“I am writing this in the moonlight which is streaming into the cabin as Roxy trundles along under big (Sophie) spinnaker. Now the moonlight is shining behind the spinnaker and the girl that is painted on my spi is silhouetted out - just beautiful! Two sail changes today - first Genevive (who was very happy to unroll her cloth as she had been very tightly rolled in 30knots if wind the previous day!) then Sophie the spinnaker. Each time it is hard, hard work to heave the sail (that weighs about the same as me) to the top of the mast. I am left zapped of energy for a few minutes afterwards! My hands are suffering too, I think it will take more than a manicure to turn them back into girl's hands! Now, it is the time I prefer - as we are powering along with big sails in the dark of night. It is a bit of a buzz to let Roxy sail herself with so much power, and takes practise to be able to sleep! Luckily, I have had plenty! I have had a little snooze already but I was rudely awoken when my bed (normally horizontal) became very steeply angled and I found myself in a heap where my feet normally were.... a little "wipeout" caused by a very impolite 22-knot gust! I was on deck in a matter of seconds to ease the sheets and Roxy was soon back upright and pointing in the right direction! I have just over 600 miles to go - a mere "Fastnet Race" - and my latest eta is for early Saturday morning! Although this still could change, as the winds look pretty light and tricky for my last 200 miles.”
Sam Davies (Roxy) in her daily message
 

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