“Today has been a full-on and fun day on the water! The wind gradually built all day, in the afternoon we had 35 knots of wind. The waves have become very difficult as Roxy and I have been passing over various banks and shelves around the Azores islands. By the end of the afternoon, we were being attacked by giant breaking waves coming from different directions, coupled with a wind reaching 40 knots. The result was a few "wipeouts" caused by the breakers, plus several "fill-ups" of the cockpit, the waves also managed to open a spinlock clutch (!), and very nearly tore away my lifebuoy! Now, the front is passing over us, with frequent 45-knot squalls, for a while we sailed under a 3-reefed main alone! I have gybed and Roxy is sneaking past just a few miles to the South of Terceira. I can see the lights of the towns on the island, and I can smell the land! It is the first time I have seen civilization since leaving Les Sables d'Olonne three months ago! I have to keep going back on deck to have another look, but then I see the huge scary waves in the moonlight and decide I'm better off inside! Hopefully the sea state and wind will calm down soon so that I can put a bit more sail up and speed up a bit, but for now it is "sail safe" mode on board Roxy!”
Sam Davies (Roxy) in her daily message
 

“26/38S 37/03 W, 8.5 knots, staysail, one reef, 20 knots of wind NNW, came through trough last night. If you haven't seen a South American thunderhead, you haven't seen a thunderhead. Who knew the sky was that tall?! Totally intimidating in the moonlight, but we lucked out and didn't get a lot of incremental wind to force sail changes. This morning spoke to the M/V Protector, Captain Raz (India) in command, bound for Santos, Brazil, to Durban, South Africa for bunkering (take on fuel), then to Singapore to deliver its 40,000 tons of sugar. Had a nice chat on VHF with the good captain.”
Rich Wilson (Great American III) in his daily message
 

“Finally, the Pink Rocket is hooning along downwind again! Yesterday was a very busy day at the office. I used every sail except the storm jib! We started off drifting along in a little zephyr under Code 0. As the wind strengthened, I put up Sophie the spinnaker, which was a great moment!! Soon, the staysail was working too, inside the spi... Late afternoon, and a BIG black squall cloud started chasing us. By precaution, I decided to drop the spinnaker as there were already 24 knots of wind, a good decision as the squall brought 30 knots! Afterwards, it was time for Genevive the gennaker to stretch her cloth! But by the evening, the wind was again starting to reach 30 knots, but this time a steady wind, no squalls, so I rolled away Genevive and had the usual tussle with her to get her through the forehatch and curled up in her bag! So, now Roxy is under Solent + ORC, to complete the full sail wardrobe of the day! The wind is fairly unstable and we are doing speeds between 11 and 20 knots. It is so nice to be going fast again, and not heeled over at 30 degrees! Next obstacle is the Azores, tomorrow evening, with a cold front passing over us at the same time to add to the difficulty factor! I have been invited to tea by a school in the Azores, but unfortunately I have to decline the kind invitation this time!”
Sam Davies (Roxy) in her daily message
 

As for Foncia, many skippers turned up today to pay homage to Armel Le Cléac’h. Michel Desjoyeaux was present, as was Jean Pierre Dick, whom Armel congratulated on a great start. Then, there were those who did not wish to miss Brit Air finishing: Vincent Riou, who had accompanied Armel for a large part of the voyage in the Atlantic and Pacific, and Jean Le Cam, for whom Armel was diverted after his boat capsized.
On the pontoons, there were some other familiar faces from the Figaro circuit, Gildas Morvan and Nicolas Troussel, a long time friend of Armel, with whom he won the Transat AG2R.
 

Message sent early this afternoon by Marc Guillemot to the Race Directors to pass on to Armel Le Cléac’h :

«Armel, well done for your race. I really think you sailed intelligently minimising the risks. You deserve second place and don’t worry, your position in the rankings isn’t going to change after I finish. Have one on me!
Marco »

Indeed, Armel’s place cannot be confirmed until Marc Guillemot finishes, as he was awarded 82 hours of redress for going to the help of Yann Eliès, while Armel was granted 11 hours for his part in the rescue of Jean Le Cam.
 

"It was fairly tough for the last three days with some strong winds, 35-40 knots gusting to 50 knots in squalls, but above all some rough seas with 7-8 metre high waves with the seas on the beam and the boat doesn’t really like that. After 89 days at sea, the boat and skipper were both a bit tired and finishing like that was a bit tough. The hardest part was the climb back up the Atlantic, because the conditions weren’t always kind to me and I found it a bit long at times. When journalists kept asking me about how I felt finishing second, I couldn’t say as I was busy dealing with the rough conditions. I didn’t have time for anything else. It was only this morning about twenty miles from the finish that I began to think about it when I started to see a lot of fishing boats from Les Sables."

"The start of the race went very quickly as there were ten of us battling it out on the way down. As we were so close, time just slipped by. I soon found myself in the southern ocean and had to concentrate on that. I played it cautiously, always keeping an eye on the equipment, going more slowly than I could have. So it was only the climb back up the Atlantic where I found it a bit long at times."

"At the time of the first Vendée Globe, I don’t think I really wanted to sail around the world. Those people were my heroes, but I couldn’t imagine myself doing that. I started on an Optimist in St Pol de Léon and so I could only admire those legends. Now I’m a round the world sailor, but that desire came later, when I had acquired some experience. After the Figaro I did the Transat, and then I wondered what to do next, so thought of the Vendée Globe…"