We’re moving! With a few days to go before the winner finishes back in Vendée, the Vendée Globe organisation is moving back to Les Sables d’Olonne, which will become the nerve centre for the race. The Village for the finish will be officially inaugurated on Friday 30th at 10h30, but is already set up, while the press room and directors are based in the premises of Ruchaud, behind the quayside in Port Olona.  The daily radio sessions will take place under the tents in the Village. The weekly radio show presented by Pierre Louis Castelli will take place on Friday 30th January (instead of Thursday).
 

"Hi, I’m back!
It’s been a while since I left and have been alone out here doing everything for myself. When I say everything, that is exactly what I mean. It is our profession, but as sailing is simple. We’re always having to do other things, just to make sure we don’t get bored! So I’ve drawn up a list of what would makes the ideal round the world sailor. I’ve noted down the names of celebrities, who are renowned for their skills, talent, character or a particular quality (or fault depending on your standpoint!) in a particular area. This is of course not a complete list, but simply a list of suggestions for our little game! So in no particular order:
- the photographer, Robert Doisneau, for his skill at capturing scenes that will be remembered from ordinary life;
- Yann Arthus Bertrand, who takes pictures of the beauty of the world;
- Fellini, who doesn’t need a introduction
- Tintin, as everyone loves him;
- Tabarly, for his status as a hero – the indestructible menhir;
- Mac Gyver, who always knows how to get out of trouble with the means at his disposal;
- Gad Elmaleh, or how to make everyone laugh;
- Macha Béranger, who knows how to help those having doubts;
- Philippe Lucas, who will kick you into shape;
- Bernard Tapie, the friend of the man upstairs, who is never afraid to say what he thinks;
- PPDA and his brother to tell the epic story of those at sea;
- Jean Todt and the Ferrari team, who could repair your mast in ten seconds;
- Hitchcock, the master of suspense ;
- Bill Gates, not for his money (although…) but for his computing skills;
- The Pope, he is supposed to spread the Good Word;
- Léon Zitrone, the inimitable host of France’s “It’s a Knockout"
- Dior, if you have anything that needs to be sewn
- The surgeon, who carried out the first heart transplant (Christian Barnard - editor). You never know when that might be handy.
- Jean-Pierre Coffe, the only person who can make a healthy balanced soup, even when the fridge is empty.
Who else? We could go on and on.
Oh yes. You also need to know how to sail a bit, as that may be useful. But if you can’t an HGV licence will do. »
Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) in his daily message

On the eve of his birthday at around 20h00, the Austrian skipper passed the final Ice Gate. Today, Norbert Sedlacek is celebrating his 47th birthday! The route is clear ahead of Nauticsport-Kapsch. He can now dive south to get around Cape Horn, which he is likely to reach in a week or so.

“Bahrain Team Pindar is through the Rio doldrums and heading up past the coast of Brazil. Sailing upwind in 6-13 knots of breeze, the wind is quite shifty with more squalls than usual in this part of the world, but we are making decent stop 'n' go progress towards Les Sables. The air here is crystal clear so the clouds are incredibly sharp. At night the stars are almost down to the horizon. The sun at midday is straight above me as the sun’s declination is similar to the boat’s latitude, so the combination of clear air and the vertical sun could make a recipe for sunburn. But little chance of sunburn as just when I thought I would start getting on top of the job list a spanner gets thrown at me! Both Sunday and today I have spent a lot of time working on the alternator down below. It had overheated in the early hours of Sunday because the fan disc at the front had become loose and then damaged. I had the old alternator, and I tried to cannibalise the parts of that, and it took most of the day on Sunday to take apart, as it had been put together with powerful air tools. Eventually I got it done, which was a big relief, and ran the engine. Concurrently, I worked on the wind generator which was not charging either, but have not yet solved that one. Today I noticed that the alternator fan disc was still not quite right and worked again on improvements by further adapting the 2 broken alternators to make one good one. Fingers crossed this time it’s a winner, I will be trying it tonight.”
“All these repairs mean that I cannot be quite as on top of the sailing as I would like and I consequently end up reacting to events rather than anticipating them and taking best advantage of them. Using squalls would be an example of this, and I am letting the pilot do all the steering except in the lightest conditions and biggest of gusts. I have lost a little to Sam and Marc, but I think that is more a function of the differing winds we have. I am still on deck every 10 minutes, but then I am usually back below to continue work straight away. Overall, the boat is going well with the J1 and the full main. At times, I take a short break and just watch the boat sail, and take in the amazing SE tradewind scenery of sky, clouds and sea. And there can be a great sense of satisfaction to have overcome another set of hurdles. At the same time the mileage to Les Sables shrinking, and that’s when the checks, repairs and maintenance will end.”
Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar) in his daily message
 

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.

“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