[January 11, 2001 - 4:44:52 PM]
The last few days in the Pacific have been anything but a
picnic for the leading boats of the Vendée Globe.
For Thomas Coville, there’s no going back on the missing
surfs. All of the Vendée Globe competitors have been
surprised by the conditions they had in the Pacific. What lies
behind them leaves them relived but frustrated at not having
found what they had set out to find. Soon they well be making
their way back home.
As they round the legendary Cape Horn, the last race mark
before the Sables d’Olonne Bay, the sailors wave goodbye to
the permanent stress, the apprehension which gets a grip on
them and which has been in the bottom of their boots ever
since they hit the Indian Ocean a month ago.
Yesterday Sodebo’s skipper described "a 3-4 metre head sea
accelerated by a big swell with a 12-knot following wind. The
waves crash into one another and form peaks like pyramids.
Waves are breaking all over the place, but it’s got nothing to
do with the wind. The meeting of two masses of water gives
rise to an incredible sort of bubbling. The boats crash down
after each wave only to be picked up straight away and sent
off in the other direction. I’ve never seen that before. The
rigging trembles. I keep thinking about Bilou’s track (Roland
Jourdain), about Ellen’s sails (MacArthur). I don’t want to
damage anything. I’ve taken three hours to put any canvas
up and eventually did so only progressively. All of that in fog
where you couldn’t see any further than 100 metres.
"And then the recompense arrived, although I had paid dearly
for it, acquiring it with difficulty but it is something which will
stay engraved in my mind forever : The wind picked up and
the horizon behind me opened up. An incredible light came
shining through. It was as though all the rays of the sun were
suddenly concentrated under this cloud. Amazing! I don’t have
many beautiful images of the south but I shall be keeping
that one. "
Source: Corine Renié-Péretié
Carré mer
[January 11, 2001 - 4:18:39 PM]
PRB homeward bound, Kingfisher the wounded bird - analysis
by Philippe Jeantot.
Michel Desjoyeaux (PRB), leading the Vendée Globe still,
passed Cape Horn yesterday evening at 1907 hrs (French
time) and at the same time crossed over from the Pacific to
the Southern Atlantic Ocean. Right ahead now is a 7114 mile
straight line with Les Sables d’Olonne at the end of it. No
more vast Southern Ocean swell, with its characteristic long,
deep and powerful waves. No more need for dodging
depressions and icebergs, for fearing capsize or major
damage in deserted and hostile waters. No more taste of
bitter temperatures, rendering the skipper exhausted and
frozen after every manoeuvre on deck. Cape Horn is the exit
sign out of such hellish conditions. Once passed, the
indicators signal a left turn and the heading is directly North,
towards sun, warmth, forgiving winds and a better life.
However, the fleet still must negotiate in reverse the Saint
Helen high pressure system, sitting fat and round in the
middle of the South Atlantic, also the light airs familiar to the
Brazilian coastline, and then cross the Equator and the
Doldrums, which are normally less active in the West. Then
the upwind battle continues in the South East trade winds
generated by the Azores anticyclone. The final hurdle is to
position well for the Westerly flowing North Atlantic low
pressure systems. Lastly, cross back over the Bay of Biscay
and arrive at the finish line in Les Sables d’Olonne.
In the first Vendée Globe, Titouan Lamazou took 34 days to
sail from Cape Horn to Les Sables. In the second edition,
Alain Gautier took exactly the same number of days, and in
the third edition, Christophe Auguin took 38 days. If Michel
Desjoyeaux adds his current number of days at sea to the
number of days taken by the two first Vendée winners, that is
62 + 34, we get to an estimated total run of 96 days, and an
arrival on February 13th.
Desjoyeaux has four days and 18 hours advance over
Christophe Auguin, who holds the current record of 105 days
and 20 hours. Veteran of two previous Vendée’s, Yves Parlier
(Aquitaine Innovations), gave his prediction : "I think Mich is
in time to break the 100 day circumnavigation. Christophe
Auguin was quite slow coming up the Atlantic."
Life in the Pacific Ocean for the rest of the fleet has livened up
a bit, with the wind decidedly more co-operative again. Ellen
MacArthur (Kingfisher) admits that her second position is by
no means secure, though, as she continues an all-consuming
battle to position well for a tricky front coming in to keep North
of its centre, pick up the better winds and round Cape Horn
tomorrow night.
Roland Jourdain (Sill Matines La Potagère) and Marc Thiercelin
(Active Wear), anticipating their own passage the day after
Ellen, are now on the same latitude and just one degree of
longitude apart. Thiercelin is waiting to pounce on the
‘wounded bird’ ahead of Jourdain, though, knowing that the
skipper of ’Sill’ will be relinquishing his top three spot in order
to anchor off the Chilean coast, climb the mast and fix his
mast track for good.
Josh Hall (EBP-Gartmore) is back in the good times, surfing
along at up to 24 knots, and if the weather holds he expects
to reach Cape Horn by the 17th January. Within a day’s sailing
behind Catherine Chabaud (Whirlpool), he is slowly but surely
attacking the miles lying in between them.
News of the adventurers: Simone Bianchetti (Aquarelle.com)
succeeded in finding shelter off Stewart Island and without
actually anchoring he let his boat drift with bare poles, as he
climbed up to fix the second spreader on his mast. "It doesn’t
look pretty, but then it’s sturdy and it has put me at my ease
again."
Yves Parlier (Aquitaine Innovations) spent another successful
day in his temporary floating workshop in the bay of Stewart
Island. He has dismasted the boat and started cutting carbon.
"When I saw the boom vertical and the mast horizontal the
whole thing seemed somewhat paradoxical!" Amused by
circling helicopters carrying curious photographers, Yves is
certainly vying with Michel for attention, if just for his incredible
ingenuity and determination.
[January 11, 2001 - 2:07:58 PM]
Josh Hall (EBP/Gartmore) : ""Is Whirlpool still offering a
laundry service??....I have some socks and thermals that
need a wash! "
1045UTC 11 January 51.36S 121.30W
Wind at last !
After some days of light conditions, EBP/Gartmore has had
more typical southern ocean weather for the last 24hrs.
A depression to the south and a front passing through us
yesterday afternoon have provided some strong wind and big
seas" reported skipper Josh Hall. " Yesterday afternoon was
quite beautiful here with 35-40 knot winds , a big swell and
bright sunshine.....we have been flying along at speeds of up
to 24 kts on the surfs. I had nearly forgotten what it was like
to go fast!!"
Showing 1900 miles to Cape Horn this morning, Josh hopes to
arrive at the famous Cape on January 17 or 18 - if the
weather co-operates.
"I hope this depression will give us favourable winds for a few
days and that will help a lot. Its a strange life down here -
either cold and frustrating in the light conditions, or cold and
uncomfortable when its strong......I am looking forward to
seeing my old friend The Atlantic again!"
179 miles behind Whirlpool this morning Josh is happy that
EBP/Gartmore is indextaining a solid position in the fleet.
"Is Whirlpool still offering a laundry service??....I have some
socks and thermals that need a wash! Then I need to check
on my investments with UBP and after that a pizza would be
nice from Sodebo!" joked Josh.
Source: Fred Lemonnier EBP/Gartmore
[January 11, 2001 - 12:47:03 PM]
A small message on email from Italian skipper Pasquale de
Gregorio (WIND):
About the sea, it is enough to go 2 degrees south in latitude
that the panorama and atmosphere change radically, becoming sad,
lugubrious and the waves turn into a very particular shape. I’ll
get used to it. Today the desalinisator produced other 7 bottles
of pure sweet water and
the cabin Vhf is also repaired and back to work. The weather
and temperature are not too bad and with light winds, good to make
other boat checks".
Source: Oriana Ubaldi, WIND
[January 11, 2001 - 12:33:35 PM]
Bilou (Roland Jourdain: Sill Matines la Potagère): "I’m
feverishly waiting to reach the rock."
"A depression has passed above me, I’m sort of sailing
between upwind and close reaching with the shifting wind. I’m
feverishly waiting to reach the rock. I’ll be able to work out my
ETA when the wind changes, perhaps around 0000hrs on 13th
January. I’m ready, with a watertight bag weighing 7 – 8 kilos,
carrying all the tools inside, to shin up the mast. My checklist
looks like an Air France pilot’s pre-flight inventory! Once I’m
up top I can’t have forgotten to bring anything with me! I can’t
get the anchoring operation wrong the first time either. To do
this single-handed is not something I’m experienced at. I’ll
have to wait until it’s held before going up the mast.
Sometimes I am envious of the others, and things are great
for Michel, he’s on a roll, it’s all been a question of weather
strategy. Yes, I look at him and am jealous of his position."
[January 11, 2001 - 12:15:46 PM]
Joé Seeten( Nord Pas de Calais/ Chocolats du Monde): "I
should arrive at Cape Horn around the 22 or 23 January."
"The weather for the last 48 hours has been terrible. Hard to
push the boat through it, I keep in 1 reef in the index sail.
This evening the sky has cleared up a bit, the moon is bright
and stars sparkling overhead – I’ve discovered that this part
of the South is really beautiful."
"Mich knew how to build a top boat with the advice of other
sailors and a real vision from Isabelle Autissier. The new
boats have more precise instrumentation. Michel has always
worked hard on his weather. So nothing unexpected there.
"I should arrive at Cape Horn on January 22 – 23rd. I hope
there’ll be a welcoming committee for me there! Without
doubt Yvon and his daughter Karine (Fauconnier) will come
out. It would be great to see someone after one and a half
months!
"Four or five days ago both my wind generators broke down. I
think it was due to the magnetic South Pole as they have
graphite particles inside them. It seemed so bizarre for both
to fail a few days after each other,"
"Congratulations to Thierry & Yves! Hats off to these guys,
they are the real craftsmen of sailing and nature."
[January 11, 2001 - 12:03:19 PM]
All is OK for Fedor
This is his last fax message received by the Vendée Globe
press office:
"This is Modern University for Humanities boat. Skipper Fedor
Konyukhov - Russia.
Boat status : OK
Positions: 45.41 s and 066.56 e
Wind: -W 15 knots
boat speed: 07 knots
FEDOR OK"
|
