluffy clouds have surrounded us and the sea has been smooth making it comfortable sailing. My only concern is listening to the fluttering of the repair I did the other day on the mainsail blowing in the wind, as half of it has come unstuck and now it will need to wait a couple of days for the right conditions to drop the main and fix it again. Still while we are making good progress it reduces the number of days my mainsail needs to last for!”
Dee Caffari (Aviva) in her daily message
 

January 24. 2009 at 07:10The show must go on

“After yet another agonisingly slow day, I really do hope that we have finally hooked into the Easterly trade winds. The wind certainly does not do what it is forecast to do, as instead of 10-15 knots, today I had a frustrating 2-4 knots all day. As you can imagine, it has been tough for the morale as I have seen more miles evaporate away as Roxy wallows around and everyone else speeds on forwards. I had a music session on my ipod at dusk, to try to forget my frustrations. I discovered some good songs, amongst others, from Queen’s greatest hits that worked well "The Show Must Go On", "Killer Queen"..... Now I have found my ten knots of wind, although difficult at first as I passed through a line of squalls that shifted the wind more than 100 degrees several times. It is pitch black and I have just been on deck trimming the sails for the next squall cloud and I was surprised by a very cheeky black bird who is sitting on my coachroof, just a meter away from me. I squawked back at him, which made him flap his wings a bit, but he stood his ground and carried on staring at me as if to say "get on with your job and stop staring at me". But I couldn't help giving him a big blast of torch light right in the eyes just to show who really is the boss!”
Sam Davies (Roxy) in her daily message
 

January 24. 2009 at 06:45"A Mich Desj moment"

“Another great day of sailing on BTP as I speed northwards towards the corner of Brazil. Making up miles on the fleet with these ideal reaching winds, I am having a Mich Desj moment. Should have fast speeds for the next 400 miles before entering the ‘Rio doldrums’ which have ensnared Sam for so long. Fortunately for us they should be moderating soon to allow a reasonable passage into the SE Tradewinds and onwards to the ‘real doldrums’. Right behind, birthday girl, Dee has her foot down and is getting more confident with her new ‘ventilated’ mainsail, so there is a real britpack race developing along the Brazilian coastline. I should be on this starboard tack for the next 4000 miles until reaching the Azores Archipelago, so I spent some time rearranging all the furniture to account for my house leaning over to the left.. There was squid ink on the foredeck this morning so a squid must have got trapped on deck before escaping back to the sea, and I also found a tiny flying fish on deck. It will take a few days of sun bleaching to remove the squid ink, it is powerful stuff. No more krill in the water now, it is too warm for them, so consequently the sea and bird life not as rich as in the Southern Ocean.”
Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar) in his daily message
 

January 23. 2009 at 21:10Temenos II ready to be transported

Over three weeks have passed since Temenos II’s arrival in Fremantle after Dominique Wavre suffered serious problems with the keel. The three teams of Temenos II, Gitana Eighty and Ecover opted to team up and thus "Team Gitanover" was born, with each team working on each of the monohulls in turn. Dominique described his Australian stopover: “Together with Mike and Loi ck’s teams, we opted to team up to get the job done. As such Gitanover saw the light of day! All of us were then able to work on each boat, one at a time, which enabled us to be a lot more efficient. We put a lot of work into the dismantling and preparation with a view to loading the boats. The loading went very well and the Australian dockers took really great care of our boats. Luck would have it that we ended up with one of only two French registered container ships belonging to the ship owner. We were allowed to go aboard and the ship was really impressive. Temenos ended up perched 25 metres up. It’s not the usual position you’d expect to find a 60 footer in. She’ll really roll around up there during the trip so we had to ensure she was lashed down firmly. Even after a retirement you feel like you’re still part of the race. It’s a strange feeling that of not finishing off the story. You can’t stop going over the race and imagining yourself still at sea with the rest of the fleet. The boat will arrive in Le Havre on 15th February. The mast and hull will be loaded onto two lorries and will head down to La Rochelle as a wide load. Once there, we’ll begin our investigations. The aim is not to point a finger at a guilty party but above all, to understand why the breakage occurred so as to avoid such a thing happening again. Mike and I realised on examining the two keels in Fremantle, that though mine had actually broken, his was also heading that way. We’ll see if it’s possible to make repairs or we shall need to manufacture an entirely new keel.” After a short stopover in Malaysia, the skipper will head back to Europe in early February and may well be able to see in the race leaders as they finish the Vendée Globe.