Vendée Globe

March 23. 2009 at 09:19Norbert back in Austria today

After finishing in Les Sables on 15th March after 126 days of sailing, Norbert Sedlacek is due to receive a hero's welcome in Austria today. His plane should arrive in Vienna at 12h50 today and a crowd is expected at the airport in Schwechat to welcome home the sailor, who finished in eleventh place in the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe.

March 21. 2009 at 09:22Paprec-Virbac 2 in the operating theatre

Jean-Pierre Dick's Paprec-Virbac 2 is undergoing a spring refit in Lorient and is currently being repainted. A huge tent has been erected around the boat to allow this operation to go ahead. The aim is to limit the amount of dust and to avoid the area getting dirty. An extractor fan system is also in use to control the spread of fumes. All of the mechanical parts, the electronic and computer systems and deck hardware is being taken apart and carefully checked and cleaned. Repairs continue on the rudder system, which was the cause of Jean-Pierre's woes and the top part of the rudder is now practically finished.

March 19. 2009 at 20:02Pit stop in Auckland

Derek Hatfield confirmed by e-mail today that he has been forced to carry out a pit stop in New Zealand. The recurrent problems with the autopilot were not solved during the long stopover in Tasmania. He also lost the use of his wind instruments, making it impossible to use real wind mode on his Algimouss-Spirit of Canada. He explained too that he caught a bad cold just before leaving Tasmania and has been feeling extremely tired. The Canadian has therefore decided to carry out some work on his 60-foot monohull before flying home to Canada to see his friends and family and reflect on the best way to bring his boat back to her home port.

March 15. 2009 at 19:12Norbert in the channel

And Norbert gets a huge welcome in the Channel, tens of thousands of people out waving Austrian flags and cheering him to the heavens, welcoming him safely back to Les Sables d'Olonne as the sun starts to set on this wonderful Sunday, on Sedlacek's race and of course also this epic sixth edition of the Vendee Globe.

Gruss Gott the banners say and Norbert is content with his 11th place, he may be the final skipper to complete this course but he is looking to set a record for the most flares lit in the channel, he is a bundle of pent up energy, waving, cheering and loving every second.

March 15. 2009 at 18:25Near the finish

Norbert is just looking for the outside end of the line, hard on the wind as he sails the last half mile of his race. He will cut the line in two or three minutes

March 15. 2009 at 18:22Under a mile to go

Norbert is now around half a mile from the finish, which he should cross in the next ten minutes.  His speed has been fairly irregular over the past hour.  

March 15. 2009 at 17:28The final miles for the Terminator

It is lovely sight as Norbert the terminator closes down the final few miles of the Vendee Globe course, completing the full circle of life of this remarkable race. His yellow and black Nauticsport Kapsch is picked out brillantly in the evening sunshine, heeling gently at times and picking up speed, but the sea is glassy smooth with just a few wind lines now. He has slowed as he gets to within a few miles of the line, but the breeze is blowing offshore and he will have to tack at least once still to get there. It is not going to be a fast finish for Norbert.

March 15. 2009 at 17:03The final miles for Norbert

Norbert Sedlacek is living the final miles of his Vendee Globe dream in the company of his friends and family and supporters who are now alongside in a fleet of RIBS and powerboats on a perfect sunny, Sunday evening. This may have been one of the toughest races yet, with the highest attrition yet, but this is the perfect way to bring it to an end. Sedlacek looks in great shape, joking about the smell from inside his foul weather gear, but he has posed and posed for the media, the former Hilton Vienna waiter about to finish his race.

Nauticsport Kapsch looks in reasonable fettle. He is sailing with the main fixed by a tie at about half height because of the damaged mast track, the cover is gone from the opening into the keel head, and his main looks like it has done a few miles. Otherwise both the boat and the skipper look great. Breeze is just seven or eight knots and he is gliding along towards the line about three and a half or four miles away at about six to eight knots.

March 15. 2009 at 16:50Norbert approaching Les Sables

8 boats are already out on the water to welcome Norbert Sedlacek back to Les Sables.  There is a light breeze and flat calm seas.  He is moving gently along at 7-8 knots under genoa and two reefs.  The seas are so calm it looks like a quiet summer's evening.

March 15. 2009 at 14:43The sixth Vendee Globe finishes between six and six thirty this evening

And so the final finisher of the 2008-9 Vendee Globe, Norbert Sedlacek, is now expected at the finish line between six and six thirty GMT, seven and seven thirty local time. His team have recently spoken to him and he is making around six or seven knots and is less than 30 miles now from the finish line.