[January 15, 2001 - 3:09:04 PM]
Josh Hall (EBP-Gartmore) "It has been the lowest point of the
race for me the last two days" said an exhausted Josh. "An
unexpected trough formed behind the strong depression that
passed us on friday and left me with big seas and absolutely
no wind...it has been worse than the doldrums and I have
been desperately making manouvres to achieve 1 or 2 knots
of speed in the variable conditions."
The big seas and very light wind made life very uncomfortable
on board and there was nothing Josh could do but watch his
competitors sail away from him.
"It has been depressing watching the distance on Whirlpool
grow again - I fought hard for 2 weeks to get back in touch
with Catherine only to see it disappear almost overnight.
However - give me another 2 weeks and I’ll be back!" said a
determined Josh.
1150 miles from Cape Horn at midday today, Josh hopes to
arrive on Friday at this the most famous mark in the course.
"At the moment I have 15 kts of headwind but at least its
wind!" Josh commented. "The wind should turn south, then
southwest later so we should have reasonable angles to get
there. I really am getting excited about it now and hope I can
pass close in daylight.I wonder if BurgerKing have a sail-thru
there yet?
Source: Fred Lemonnier, Global Marine
[January 15, 2001 - 2:25:39 PM]
Batlles to win and lose - analysis by Philippe Jeantot.
The return to Atlantic waters has been quite a shock for those
Vendée Globe skippers who have already rounded Cape Horn.
The fifth skipper was Thomas Coville (Sodebo) at around
2200hrs French time on Sunday evening, his third passage but
first in solo mode. The sea has changed dramatically from the
sweeping Southern swell to choppy, roughed up waves, thanks
to the opposing winds dominant in that part of the world.
For third placed Marc Thiercelin (Active Wear), this isn’t good
news as his port side rigging reindexs slightly loose, and yet it
is the tack on which he is forced to sail upwind right now. He is
still within a threatening 200 mile range of his index target,
Ellen MacArthur (Kingfisher), and yet admitted that "her boat
is a little more adapted to upwind sailing than mine". One
advantage he pointed out was his experience of managing
himself and the boat during this final third stage of the race.
"I’ll still push the boat hard but not like four years ago where
it stressed me out. I think I’m less fatigued than Ellen,
whereas it’s her first Globe."
Fourth placed Roland Jourdain (Sill Matines La Potagère) has
finally set off again after a stop-over totalling 17 - 19 hours to
fix his track back on the mast. A bit of a harsh time penalty
for a job that took just 3 – 4 hours to complete. His humour
hadn’t failed him though, as he joked about how "surreal" it
was to realise that he was "stuck up the mast at the end of
the world, with only seals and birds looking curiously on". Back
into the unwelcoming boat-bashing upwind conditions, will
Jourdain come back with the same kind of performance in the
Atlantic leg that he has been capable of in the last two Transat
races?
Catherine Chabaud (Whirlpool) has come through "the
hardest 48 hours since the start", namely a strong depression
with winds of up to 45 knots, nearly throwing her off the boat
when she was trying to move along the deck. She is savouring
her very last Southern Ocean moments before reaching Cape
Horn in a couple of days, knowing that she will not return to
that part of the world’s oceans again alone.
Two degrees North of Chabaud in pursuit is Josh Hall
(EBP/Gartmore), who has also found the last few days his
worst in the race so far, but for very opposite reasons. "An
unexpected trough formed behind the strong depression that
passed us on Friday and left me with big seas and absolutely
no wind...it has been worse than the Doldrums and I have
been desperately making manoeuvres to achieve 1 or 2 knots
of speed." His gain on Whirlpool in the last week now
crumbling before his eyes, Hall is due to arrive at Cape Horn
himself on Friday, with 1150 miles to go until he reaches this
gateway to the Atlantic Ocean.
Two boats in sight of each other below 50 degrees South in
the great Pacific Ocean – could this be imaginable? Mike
Golding (Team Group 4) actually filmed himself passing the
‘red cigar’ yacht of Joé Seeten (Nd Pas de Calais/Chocs du
Monde) yesterday just 3 miles apart! Golding is in 11th place
now and within 200 miles of the next two boats, Bernard
Gallay (Voila.fr) and Patrice Carpentier (VM Materiaux),
clocking slightly faster speeds in the hope of passing them
soon as well.
Yves Parlier (Aquitaine Innovations) has successfully
completed his operation to build an 18 metre mast. However,
the announced force 8 – 9 storm force winds are now his index
worry, if he is to safely cast off from his anchorage. "I’m in my
survival suit inside the boat. It’s night time. I’ve plunged in up
to my waist to tie a second line around a huge rock. There’s a
way I can get the boat out of the inlet under bare poles. I’ll
set off tomorrow night and I can set the storm jib and staysail
immediately."
News from the very back of the fleet is not so good. Russian
skipper Fedor Konyoukhov has reported in with a litany of
problems, which beset him over the weekend. His electric pilot
burned out, and while he was switching to the hydraulic pilot,
the boat went into an accidental gybe. This has resulted in his
backstays and lazy jacks twisting, and his halyard also caught
at the top spreader. Then his generator broke down and he
has complained of kidney pains. He confirmed later that if his
pain worsens without relief, then he may head towards
Tasmania.
After thirty days sailing downwind, the leading boats are now
braving the Atlantic against the prevailing winds and seas. The
best averages were achieved by Titouan Lamazou and Alan
Gautier in 34 days, or 210 miles a day at an average of 8.7
knots. Using this mean, leader Michel Desjoyeaux (PRB) would
arrive in Les Sables d’Olonne on February 13th. The virtual
battle between the 2001 leader with the previous Vendée
Globe winners to establish the time record for this section of
the race has been waged for five days already and yet is still
neck and neck.
[January 15, 2001 - 1:00:54 PM]
Russian skipper Fedor Konyoukhov (MUH) has had an
increasingly worse time over this weekend. Here is a summary
of Fedor’s faxes to the Race HQ during the weekend.
Saturday night: "I am heading south, the wind is strong, now
it is a deep night. All is well on board, barometer is falling."
Sunday: "Suddenly my electric pilot burned out, I switched to
hydraulic pilot. While I was changing pilots, I had an
accidental gybe.
All is broken (Fedor did not specify what exactly was broken).
Ropes are twisted."
2 hours later: "my generator broke down, can’t start the
engine."
Monday morning: "the boat is drifting to North, I trying to
evaluate the damage. I have a strong pain in my kidney. If the pain
will increase
I will turn towards Australia. Fedor"
We will keep the site updated with any further news from
Fedor as soon as we receive it.
[January 15, 2001 - 12:02:00 PM]
Simone Bianchetti (Aquarelle.com) looks after his boat until
Cape Horn...
"I have some South/South-West wind, not steady at all, lots
of squalls yesterday. I am steering a lot to support Mario (his
autopilot), I don’t want him to be too tired. All is well at the
moment, nothing to mention. AS the wind is very shifty it’s
difficult to find a good sails configuration. I reduced for the
night, I have two reefs and a staysail, so that I can stay a
little in my bunk, I haven’t slept much in the last couple of
days. I am doing 10-11 knots of speed average, it’s ok.
My idea is to look after the boat up to Cape HOrn, to keep her
in good shape. After I will see what the possibilities are, and
may be try to win a few positions in the ranking... I don’t think
I can do more..."
[January 15, 2001 - 11:49:00 AM]
Bilou (Sill matines la Potagère):"It’s true, the Vendée Globe is
an incredible race"
"I’ve nearly got out of this…I tried to climb the mast this
morning, but it was too windy & rainy, impossible in other
words. So at midday I finally managed to climb up with my
portable workshop and there and then I fixed the mast track
and even managed to cobble a repair on the gennaker clew. I
left at 1700hrs (French time). I must have spent 19 hours in
total for the stop-over, to do a 3 –4 hour repair job. It’s true,
the Vendée Globe is an incredible race…yesterday up the mast
in the creek, I was saying to myself "What am I doing up
here?!?" at the end of the world, with seals and birds in this
beautiful inlet…it was surreal! I shall miss my little anchorage.
I have left my anchor at the bottom as I couldn’t get it back
on board…it must be at least 1 metre or more embedded in
the sand! I hope I won’t need it anymore, I’ve no desire to do
this again. I still haven’t hoisted the index sail as I need the
Sikaflex to dry and it’s too windy. I still don’t know if I’ll be
able to get it up to 1 reef, if the track will hold. I now find
myself back in Atlantic waters with the familiar chop and
upwind conditions – not really a welcome sight for me. I shall
reindex cautious, I’ve had too many nightmares on this boat
already and I hope the Atlantic doesn’t have anything else in
store for me. Marc & Ellen aren’t that far away…and Michel
could even catch scarlet fever and have to stay in quarantine
at sea!"
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