Vendée Globe

February 16. 2009 at 01:44Alongside Marco

Safran is making 8.6kts upwind towards the line, Guillemot is in the spotlight just now as the TV cameras film. He will love these last few extraordinary minutes, having sailed nearly 1000 miles since north of the Azores with no keel, having been instrumental in the care of Yann Elies when he was injured standing by, and of course stopped twice to try and fix his mainsail mast track with limited success. Boat looks stable, responding to the little puffs, some ten minutes to the finish.

February 16. 2009 at 01:40Alongside Marco

And alongside now, Safran is under staysail and double reefed main, making about seven knots towards the finish, so should cross in 20 mins to half an hour. Guillemot is in the cockpit acknowledging the presence of a growing fleet of boats, each swooping in to get close up photos and film.

February 16. 2009 at 01:33Media and spectator fleet head out

The fleet of media boats and spectator boats are on their way out now to meet Safran. We have Safran in sight almost immediately, making steady progress 3 miles from  the finish line. She is upright but moving well and is going to be about two hours inside time to make third place, becoming the second Open 60 in successive races to finish third with no keel!

February 16. 2009 at 01:20Rich crosses the Equator

Rich Wilson (Great American III) crossed the Equator at 00h10 GMT this morning

February 16. 2009 at 00:33Latest ETA for Safran

Marc Guillemot changed tack at around midnight to head for the finishing line some 18 miles ahead of Safran. He is expected to finish off Les Sables d’Olonne between 01h00 and 01h30 (GMT) .

February 15. 2009 at 21:3130 miles to go

The fight for third place will be decided in a matter of hours. Aerial pictures of Safran were taken, as she sailed around fifty miles from the finish and can be viewed in the latest photo collection by clicking here.

Contacted this afternoon, the skipper said he was pleased to be finishing and pleased to be able to share this incredible experience.  Now less than 30 miles from the finish, the public, friends and family and …Sam Davies are waiting for Marc Guillemot to arrive.
 

February 15. 2009 at 21:04Dee's final evening

"I have just emptied the last of the powdered milk into my mug and drank what I hope is my final evening cup of tea onboard Aviva during the Vendee Globe. Sat at the hatch, I drank my tea looking at the most marvellous sky. The sky overhead had gone dark and the sky astern was lit up with reds oranges and yellows and outlined at the horizon by silhouetted clouds. It was one of the best of my time at sea during this race and how apt that all things being well it should be my final sunset to drink my tea with. Being a Sunday I did my usual spring clean but today was different as Aviva and I are expecting guests soon. Noise and people will invade our space, but we are both really looking forward to it. I am down to my final hundred miles to go and I can't believe how fast it has all gone. When I spoke to Joff, the boat project manager, when they arrived in Les Sables D'Olonne, he said it felt as if they had never been away. I agree because it seems only yesterday I led the fleet from the dock through the Canal watched and cheered by thousands. It is an experience that will stay with me forever and yet already we are planning tides to go through that same canal, only this time I will have sailed around the world the right way. I will have completed the Vendee Globe and in doing so become the only female to sail single handed around the world in both directions."

Dee Caffari (Aviva) in her daily message

February 15. 2009 at 20:00Marc Guillemot making good progress

In this evening’s 19h00 (GMT) rankings, Marc Guillemot (Safran) was just 38.6 miles from the finish and has managed to maintain his lead over Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar), who is 36 miles behind the grey and orange monohull. The two boats are progressing at similar speeds, with a VMG of 7.9 knots since mid afternoon for Safran and 8 for Bahrain Team Pindar and indeed over the past hour their speed on the water is identical at 9.7 knots. 75.1 miles behind Marc Guillemot or 113.7 miles from the finish, Dee Caffari (Aviva) has been making slower progress this afternoon and is currently sailing around 1 knot slower than the two boats ahead of her.

February 15. 2009 at 19:41More problems for Norbert

Norbert Sedlacek has more problems with his mast track. The screws on the mast are worn and breaking away one by one. The Austrian has taken his mainsail down to try to get the cars back in the track. He will then strap the track to the mast. This time the damage has occurred at second reef and he will therefore need to go back up the mast as soon as possible.

February 15. 2009 at 10:00Latest ETAs

Based on the latest weather information and this morning’s rankings, the latest ETAs (in GMT) established by Météo France are:
Safran: between 21h30 on Sunday evening and 06h00 on Monday morning
Pindar: between 01h00 on Sunday night and 12h00 on Monday
Aviva: between 08h00 and 20h00 on Monday