Vendée Globe

December 03. 2009 at 12:47Seb Josse already looking forward to 2012

Sébastien Josse is planning to line up for his third Vendée Globe in October 2012 at the helm of a new boat. He will need to begin the construction work in a year from now. 2010 is going to be a big year for Sébastien, as he is also planning to take part in the Solitaire du Figaro: " With the BT project ending, 2010 is the right time to start afresh.My idea is to do a season in the Figaro to get ready for the 2012 Vendée Globe and start thinking about the new 60-foot IMOCA. In fact, we’re already looking around at the new boats and we’re beginning to think about the choice of designer, yard and the technical aspects."

November 28. 2009 at 20:17Artemis, the final boat to finish in Puerto Limon

With the arrival at 0650 hrs on Saturday 28th November of the Artemis monohull skippered by Samantha Davies and Sidney Gavignet, the 2009 Transat Jacques Vabre (double-handed race) came to an end with Marc Guillemot and Charles Caudrelier Benac finishing as the ultimate winners. The transatlantic race was marked by four boats having to retire out of the fourteen IMOCA monohulls taking part with the two VPLP – Verdier designed boats, Safran and Groupe Bel coming out on top, while there was disappointment for Michel Desjoyeaux and Jérémie Beyou, which resulted in Marc Guillemot becoming 2009 IMOCA World Champion.

Final rankings in the 2009 Transat Jacques Vabre:
1 - SAFRAN / Marc Guillemot - Charles Caudrelier Benac
2 - GROUPE BEL / Kito De Pavant - François Gabart
3 - MIKE GOLDING YACHT RACING / Mike Golding - Javier Sanso
4 - FONCIA / Michel Desjoyeaux - Jérémie Beyou
5 - W HOTELS / Alex Pella - Pepe Ribes
6 - VEOLIA ENVIRONNEMENT / Roland Jourdain - Jean Luc Nélias
7 - AKENA VERANDAS / Arnaud Boissières - Vincent Riou
8 - AVIVA / Dee Caffari - Brian Thompson
9 - 1876 / Yves Parlier- Pachi Rivero
10 - ARTEMIS / Samantha Davies - Sidney Gavignet

Four boats forced to retire:
- HUGO BOSS / Alex Thomson - Ross Daniel
- DCNS / Marc Thiercelin - Christopher Pratt
- BT / Sébastien Josse - Jean François Cuzon
- BRIT AIR / Armel Le Cleac'h - Nicolas Troussel
 

November 18. 2009 at 11:47News of Jean-Pierre Dick

Jean-Pierre Dick is currently in New Zealand overseeing the construction of his new IMOCA 60 monohull, while preparing physically for a busy end to 2010 with the Route du Rhum and the Barcelona World Race.

JP Dick: “I arrived in New Zealand three weeks ago and I’m being kept busy! I go down to the Cookson yard every day to work on some of the important details to ensure the boat is completely functional: the layout of the deck hardware, the ballast tanks, the mast. This is a fascinating stage of the project and I’m really enjoying myself. Late next year, I shall be following the solo transatlantic race with a double-handed round the world race. So I’m taking care now of my physical condition. I do some muscle strengthening work, cycling, gym, trekking and of course, swimming. I take part in a competition in Takapuna (Auckland) every Tuesday evening after work, where we swim a kilometre in the sea. Last time there were more than 300 of us and I finished around fiftieth. Not bad, eh?"

November 02. 2009 at 12:31Dee Caffari and Brian Thompson sailing together on Aviva

On Sunday 8 November, British sailing duo Dee Caffari and Brian Thompson will start in the ninth edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre onboard the Open 60 Aviva. The Transat Jacques Vabre will be the first competitive race for Dee since the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe.

Joining Caffari, Thompson and Aviva on the start line, will be 13 other Open 60s. The 4800-mile course will be the first time Caffari and Thompson have sailed two-handed together having been rivals throughout the 2008 / 09 edition of the Vendée Globe. Dee Caffari said: “I can’t wait to be back out on the water racing Aviva and the opportunity to sail with Brian as co-skipper is fabulous. We were so close to each other during the Vendée Globe it’s as if we’ve already spent a lot of time sailing together.” Brian Thompson added: "We have a quick boat and get on well together so I believe we will be competitive out there. With so many new Open 60s racing it is going to be intense, but very exciting."
 

October 08. 2009 at 18:53Vincent Riou suffers a minor injury

Vincent Riou has cracked a bone in his foot after falling from a ladder. He is being well looked after by the orthopaedist at Lorient Football Club and will be using crutches and a splint for ten days, but should be well enough to take part in the final training session alongside Arnaud Boissières on Monday 19th October. Although this accident is rather annoying at this stage, it does not throw into question his taking part in the Transat Jacques Vabre. After resting today, he will be visiting the yard tomorrow to see how work is progressing on his new monohull.

September 19. 2009 at 19:08Training off Brittany

Three IMOCA 60 monohulls carried out a joint training session this week off the southern coast of Brittany. Artemis with Sam Davies on board set sail from Port-le-Forêt alongside BT for a speed trial to Quiberon, where they met up with Marc Guillemot's Safran. The three monohulls took advantage of the strengthening north-easterly wind to sail further away from the the coast under spinnaker. With a wind reaching thirty knots, they furled the spinnaker to head up towards Ushant.
These were perfect conditions to test the various configurations and to get used to such sailing conditions. At dawn, the three boats headed back towards Penmarc'h in SW Brittany. Sam freely admits that the speed of Artemis tends to drop off when reaching and Jonny Malbon's former monohull is certainly much more demanding than her old Roxy.
 

August 29. 2009 at 15:04BT in for a minor refit in Port-la-Forêt

The shore team of the BT IMOCA 60 are working hard on the preparation of the boat for the major race of the season - the Transat Jacques Vabre starting from Le Havre on the 8th of November. Pierre Emmanuel Hérissé, boat captain of BT commented: "BT has now been in the shed in Port La Foret (in Brittany) for 10 days. We are doing a complete check, but no major changes are being made. The final preparation of the keel, hull and rudders has been done. We checked, cleaned and replaced when necessary the deck hardware. 80% of the running rigging is being changed and we are replacing all the standing rigging. BT should be back in the water on the 7th of September and we will do the 10 degree test to ensure she conforms to IMOCA rules and can obtain her 2009/10 certificate."

August 20. 2009 at 12:17Eliès and Desjoyeaux in the Top Ten

Out of the five Vendée Globe skippers taking part in the 2009 Solitaire du Figaro, only Yann Eliès, who finished in a remarkable second place and Michel Desjoyeaux, who ended up fifth, were ranked in the final top ten in this exceptional edition of the race, which was won in Dieppe by the young Breton skipper Nicolas Lunven. A little further down the rankings, we could find Jérémie Beyou, who in spite of two leg wins finished 14th, with Armel Le Cléac'h 35th and Jonny Malbon 45th.

The Top Ten in the 2009 Solitaire
1 - Nicola Lunven
2 - Yann Eliès
3 - Frédéric Duthil
4 - Thierry Chabagny
5 - Michel Desjoyeaux
6 - Nicolas Troussel
7 - Gildas Morvan
8 - Nicolas Béranger
9 - Erwann Tabarly
10- Charles Caudrelier Benac
 

July 29. 2009 at 17:55Dee and Brian against Cali and Vincent

Two of the British skippers, who tok part in the last edition of the Vendée Globe will be joining forces aboard Aviva for the Artemis Challenge next Wednesday. Dee Caffari has invited Brian Thompson on her Open 60 Aviva for this race around the Isle of Wight. In all, there will ne nine in her crew setting out from Cowes, including the main members of the Aviva team, but also the adventurer Neil Laughton, who recently carried out the voyage from London to Tombouctou aboard an innovative flying car. A BBC regional news reporter will be joining them for this race, which Aviva will sail on behalf of Sail 4 Cancer, which tries to encourage sufferers to lead an active life by sailing. For Dee, there will also be the pleasure of doing battle once again with her friend from the Vendée Globe, Arnaud Boissières. Cali will in fact be alongside Vincent Riou aboard the new Akena Vérandas.

July 28. 2009 at 16:06Derek Hatfield hands over his Spirit of Canada

The Canadian sailor, Derek Hatfield has just been looking back at the past few months since he was forced to retire from the Vendée Globe. After carrying out repairs in Tasmania, he was unable to find the budget required to have his Spirit of Canada delivered back to Canada and was forced to leave his boat in Auckland. He then found the financial problems were such that he needed to hand his boat over to the lender. Derek takes up the story: "Since June, another Canadian has become the owner of the boat. I am not certain at this time what the plans are for the Open 60 or if I will be involved with it but I am very proud that the boat will continue to be of Canadian registry. At this point, I am in the Maritimes with the family and starting to think about future sailing projects. I have started to write a book about the past two round the world races (the Around Alone 2002 and the Vendee Globe 2008). The team and I are committed to continue with Spirit of Canada. We are beginning to work towards an exciting new campaign and I will be announcing the details of the next Spirit of Canada project in the next few months."