14 December 2008
Day 36: Calm before the storm
In brief
- Jean-Pierre Dick increases his lead, now 72 miles in front of second-placed Mike Golding
- A few hours of respite this Sunday morning
- "I'll catch them up soon", says Sébastien
- Bernard Stamm soon to reach the Kerguelens
www.btsebjosse.com http://www.btsebjosse.com/
In Detail
In 5th position 177 miles behind the leader Jean-Pierre Dick, Sébastien Josse was sailing at 12 knots when he answered the Vendée Globe organisers' official call today at 10h15 GMT.
"I have the full main and the big spinnaker up", he explained, "it's like the calm before the storm, we even had a bit of light." The fleet is effectively expecting very rough weather in the next 48 hours, and this morning's quiet conditions will be a short-lived respite. "I've gone from 2 reefs in the main and Solent jib to the full main big spinnaker configuration, which takes about a whole hour of hard efforts", said Sébastien, who went on to comment on what that type of manoeuvre involves in terms of clothing in the Southern Ocean. "It's quite cold so I wear several layers of fleece, and before turning the handles on the grinder I take some off because I get hot very quickly. After manoeuvring you dry yourself, and put all the layers back on."
As far as the race is concerned, Jean-Pierre Dick increased his lead overnight, which did not seem to surprise BT's skipper:"As I said 4 days ago, it is a race of pure speed towards the next ice gate, and the guys in front have pushed hard. I think they're taking risks, yet they played it well so far... but with 3 boats out in the last 5 days, the casualty rate is quite high and tends to remind me that the race is still long. There will be opportunities, and I'll catch up soon! For the time being, it's still quite close and there is a ceratin degree of pressure, yet we know there will be some changes as nothing is set in stone obviously. For the moment I'm in very good shape and so is the boat, and that's important because we're going to be hit by a serious gale in 2 to 3 days."
Stamm to meet Wavre in Kerguelen
Experiencing rudder problems, Bernard Stamm will reach the Kerguelens later today, where he will meet fellow Swiss skipper Dominique Wavre, who had to pull out of the race due to major keel issues. The week has been tough on the fleet with three withdrawals, starting of course with Loick Peyron on Wednesday. He is currently heading towards Australia under jury rig.
|
