Vendée Globe

February 17. 2009 at 18:50Familar stars in the sky

"We are officially out of flying fish territory now, and the last occupants who had somewhat outstayed their welcome under the staysail deckbag have now been evicted! It is a bit of a relief actually; although they are a real triumph of the creature creation department, to be throwing them back many times per night when I should be sleeping is an activity that will not be missed. Even though the have mastery of two elements, someone forgot to install brains, which was a shame, but I reckon one had a crash helmet to protect what little brain it had - there is a small head shaped dent in the cockpit side which was not there before. At fourteen inches long for a big flying fish it is possible........

It is gradually getting cooler, and I have broken out socks and boots for the nightime, and for the first time today, during the day as well. It's nice that it is a bit cooler, we just need some wind to go with it now. At night all the stars look familiar again, and if I look behind me, almost due south, the star that flashes red, white and green is clearly visible a hands width above the horizon - if you don't believe me, find a dark place where there's no light pollution on a clear night and have a look, it is there flashing away!

With Dee safely in up we have, she promises, seen the last of her jokes. Some will say that mine were worse I'm sure, but they all gave us something to have a groan about!  I've been thinking a lot about canting keels too, and the designs for the new boat. It's funny how you can throw a battery on any thirty year old JCB that has been sitting in a field and it will fire up and the bucket will go up and down without any trouble. Put that in a boat and it all seems to fall apart however, it should all work fine but never seems to....so soon hopefully I'll be on e-bay looking for a second hand digger to canibalise for my canting keel hydraulics!"

Steve White (Toe in the Water)  in his daily message

February 17. 2009 at 07:49Derek preparing to sail

“It's been six weeks since arriving in Hobart with Algimouss Spirit of Canada. During this time we have been slowly getting the boat back to sailing configuration. The remaining Vendee Globe competitors have been racing to the finish in Les Sables and it has been fantastic following the race from the sidelines but I must admit to a twinge of "unfinished business" for us as I watch and read about them going up the "channel" in Les Sables. It's pure magic and it makes my resolve even stronger to be a part of the race again in four years time. The team has a lot of hurdles to overcome and they won't be easy but that is why the Vendee Globe is the hardest race in the world. The new rigging from Navtec has arrived and the two spreaders for the mast are slated to arrive early on Monday the 16th February and with some luck with the weather, the mast will be back up Monday evening. I've decided to sail the boat back and it will take about 3 days to prepare for departure.”
Derek Hatfield (Algimouss-Spirit of Canada)
 

February 16. 2009 at 22:32Dee wants to be back in 2012

Dee talks about her weekend movies, the X-factor and her choice of shampoo.  You can listen to her press conference by clicking here

February 16. 2009 at 20:30Rich Wilson my own private low

"Still going. We have our own private low formed off the brazilian coast to bend the wind in a more adverse direction than even the ne trades would be. Had perhaps 16 or 18 thunderstroms come through this morning, rain, wind, no wind, 50 degree wind shifts, sails up, sails down, heading for france, heading for mexico, pounding, crashing, keel on, keel off, start over. Knocked the windcharger, already loose, completely off its mount to dangle by its wires. Maybe tomorrow will be better."

Rich Wilson in his daily message

February 16. 2009 at 18:24Into the channel for Dee and ready to dock.

The timing could not be better, the sun is dipping like a huge orange fireball to her west, on the left side of the channel as she comes towards the marina, and the flares are luminous in the evening light. Once again it is amazing how many people have turned out to see the popular Caffari as she arrives and she keeps smiling and waving, laughing at times. In so many ways the finish line may open the release valve on the emotions, but these minutes down the channel are the real reward, the time to fully realise that the race is well and truly over, and the time to celebrate is now.

February 16. 2009 at 18:18Into the channel for Dee and ready to dock.

And the flares are lit, Dee on the bow of the Owen Clarke designed Aviva which was built in New Zealand from the same mould as Mike Golding's Ecover 3 by Hakes Marine.  She is waving furiously, trying not to miss anyone of the thousands of people who have turned out to see her on this Monday evening. From having sailed so much of the race with her French chum Calli, Arnaud Boissieres, he is now not expected to arrive until later in the week.

February 16. 2009 at 18:15Into the channel for Dee and ready to dock.

A perfect evening follows a perfect finish for Dee Caffari as the sun starts to think about going down casting a warm glow over the still waters of the canal and the marina Port Olona. Dee is on the foredeck with her boyfriend Harry as they come into the channel, waving to the big crowds who have turned out in force to greet Dee and her yellow Open 60.

February 16. 2009 at 16:32Veolia Environnement aboard a cargo vessel

A fortnight after reaching Ponta Delgada on the island of Sao Miguel in the Azores, Veolia Environnement was loaded on to a cargo ship yesterday. She is due to reach Lorient on 23rd February. As for Bilou, he was aboard Safran, alongside Marc Guillemot during the night as they made their way into the harbour in Les Sables.

February 16. 2009 at 15:10Dee's first words at the finish

You can hear an interview at the finish with Dee Caffari by clicking here:

Here are the highlights of the interview:
There were people there waving and saying hello and I thought that was pretty cool and then a random motor cruiser came up and shouted Go Dee! And I thought wow I’m close to the finish now. Then when everybody came out towards me… I knew there would be some Ribs and stuff, but this sight was brilliant and it’s such a gorgeous day. The sunset was beautiful and a lovely sunrise and I had dolphins, so I knew it was going to be a good day.

On finishing sixth: If you’d said that in the beginning, I’d have laughed in your face. I had an awesome start, then I made a few mistakes tactically in the Atlantic and the intensity of the race in the South Atlantic was just phenomenal. I sort of said, I’m not sure if I can do this. I was OK in the south, then I lost a bit of confidence in my first storm. Everybody was having lots of problems and that was when all the damage was happening and there was Yann’s injury and I lost all my confidence then.

Cape Horn was interesting. It was quite nice to hang out and know that the other two were with me. And I had an awesome Atlantic – I suddenly turned the corner and I’d grown into my boat. I did the repair on the main to keep it going a little bit longer. We just decided as a team to go for it and if it fell apart we’d deal with that later. I was really pleased to close the gap and then the Doldrums were a nightmare. A horrible two days, the worst two days of the race. I lost 300 miles to Brian in two days. Then I spent the North Atlantic closing the gap, but I just ran out of runway today. So I didn’t quite get him, but I’m happy to have pushed him all the way to the line.

Literally I started sailing in an Open 60 eighteen months ago. In my first solo race I hated it and cried all the way and got dismasted right before the end. I thought, Oh my God! What have I let myself in for? But I loved this and have grown into the boat all the time.

And your team? The reason why I’m here is that they did such a good job preparing the boat. I owe them lots of booze and I know I did them proud. They’re really chuffed with their project and we did it together. They did the boat and I just had to go and sail it and they’ve been there whenever I needed them.
 

February 16. 2009 at 14:12Dee finishes

And Dee reaches the finish line on Aviva in sixth place at 13:12:57 hrs GMT

- Race time : 99 days, 1h, 10 minutes and 57 seconds
- Theoretical speed : 10.45 knots
- Distance covered on the water : 27,907 miles
- Average real speed: 11.74 knots

Dee finished 14 days, 22 hours and 1 minute after Michel Desjoyeaux.