10.02.2001
PRB’s race round the world
5th November : Theoretical starting date, postponed due to a
severe gale warning put out for Sunday-Monday night. In the
starting blocks, Michel reindexed on board PRB : « already
underway » and yet « still there ».
Start on 9th November : At 16h21, the starting shot freed the
24 singlehanders. A 5-knot easterly wind saw the fleet off.
Sill Matines-La Potagère, Roland Jourdain’s monohull, was
first across the starting line. PRB, beat towards the coast. In
this « Figaro » style fleet, Michel Desjoyeaux went for the
outside, opting for speed rather than a straight line course. A
gamble which worked, as after this « hook » PRB was ahead
of Sill at the offset mark.
15th November : PRB was in the lead at the Canary Island
race mark. Aquitaine Innovations followed just 20 miles in
her wake. heading due south, Michel Desjoyeaux and Yves
Parlier sailed incredibly fast downwind. The chasing pack,
lying further west, lost ground.
22nd November : The Doldrums, that unpredictable level
crossing, absolute torture for the coolest of skippers. Yves
Parlier, opted to go east and moved into the lead as a result.
Michel was hot on his heels. In tandem, Aquitaine
Innovations and PRB, came out of the Doldrums just 31
miles apart. Michel admitted « This close contact regatta suits
me down to the ground. I did not set out to do a
round-the-world yacht delivery. »
24th November : « I get the distinct impression that I have
been here before ». In 1996, Aquitaine Innovations had
crossed the equator ahead of another boat by the name of
PRB (with Isabelle Autissier at the helm). In 2000, the same
boat from the Aquitaine region was in front of PRB again, but
a new generation PRB. Gap between the boats as they
crossed over the « line » : 2h26 . And a repeat performance
of the honours due to Aeolus and Neptune: « Champagne ! »
3rd December : Sunday, and the GPS display read 40° south.
Look out Southern Ocean, here we come ! A long swell and
some new travelling companions : petrels and albatrosses.
The first roars of the Forties made an appearance : 30/35
knots westerlies propelled PRB along, her course changing
along with the barometer.
6th December : Yves Parlier led the fleet into the southern
latitudes at a very high pace indeed. His strategy was crystal
clear : to pull far enough away so that there would be one
weather system between him and the rest of the fleet.
8th December : Overnight PRB interrupted his descent to the
Screaming Fifties and gybed to head north-east. Bilou
(Roland Jourdain), a fellow Port La Forêt racer, did likewise a
few hours later. Surprise all round back on land. Michel, was
obviously keeping his cards close to his chest and setting up
a long-term strategy. This was one of the turning points in
the Vendee Globe.
9th December : PRB came up quite far north to take the
lead. In so doing, Michel Desjoyeaux made a tactical move
which pulverised the horrendous pace south set by Yves
Parlier over the last fortnight. In 24 hours, he succeeded in
latching onto the northern edge of a low pressure system. At
the same time, stuck in the middle of the very same system,
Yves Parlier lost hundreds of miles. Roland Jourdain took
second place in the position table, just 23 miles behind the
leader.
18th December : Yves Parlier had spent the past 48 hours
trying to make up the lost miles. He continued to drive
Aquitaine Innovations at a hellish pace and managed to
recover 50 miles a day from the leader… Michel decided not
to follow this pace which he considered over the top. On 18th
December, Aquitaine Innovations dismasted. The following
day, Yves Parlier decided to stop off the coast of New
Zealand to make repairs. The Southern Ocean did not let up
on PRB either. On the cards : 45/55 knot winds, 60-knot
gusts and broaches were skipper’s daily lot.
22nd December : Lying further north than the theoretical
course, Michel abandoned the lead to Roland Jourdain for a
few hours (although Michel reindexed the furthest east of the
fleet in terms of longitude). As the front passed, the wind
shifted violently. The wind strengthened to 40 knots veering
by several tens of degrees. PRB had her indexsail and
reacher up - a foresail designed, as its name suggests, for
reaching at more than 50° off the wind – and was knocked
down. PRB did not get away unscathed as her foresail was
torn. The next day, Mich moved back into the lead.
25th December : Christmas in the Antipodes for Michel
Desjoyeaux. PRB’s living space was choc-à-bloc with presents.
Under the Christmas tree, PRB’s skipper gave himself a first
class present : the mid-race lead of the Vendée Globe.
26th December : PRB sailed into the Pacific as race leader,
with Roland Jourdain was just 83 miles behind.
1st January : A new millennium got off to a tough start on
board PRB with an energy breakdown. Michel’s New Year
greeting was : « the starter’s electrical motor has given up
the ghost… ». Serious problems ahead for the skipper of
PRB. He still had his wind generator and solar panels but in
the Southern Ocean these sources combined would still be
insufficient to meet the energy requirements of a modern
monohull. Michel had to consider whether he should call it a
day – an unpleasant prospect on the horizon at the start of a
new century.
2nd January : Meanwhile, back on terra firma, Vincent Riou,
one of Michel’s shore crew and the technicians from Fenwick
were having a brainstorming session to find a solution to get
PRB’s motor going again. Michel had not forgotten the race.
He opted to steer a northerly course in order to head for the
Horn on a low pressure system. If he slowed down too much,
then he would have run the risk of missing this providential
train. On the menu : hours and hours at the helm.
Exhaustion was just round the corner. Thanks to his sheer
determination, Michel clocked up a 154-mile lead over
Roland Jourdain.
4th January : PRB’s motor up and running ! The « Géo
Trouvetout » (Mr Fixit) deserve their nickname. After having
spent four days at the helm without any real sleep to speak
of, Michel Desjoyeaux was beginning to feel the limits of his
own energy. What a relief it was to hear the motor purring
once again ! The ingenious device put together involved
starting the alternator by winding a spectra (fibreglass) line
round the alternator block. This was linked up to the indexsail
which Michel then locked dead on the wind before letting the
whole lot go all at once. The force of the wind gave the
indexsail a violent push which pulled on the block and got the
engine running once again. Sticking to his northerly option,
Michel continued to drive PRB at more than 14 knots.
5th January : Roland Jourdain’s announced having suffered
damage to his indexsail track, which explained his slower
speed. He indicated plans to stop just after Cape Horn to
carry out repairs free of assistance.
10th January : At 19h07, Michel Desjoyeaux rounded Cape
Horn with a lead of 4 days and 19 hours over Christophe
Auguin, winner of the previous race. Michel negotiated this
turning brilliantly, to deliver PRB from 33 days and 19 hours
of intense driving in the South Pacific. That evening, the
first-placed PRB had a 602-mile lead over his immediate
competitor, Ellen MacArthur. A comfortable gap it might be for
PRB, but her skipper knows only too well from past
experience, that the 7000 miles of the Atlantic are not
entirely obstacle-free.
16th January : Ah ! Saint Helena ! Since Cape Horn, Michel
had managed to keep that one weather system ahead which
he had acquired in the Pacific. But, by 16th January, PRB’s
speed had fallen to just 8.53 knots (Ellen was at 12.7 kts).
The Saint Helena High was stretching out from one side of
the Atlantic to the other, representing a barrier which the
leader had no way of avoiding. Worse still, the High was to
move north at the same speed as Michel for several days.
PRB’s lead was about to come tumbling down.
23rd January : Adieu Saint Helena but not « au revoir » Ellen
! The day had finally come to negotiate the ridge of high
pressure which had been lying in PRB’s way for too long. At
21h UT, the first breath of salvation blew open the door of
this whimsical level crossing. Only one problem though : the
young Brit, lying further west, crossed over the same ridge
just a few hours later. Only 72 miles behind, Kingfisher’s
speed was 2 knots slower than PRB’s, but Ellen had reeled in
530 miles of the 602-mile gap which had been separating
her from Michel at Cape Horn. The final which be played out
in the Atlantic may turn into a veritable duel.
28th January : The Doldrums was conspicuous by her
absence on Michel’s weather data. A bad surprise was lying in
store for him. The wind just stopped altogether. Crossing the
equator at 4h45 UT, PRB had to play leap-frog with the
clouds to squeeze out each and every mile he could. Using
two squalls to her advantage, Ellen came back to within
striking distance of Michel. At the morning radio chat session
Michel announced that : « if I climb up to the top of the mast
I might just see her. » This Sunday was all-important for the
Vendée Globe, because anything can happen in the
Doldrums. In spite of the fatigue and the stress, Michel
opted to continue on a north-westerly heading, certain that
the way out lay over there. Ellen’s course was not quite so
regular. As night fell, PRB’s efforts were rewarded as the first
puffs of a north-east wind kicked in, to announce the
beginning of the trade winds.
30th January : In spite of the calm weather, PRB continued
as best she could on her course north-west. Ellen’s more
easterly position was more advantageous as the crow flies,
which put her in the lead on the position tables for several
hours. But the truth lay elsewhere : by the end of the
morning, the north-east wind had settled and PRB
accelerated upwind at 15/20 knots. The Breton had won the
duel. By night-time, Michel was back into the lead.
2nd February : In the trade winds, the gap between PRB and
Kingfisher settled at about 80 miles.
4th February : Ellen know only too well, that the Azores High
was her last chance to stick to the leader’s heels before
hitting the disturbed westerly current which would the first
boats towards France. At this last level crossing, PRB got
caught up in a weakening breeze and Kingfisher was just a
stone’s throw away, at 36 miles from Michel. More
importantly, the gap in terms of latitude on a north-south
divide fell from 108 to 87 miles in 24 hours.
5th February : In the small hours of the morning, PRB was
the first to latch onto the long-awaited westerly winds and was
pushed along at a speed of 14 knots. Kingfisher lay just 15
miles away but further east and was becalmed for longer.
6th February : PRB lead increased once again to 100 miles.
Grappling with a violent storm (45-knots winds), Michel says
that he had not seen such big waves since the Southern
Ocean. Michel put his t-shirts away and took out his polar
fleeces and oilskins.
7th February : Less than 1000 miles to go, PRB continues to
fly along bound for Les Sables d’Olonne. At this stage of the
game, only major damage can deprive Michel of his
well-deserved victory.
Source: Eric Coquerel, PRB
Translation: Nikki Scott-Despaigne
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