11.11.2008
Slipping along at the head of the fleet down the Iberian coast
After 48 hours at sea, nine of the thirty solo sailors participating in the
Vendée Globe 2008-2009 have had to turn back, two of them indicating their
retirement to race management following dismastings. Though the fierce storm
the fleet of Imoca monohulls was riding out yesterday has something to do
with the array of damage, it isn’t the only cause. At the front of the fleet
since Les Sables d’Olonne, the monohull equipped by Baron Benjamin de
Rothschild is at the top of the leaderboard this afternoon, closely tailed
by her sistership, Paprec–Virbac.
Early this morning Gitana Eighty passed the latitude of Cape Finisterre at
the NW tip of Spain; a promontory notorious for its rough seas, which marks
the end of the Bay of Biscay. For Loďck Peyron and his closest rivals,
conditions have finally calmed down. The strong gale and the particularly
violent seas at the start of the race are now in their wake. They are
benefiting from a more moderate NW’ly to slip along downwind along the
Iberian coast: “I’ve got all the sails on deck and the elements have largely
eased at last… There is 15 to 20 knots of breeze and Gitana Eighty is being
accompanied by a good, long swell. The contrast between the current
conditions and those which reigned during the first thirty hours at sea is
striking. I’ve experienced worse wind in the Bay of Biscay, particularly
during the Route du Rhum 2002, but this time it was the sea which was the
most dreadful thing. The boat has taken some hard knocks. I haven’t been
able to do a thorough check yet, but it seems to be alright. The first
battle to get into the right wagon has been won. Others have been a lot less
fortunate than me and my thoughts go out to them!” said the skipper of
Gitana Eighty early this afternoon.
This initial chunk of the race was testing for the machines, as Loďck Peyron
confirmed: “initially it was the sea state which didn’t really favour sleep,
then last night it was the manśuvres on deck which prevented any short slots
of rest. It was necessary to gradually hoist all the sail area as the wind
eased after the front had gone through. Conditions should enable me to
recuperate now though.”
Performing a tack last night prior to his rivals, the sailor from La Baule
was the closest to the coast early this morning. This separation has enabled
him to take the lead in the provisional ranking this afternoon. Made up of
six boats, the leading group is bunched within a 12 mile zone and has
managed to get away from the chasing pack a little with a lead of around
forty miles.
Nocturnal encounter
A few hours after the start on Sunday night, Gitana Eighty narrowly avoided
a cargo ship as the thick fog had reduced the visibility: “I was fogbound as
a cargo ship suddenly appeared close to Gitana Eighty. As a result I bore
away from its course but as just one rudder was in the water, I broached to
leeward… in the end it was a fine stylistic device which was more of a
fright than anything. It is worth noting that Bernard Stamm was less
fortunate since a collision with a Maltese cargo ship forced him to return
to the port of Les Sables d’Olonne to repair the bowsprit which was damaged
on impact. The Swiss sailor has still not been able to head back out to sea.
Ranking on 11th November – 1600 hours (French time)
1. Gitana Eighty (Loďck Peyron)
2. Paprec Virbac (Jean-Pierre Dick) 1.5 miles from the leader
3. Véolia Environnement (Roland Jourdain) 3.1 miles back
4. PRB (Vincent Riou) 7.7 miles back
5. BT (Sébastien Josse) 12 miles back
6. Brit Air (Armel Le Cléac’h) 12.3 miles back …
Temenos:
The fleet see light at the end of the tunnel
At this morning’s radio session Dominique acknowledged feeling a little
tired, which is entirely understandable given the conditions the skippers
have been subjected to since the start of the race. Gusts of over 50 knots
have hit the fleet, and it is the violence with which the wind shifted which
seems to be at the source of the three dismastings over the past 24 hours.
Whilst you need several hours at sea to get yourself organised following a
change of wind direction, if we are to believe the sailors’ accounts it took
just minutes for the S’ly wind to suddenly clock round to the north. The
result is that the fleet has continued to make headway, powered along by the
downwind conditions in what are still S’ly seas. There is no need to be a
hardened sailor to understand that there is no worse scenario for damaging
gear.
Fortunately Temenos II has not suffered any considerable damage, even though
this sudden shift did manage to play some tricks on Dominique:
“I felt the wind shift approaching. I began to prepare my tack change by
shifting the sails across in the forward sail locker. I’d virtually
transferred everything to leeward and was preparing to tie it all down
before beginning my manśuvre, when I felt the boat go sideways on and
broach. At that point I flew into the sail locker and ended up pinned
against the hull with all the sails on top of me (several hundred kilos). It
all happened in a matter of seconds!
I had to extract myself from the heap of sails, and then when I dashed up on
deck, the boat was over on its ear so the tack had begun without me! After
that a removal operation was called for down below to get everything
shipshape again.”
A ‘fine piece of freestyle’ which was fortunately without gravity for
Dominique, aside from a few extra bumps and bruises on the body.
Meantime, whilst the head of the fleet was the first to hit the NW’ly
windshift, Temenos II is still not able to ease her sheets quite as
markedly. This morning the boat was sailing closer on the wind, preventing
her from kicking up any significant bursts of speed. “I’m still sailing too
close on the wind and the seas are still very big, which is making it very
uncomfortable aboard.”
Temenos II was making headway in 18 knots of breeze under jib and one reef
mainsail. The still messy seas were continuing to manhandle the boat and
Dominique found himself in a position where he was forced to reconcile speed
with the preservation of gear.
The drop in temperature, as a direct result of the N’ly wind shift, is not
improving life onboard. Benefiting from the start of a calm spell, Dominique
has been able to change out of his fleece layers which had been soaked from
the outset. After taking care of the boat, it is now time to take a little
care of the skipper… In fact, on putting down the receiver, the skipper
rightly concluded the conversation saying “I’m going to make myself a
coffee!”
Translated by Kate Jennings – Expression
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