Week of 2nd – 8th January 2001
Tuesday 2nd January
Technical Problems
The Vendée Globe Race HQ learned from a fax sent by race leader Michel
Desjoyeaux (PRB), that the electrical engine for the starter of his
Yanmar 37 hp engine had burned out. Draconian measures of economy had to
be taken : no more satellite communication by Standard B or M, nor
satellite images or Internet connection to look at weather sites and
forecasts, and the few amps available would be exclusively reserved for
the autopilot and navigation instruments, and even the latter will be
stripped to its minimal functions.
Roland Jourdain (Sill Matines La Potagere) and Ellen MacArthur
(Kingfisher) both plunged to 56 and 57 degrees South, entering back into
freezing water temperatures of 0.8 degrees Celsius, and thus the real
possibility of another iceberg encounter. "I’ve got the radar on"
Jourdain said.
Catherine Chabaud (Whirlpool), disturbed by abnormal noises coming from
her rudder yesterday, was finally reassured by her shore team that it
was a bearing problem. "I hit something along the African coast, I think
it might be the cause." She had to stop the boat and make two gybes to
check it out thoroughly, but is now back on route.
Josh Hall (EBP-Gartmore) has finally crossed the International Date
Line, halved his distance behind Whirlpool, and is in a good wind flow
in the North. "If we can hang on to this weather system for another
week, the next one could see us there which will limit our exposure to a
bad storm down here."
Javier Sanso (Old Spice) is now back on form after hearing that Dubois,
along with Dinelli & Parlier, are carrying on their circumnavigations.
He is hoping now to stop in Perth, Australia, very quickly and continue
on round.
Wednesday 3rd January
Ice-land
‘Bilou’ (Jourdain) hit the iceberg alarm button first at 2130hrs :
"Warning, iceberg and growlers spotted at 57°36S & 143°36 W."
Immediately this warning was faxed to the other competitors. As if in an
echo, Ellen replied two hours later: "6 large icebergs, spotted in a
line 58°24S, 143°03W & 58°07S, 145°07W." Ellen was still reeling at the
sheer beauty of the 7th and largest iceberg, and equally on edge as
well. She revealed that her radar had only picked up one of the string
of bergs she has seen, even though all of them had been quite enormous
(about 500m long and 200m high). These floating white rocks have drifted
up from the Ross Sea. Both skippers soon gybed from their 110 degree
heading to climb back up Northwards on a heading of 50 degrees.
Marc Thiercelin (Active Wear) has been thwarted in his strategy to "make
the shortest route possible" and upset the top rankings before the
upwind leg starts in the Atlantic. "Tactically this is bad news as it
would pay to continue but I’m heading directly into the iceberg zone.
It’s just become night, zero visibility and large black clouds. I’m
going to gybe North right away!"
Mike Golding (Team Group 4) talked at length about the problems he has
had with his batteries and the progress he had made. "The battery was
low on water so I replaced it, I added 2 and a half litres of water,
quite a lot, and it definitely had an immediate effect." However,
Golding has rarely slowed down in the last few days, and should catch a
stronger depression very shortly to further propel him towards the next
set of boats
Bernard Gallay, sailing the last Vendée Globe winning boat as Voila.fr,
complained that he had suffered ten days of light airs, which has lost
him 700 miles on Josh Hall (EBP-Gartmore). He was starting to look over
his shoulder for the other Brit approaching at full speed behind him
then.
Thursday 4th January
Good day and bad day
At miday local time, Thierry Dubois (Solidaires) left the port of Bluff,
New Zealand. Five days stop-over during which the French skipper
repaired his damages and replaced the spare engine parts he needed.
Russian adventurer, Fedor Konyukhov (Modern University for the
Humanities) reported that his index sail is broken. In particular the 3rd
reef area (down part of the index) has exploded, during a manoeuvre in
stormy weather. He said he will try to repair the index sail when the
weather allows it. The weather itself is very cold and rainy. He also
complained that he is lonely, missing his family, and his country.
Michel Desjoyeaux finally worked out a solution to his engine problem.
With a system of blocks and ropes he has managed to transfer the boom
power to the alternator block. He wound a line around this block (like
on an outboard engine). As he hadn’t got enough power to pull with just
his own human strength, he attached another rope at the other end of the
boom. Then he let go of the index sheet. The wind force on the sail
pulled the rope hard and fast enough to start the rotation on the motor,
which started the engine. « I have never been so happy to hear an
engine. I kept the batteries charging for three hours. »
Friday 5th January
Ellen MacArthur moves into second position
On the 16th of December, off the Kerguelen islands, as Roland Jourdain
was sailing with his solent and a reef, his indexsail rail broke at the
first reef level and then an hour later his genoa unravelled from the
forestay 3 metres. « I crossed the Indian and the Pacific ocean with two
reefs in the indexsail and the gennaker or the staysail. I couldn’t use
the genoa anymore. Below 20 knots of wind, I haven’t got enough sails
up. I miss power which is why Michel Desjoyeaux (PRB) has outdistanced
me a bit and that Ellen (Kingfisher) managed to pass me. It’s
frustrating to sail a Ferrari with a 2 hp engine. After Cape Horn, I
will look for a shelter to have flat seas and start repairing. I can get
a piece of rail at the bottom and fix it instead of the broken one. I
can’t make any mistake. That’s why I really need to find a shelter, I
will also repair my genoa. »
Ellen MacArthur, the youngest of the Vendée Globe fleet passed Roland
Jourdain after 58 days at sea, into second position.
Yves Parlier (Aquitaine Innovations) was facing chemical problems. The
resin he will use to fix together his mast pieces doesn’t harden below
20 degrees celsius. The temperature onboard is 8 degrees. Yves, to
laminate his mast extension, must built around his mast a sort of little
oven with some survival blankets. Once sealed, he brings some heat with
five light bulbs of 25 Watts each. He was thinking of installing some
pipes around the extension, and to put some hot water from his engine
water cooling system in a close circuit. With the two combined systems,
he believes he will be able to get 30°C that he will have to indextain
for 2 days to be have a perfect cure of the resin.
Saturday 6th January
Surprise in the South
Marc Thiercelin (Active Wear) managed to get back 100 miles from Roland
Jourdain (Sill Matines La Potagère), was nevertheless feeling helpless :
"He is in a steady South Westerly and we are in a Nor’Westerly. It’s a
shame as we came back quite close from him. However, the weather maps
show there has been no wind at all for a week around Cape Horn. It would
be great to have five or six boats in the lead for a long sprint up to
the finish line. "
Catherine Chabaud (Whirlpool) has had no wind for several days : " I am
going at the same speed as the weather system. I am in a trough without
much wind this year. I don’t recognise the South."
Dominique Wavre (Union Bancaire Privée) was of the same mind. " Usually,
we pass from a strong wind system to another one, this year, I feel like
I spend my time avoiding the calms and fighting not to end up in one of
them. The face of the race has changed."
Life onboard is quite good as well, as the boats are following a route
further North than the previous years. The water temperature is 7°C, and
the air temperature is not too bad either. To go outside and do some
manoeuvres, the skippers only need a fleece and their wet weather gear,
it’s quite comfortable.
Simone Bianchetti (Aquarelle.com) has been sailing for a long time on a
North route and is thinking of doing a quick stop in a shelter in order
to repair his second stage spreader. Following an unfortunate gybe, the
indexsail pushed a bit too hard on the spreader, and started to break the
back of this spreader. There is no immediate danger to see the spreader
break, and the mast to fall but the rig might not support another gybe
of the same kind.
In the first three Vendée Globe editions, the sailors who passed Cape
Horn in first position also got the line honours in Les Sables d’Olonne.
It is not a rule but the one first at Cape Horn will certainly have a
psychologic advantage over the others. Michel Desjoyeaux is in good
place to be that one.
Sunday 7th January
Michel Desjoyeaux pushes out his lead
Yves Parlier (Aquitaine Innovations) neared to Stewart Island where he
will be able to effect the repairs to his mast. His master plan was
already in place to extend his mast to 18 metres: mooring and
consolidation on Monday; dismantling the existing piece of mast on
Tuesday; putting together the mast pieces on Wednesday and Thursday;
stratification on Friday; putting the new mast in place and rigging. "I
hope to get sailing again on Sunday with 200m of sail area."
Michel Desjoyeaux (PRB) put more water in between him and the chasing
pack, led by Ellen MacArthur (Kingfisher), thanks to a unique 20 – 30
knot South West breeze flowing at the same speed as his boat. The
following boats were all stuck in a light wind trough behind, only able
to wait for the next system to catch them and send the boats rocketing
off in good breeze on the surf again towards Cape Horn.
With 990 miles to go until Cape Horn, PRB has a 480 mile advance, which
represents approximately a day and a half of sailing. Michel Desjoyeaux
was not resting on his laurels for the third section of this legendary
circumnavigation. "I still hope to increase that lead before Cape Horn.
But you can’t just forget about the third leg up the Atlantic – plenty
could happen, yes, the conditions are better, but the boats will be
tired after a great deal of manoeuvring on the way down, perhaps not as
much in the South. But I’m definitely not going to push it – I’m trying
to safeguard the equipment.
Ellen MacArthur knew she was a system behind the leader then, despite
finding more wind again today. "I’ve done a reconnaissance of this last
third of the race – I hope it will be an advantage. Above all I just am
so happy to be able to do the Vendée Globe, difficult as it is, and
share my experience with as many people as possible."
Monday 8th January
When the wind is in hiding
Roland Jourdain (Sill Matines La Potagere) has chosen to stop at Coleta
Marcial on the East coast of the island just to the North of Horn
island, a well known sheltering hole from the dominant winds of the
Southern Ocean, to climb the mast and effect repairs.
Catherine Chabaud (Whirlpool) has slipped further behind the pack of
front-runners, despite having a boat to match them in this, her second
Vendée Globe: "You have to reach into yourself quite deep to find the
motivation and energy to continue. I’m not disappointed, as I’ve done
the best I can, and you just have to stay strong in your head when the
weather’s frustratingly light."
Just behind was a rather more joyful Josh Hall (EBP-Gartmore), whose
recent tactics of heading Northeast in order to reach favourable winds
sooner than Chabaud paid off and he was clocking around 10 – 11 knots
again. "I know the winds will eventually swing southwest then west and
by starting in the north I should have a faster angle of wind to sail
southeast with."
Bernard Gallay (Voila.fr), a veteran of the ’93 Vendée himself, remarked
that in that edition : "I had force 8-9 during nearly 15 days! So I left
with that idea and I haven’t had a third of what I had the last time!"
His sentiments were echoed by Mike Golding (Team Group 4), who noticed
on the weather charts that the index activity is in the North Pacific
rather than the South. Golding has made the most of it though, by
successfully producing some more fresh water and repairing his Sat B "by
filing off a piece of the antenna, which was jamming – a strange thing
to do to an eight thousand pound piece of equipment!"
Yves Parlier (Aquitaine Innovations) arrived at Stewart Island at
midnight and no doubt had commenced his repair work schedule. Italian
skipper Simone Bianchetti (Aquarelle.com) was also heading to the same
destination in order to repair his spreader.
There is still time for some stronger winds to rise up, and the actual
competition taking place on the water after 61 days at sea is remarkably
close compared, for instance, to the 1472 mile lead Christophe Auguin
had on Gerry Roufs four years ago on the same day. Veteran of this race
herself, Chabaud added to the point of this regatta-style
circumnavigation: "I hope that the competition hasn’t distracted too
much from the human adventure, which is found in the limits you explore
inside yourself, just as much in the storms as in the light airs."
And finally, a message has come from Fedor Konyoukhov on Modern
Universty For The Humanities, who is sailing at 7 knots past the
Kerguelen Islands. He has tried to repair his broken index sail, but
could not finish the work as he was caught by local low pressure with
wind up to 50 knots. He has reported also a battery problem with his
generator.
Will Michel Desjoyeaux, just 700 miles from the ‘Rock’, become the first
solo sailor to round the Horn in the new Millenium?
|
