Vendée Globe

February 09. 2009 at 12:05Unfavourable conditions for Rich

“Working very hard to get upwind and to where we would have a favorable wind angle. It is still far off, but we did get a good lift yesterday evening up to steering N for a while. Another low out of Rio will squeeze the isobars in an unfavorable direction though, so we will get headed as we head up and therefore into the coast. Will push it as long as possible, maybe we can get a break. A tack offshore may be necessary, but it seems a very bad angle now for sure. Staysail and 2 reefs in the main, down from solent and 1 reef, and the boat does the same speed and angle with only a change of a few knots of windspeed.”
Rich Wilson (Great American III) in his daily message
 

February 09. 2009 at 11:22Paprec-Virbac 2 on her way to Le Havre

Paprec-Virbac 2, Jean-Pierre Dick’s boat has been loaded aboard a cargo vessel in Malaysia and is now heading for Le Havre.

The skipper from Nice retired from the race on 31st December after his port rudder was ripped off when he collided with a UFO, shortly after passing New Zealand. This weekend, Jean-Pierre was present in les Sables d'Olonne to welcome Armel Le Cléac'h.
 

February 09. 2009 at 08:05Four seasons in one day

“Today I have had four seasons in one day or it certainly feels like it. At dawn we were slow, trying to make the best of the breeze and it wasn't quite as the grib files suggested so I had to be patient. Then during the afternoon the sun was glorious and I sat outside and enjoyed it as we went along downwind. I knew the wind was to come forward on us and in anticipation I changed my headsail. Then whilst down below the wind did a quick 180 degrees and rather than being at 20 knots rose to 35 knots with a sea state to match. Now I had a bit on and got thoroughly drowned in the process. So now I find myself sat in a northerly wind that has a rough sea state and a grey miserable sky to match. The wind strength is very up and down but I am now cautious as my main sail doesn't like these conditions very much and the fibres are getting close to giving out, so I have to think big picture of getting to the finish line.”
Dee Caffari (Aviva) in her daily message yesterday evening
 

February 09. 2009 at 07:15First sight of land for 3 months

“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
 

February 08. 2009 at 17:06Intimidating thunderheads

“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
 

February 08. 2009 at 07:17A day of sail changes for Sam

“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
 

February 07. 2009 at 19:25Some familiar faces

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.
 

February 07. 2009 at 18:50From Marc to Armel

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.
 

February 07. 2009 at 13:45Armel's interview on the podium

"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…"

February 07. 2009 at 13:23Armel on the pontoon

"It wasn’t very easy over the last few days with some rough conditions in the Bay of Biscay. The gear was beginning to suffer, but the main thing is we made it to the finish. It’s normal that conditions were difficult as we’re in February in the North Atlantic. I never really gave myself any real goals in terms of positions. With Brit Air in the beginning our aim was to complete the round the world voyage and sail well. If we managed to do both, looking at previous races I thought it would be possible to get a good place in the rankings. I’m proud to have finished second behind Michel Desjoyeaux. No one could beat him this year, so I’m very pleased with my place. There were times when it was difficult. There were moments of doubting and stress aboard the boat, when conditions were bad. And then, there were magical moments; Rounding the Horn was a great moment. Jean’s rescue was something I could never have imagined, as it was an incredible scenario. So the three months passed really quickly.
I think I have lost some weight, because at the end I didn’t have much left to eat. I had nothing left after yesterday’s lunch and I’d been rationing myself for a while. So I was pleased to have some crepes, fresh bread and butter this morning.

I was knocked down in the South Pacific with the mast over in the water and I lost my wind vane and didn’t have wind info for about a month and a half. So I sailed by intuition. It was only at the end of the race that the boat suffered any real damage apart from that. The protective cover was ripped off by a giant wave in the Bay of Biscay. There’s a piece of the mast track missing too, so I had to finish with three reefs.
I think the race was well prepared with the team. We had done quite a lot of racing. I wanted to set out on a boat that I knew perfectly and where I had gained a lot of experience. I was surprised in the southern ocean at the beginning, but you get used to those conditions, so I really learnt a lot."

Armel le Cléac'h's first words on the podium