06.12.2004
Press Release
15h00 GMT 6th December 2004
1. Bonduelle (Jean Le Cam) 15454 nautical miles from the finish.
2. PRB (Vincent Riou) 43.1 miles from the leader.
3. Sill et Véolia (Roland Jourdain 514.1 miles from the leader.
D-day for Conrad
The Jourdain/Josse/Golding trio are in turbo drive today reaching as much as 17.2 knots of boat speed in favourable north-easterlies over the past 4 hours on the hunt for the leaders Le Cam/Riou. The latter are sailing in lighter south-westerly winds and have slipped off the back of the next depression. Between the warring groups there is a ridge of high-pressure which they must try to avoid getting directly above. The next obstacle ahead of the fleet is a low-pressure system to the west, which is currently forecast to be directly over the Kerguelen islands. On its current heading, the low will go over the top of the leader who will find himself in headwinds. British sailor, Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto) has more pressing concerns today. 54 miles from Simonstown and 32 from Houtbaai making 8.4 knots, we will soon find out if the skipper will become the first man to be able to change his 80 kg rudder at sea...
On the approach to the Kerguelen Islands, leader Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) currently seems undecided as to how he is going to negotiate this particular archipelago in what looks like a less favourable southerly position than second placed Vincent Riou (PRB). “In the coming days those behind look set to come back on us” said Riou today. “I think Bilou and Jojo may come back to within 300 miles of us. At the moment, I have 18 knots of wind and the day is set to be fairly stable. We’re just going to have to handle this transition zone and the ridge of high pressure well. I slept well last night though I was very cold. We’ve been in south-westerly winds for the past two days which means that the wind has come from the pole. Our index problem lies in getting trapped between two depressions and avoiding getting right above it. For the coming days the situation isn’t very clear and we’re going to have quite a few disruptions to handle.”
Still very much one of the trio forming the ‘chasing pack’, Roland Jourdain has been surfing at over 20 knots since this morning in 55 knots of wind! Bilou will hook onto the northern side of the depression and try to make up some of the miles he lost yesterday. At the back of this trio Mike Golding in 5th position was not particularly optimistic. “I think we will make up some ground but the situation up front has changed and after looking quite benign it now seems fairly active which means the leaders will probably not fall off it as originally thought.”
Behind him in 6th, Dominic Wavre on Temenos has passed Jean Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec) who has slowed due to being too close to the centre of the depression, handicapped by engine and generator problems. Without a solution in sight, the skipper of Virbac-Paprec is questioning his future in this race. For the duo, it’s “bye-bye Africa” and hello to the westerly winds.
In the words of Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec) at this morning’s radio session, 1369.3 miles from the leader in 7th place, it would seem that he has in fact been having engine trouble for some time with the index problem associated with the crank shaft. At the moment, due to irreparable engine problems, the amount of energy he has aboard has been considerably reduced, so he has to prioritise on which equipment he really needs, ie; desalinator, computer (for weather files), automatic pilot etc. “I think I can make do for now. I have 35 knots of wind and it’s very difficult to sleep. There was a piece which jumped out of the engine when I tried to get it going yesterday and there is no question that it’s dead. I’ve been using my generator for the past 3 days and all of a sudden it doesn’t want to start either.” Guest a the radio session, Alain Gautier, suggested that he put the thoughts of racing aside for now and put the emphasis on trying to get things working aboard. Jean-Pierre is very keen to continue. Behind him the battle is on for the damaged boats to make towards Cape Town.
Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) has continued to make painfully slow progress towards the Cape of Good Hope, which has at least been good for protecting the boat. "It’s just crazy,” he said this morning, “Forty eight hours ago I was being battered by the most enormous winds and now I´m bobbing around on a mill pond!" Hugo Boss is still the same distance from Cape Town as he was this morning, trapped in an anticyclone 458 miles from Cape Town, Hervé Laurent (UUDS) 269 miles away, due to retire after breaking off his left rudder completely and Conrad Humphries is now around 30 miles from Simonstown in South Africa, hoping to replace his right rudder. Alex was extremely concerned for both skippers when he heard the news and told his crew "I know how I have felt over the last few days - Hervé must be devastated. I really hope Conrad can sort his rudder out, he was doing so well. It would be great if we could make our repairs and both get back in to the race."
Today is clearly going to be decisive for Conrad. "As I sit here, perhaps just hours before arriving in Cape Town my mind is racing about what needs to be done. There are so many "ifs" to close down. At best we have just one shot at replacing the rudder and we will need perfect conditions to even try. That starts with finding exactly the right Bay, harbour or safe enclosure in or around Cape Town that is free from any swell and is sheltered from the wind. For most of today, I have been speaking to base discussing where exactly is the best place to attempt to replace the rudder. We have nailed down our choice to two places, but the final choice will not be made until we have covered every eventuality.” Only time will tell if Humphreys can get Hellomoto up and racing again... “The anchor will be ready to stream as I will attempt to sail exactly over the place where it must hold in the sand. As the 100m line pays out, Hellomoto and I will be completely at the mercy of the anchor and the line, if it doesn´t hold will I be able to re-gather it for a second chance?”...
The best progress amongst those at the rear of the fleet is Anne Liardet who has come off much better from today’s rankings. Her southerly course has distanced her from the strengthening high pressure and has propelled her up the general rankings, just 2164.2 miles from the leader today.
Quotes from the Boats:
Mike Golding (Ecover):
“I've got around 26 knots of breeze. I'm doing 16-20 knots and I am flying a Solent because it is very rough, and full index. Lot more wind overnight – I had that yesterday. For some of the night I was heavily reefed and staysail…I had two soft patches during the night, from 37 down into the 20 knots of wind and it just meant a lot of sail changing. The last change was quite a big one, it (the wind) dropped out fairly quickly and I waited because I thought it was going to come back. I went up two reefs at once, which I never like doing because it is bloody hard work. The problem with the Fleet 77 is hampering but I can still get small grib files, but I just get smaller ones. If I order a very large file and try and download it and there is an interruption then I lose the file, so it is more reliable to take smaller files.”
Bruce Schwab (Ocean Planet):
“I’m very happy to have escaped a very rough area. I’m hoping to get some nice running conditions soon. I had got right back up with Nick, Marc and Joé some days ago but they decided to go ahead of and across a low pressure system. I wanted to try and escape it so I gybed south of it but then the system decided to backtrack and caught up with me the next day. The others escaped ahead of the front. After that I decided to slow up a bit because the boat was really slamming and I had to stop the pounding. It was awful. Though I wiped out before the storm I would say that the storm was worse. I have a few little things to fix as usual. I feel bad for Hervé and Conrad and wish them well. The race has taken its toll on them so I really can’t complain. I’m looking forward to the south as I like surfing but I don’t want to be too extreme. In fact the boat can go faster than I want to go! It’s scary hearing the keel shrieking. I’ve played the guitar a little and have found the time to compose a couple of little blues rifts. With regards repairs, I’ve got some storage issues to sort out but I am happy with the steering.”
Dominic Wavre (Temenos): “The seas are crossed and difficult. I’m making 14/15 knots averages with 35 knots. It’s pretty chilly, the water’s very cold and it’s very squally. I’ve got a leak in the cockpit which means that I have to bail out 10 buckets of water every 2 hours. The skies are leaden with crossed abrupt seas. I´m reaching and the wind has gone down a bit but it’s still slamming. I’m eating well with no injuries. I’m sleeping ok and Temenos is in good shape.”
Nick Moloney (Skandia):
"Feels like a long way to go today...I felt really angry about being de-powered last night...need to chill a bit more..."
Source: Vendée Globe 2004
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