Visitors to this website, who have signed up for the special service in « The Locker » have been able to send messages to the skippers. Tens of thousands of messages have been received from around the world. In terms of popularity the rankings are rather different from the race rankings. At the top of the list, we find Sam Davies, who has now received around a hundred messages more than Michel Desjoyeaux. Those sending messages have clearly not forgotten the competitors forced to abandon the race, as after the winner of the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe, we find Loïck Peyron, Roland Jourdain and Yann Eliès, who all continue to receive messages of support from well-wishers.

It is increasingly difficult today to forecast the next ETAs because of a high-pressure area taking over in the Bay of Biscay. The competitors are going to have to sail a long way north to try to get around this zone. Samantha Davies (Roxy) is now not expected to finish before Saturday and thinks it may well be Sunday before she crosses the finishing line. For Marc Guillemot (Safran), finishing on Monday is a possibility, if he does not slow down too much in the high. As for Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar) and Dee Caffari (Aviva), we should probably count on them arriving within 48 hours of Monday lunchtime.

Just off the coast of Vendée, gusts of up to 76 knots were recorded on Yeu Island and 72 knots at Château d’Olonne a few miles inland, in the middle of the night. In Port Olona, the wind gauge on Brit Air, moored at the pontoon since last Saturday, indicated 63 knots at the height of the storm.

Because of damage in the Vendée Globe Village caused by the storm, there will be no audience for the radio session today.  The tent, where equipment is stored was damaged and is closed to the public until further notice.  However, the journalists will be in place and you can listen to the radio session on the website as usual.

“Less than 900 miles to go, the finish seems to be getting close! Although, from now on, Roxy is going to start to slow down as we get overtaken by the high pressure that is rushing up behind us. Yet again I am going to have a frustrating few days of light winds - the Atlantic is really testing my light airs sailing! And my wish to be home by Valentine's day is looking difficult to achieve! So instead of trying to dodge the high, which seems almost impossible I am trying to put Roxy in the best place to catch the wind on the other side! This is easier said than done, as the forecasts are pretty vague! I am, however incredibly glad of the forecast for Marco's sake, as the light winds will hopefully enable Safran to get to the finish safely. After all Marco has done, he deserves to get there and I am keeping everything crossed for a safe passage for him and Safran. Yesterday was wet and bumpy, but fast, and fun! As the winds were dropping I had plenty of exercise to do to shake out reefs and change up headsails.... now we are sailing under full sail. Roxy is nice and clean, as the tons and tons of water have nicely rinsed the deck and cockpit! Now the calmer weather should leave the decks dry until the finish I must make sure not to spill my tea or my dinner on the deck as there will probably not be any more "washing machine" conditions!”
Sam Davies (Roxy) in her daily message
 

“Last night was a busy night with reefs going in and out and headsails being changed as the wind was very unstable. It was very difficult to find a suitable sail plan for the wind and sea state. Daylight this morning revealed further damage to the mainsail with the fibres breaking and streaming out the back of the sail like extremely long tell tales. It was a reminder that I still have many miles to go and this main sail has to get me to the finish line. Today was light winds with blue skies and white clouds. Very pleasant except for the huge north westerly swell that stopped me in my tracks as soon as Aviva fell off the top of a wave. It was jarring progress but it was a northerly route I had to take to get round the high pressure that was passing eastwards to the north of me. I see that Pindar has been negotiating the same high pressure but a little closer to the centre. We should both pick up a new wind flow tonight that will see us in heavy reaching conditions for a couple of days before we need to tackle our last obstacle, another high pressure protecting the Bay of Biscay.”
Dee Caffari (Aviva) in her daily message