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5. Vendee Globe 2004/2005
www.vendeeglobe.org - zur Übersicht
07.12.2004
Press Release Tuesday
15h00 GMT 7 December 2004
1. PRB (Vincent Riou) 15202.7 nautical miles from the finish.
2. Bonduelle (Jean Le Cam) 1.7 miles from the leader.
3. Sill et Véolia (Roland Jourdain) 442.3 miles from the leader.
Alex Thomson Forced to Retire
In the top two throughout the first month of racing, Vincent Riou (PRB) has taken the lead again in this the fifth Vendée Globe as a result of a better VMG (speed towards the goal) than Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle). The lead duo are now around 160 miles from the French archipelago of Kerguelen. The arrival of the next depression has forced Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) to sail more miles, heading up from the south, to pass north of the island group. The two leaders are trying to avoid getting too close to the centre of one of a series of three depressions. The situation is complicated by their approach towards the Kerguelen plateau where the seabed shallows dramatically.
Further back in the fleet the index issue for those who have arrived or are making for South Africa is whether or not they can continue racing. Following Hervé Laurent (UUDS), English sailor Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) has become the second skipper to be forced to retire from the race, advised by the boat’s architects that the breakage to his boat’s deck-mounted gooseneck that resulted in the deck being holed would be impossible to repair with the materials available onboard the boat.
Compatriot Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto) picked up a mooring in Simonstown early this morning and has already succeeded in removing his broken starboard rudder. Backrunner Norbert Sedlacek (Brother) is also making for the southern tip of Africa, hoping the light conditions will enable him to make Cape Town (still approx. 800 miles away) without losing his canting keel, after its aft pivot broke yesterday. The Austrian sailor has not spoken of his retirement from the Vendee Globe yet.
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Herve Laurent/UUDS vor dem Tafelberg
Herve Laurent/UUDS gab als Zweiter auf
Marc Thiercelin/PRO-FORM in schwerer See
Norbert Sedlacek staeuert auch Kapstadt an
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After what seemed like a perfect Atlantic descent the original 20-strong fleet in this the fifth Vendée Globe has today been reduced to just 18 with the sad retirement of English skipper Alex Thomson. After liaising with his shore crew and the boat´s architect Marc Lombard over the past 5 days, it has been decided that Alex has not got the necessary materials aboard to make repairs.
"I have very little wind at the moment, 4 knots of boat speed, making slow, frustrating headway towards Cape Town. After consulting my shore team and the architect, it would appear that the damage onboard is simply too bad. I would be unable to effect repairs with the materials I have on board. As a result it is with great sadness that I am forced to retire from the race. It is an impossible situation for me but I have to act in a responsible manner. I can´t put the lives of others at risk (rescue services). It is strange to have wanted something so badly. Looking back though it has been an absolutely amazing experience and I can´t thank everyone enough for all the support they have given me. I greatly enjoyed the challenging moments and it is really something special to be able to turn something which is difficult into something positive. There is no doubt I´ll be back in 4 years time and I can´t wait..."
The Race Management fully understands Thomson’s decision though they are obviously very disappointed for him: “An under-canvassed boat in the south can become dangerous" confirms French sailing legend Alain Gautier, present at today´s radio chat session as head of Safety for the race. "The decision is a very hard one to take but it is a wise decision." Since 2 December Hugo Boss has been deprived of a indexsail. If the repairs didn´t hold, finding yourself in the southern ocean, one of the most deserted oceans in the world without this sail may well prove very dangerous. Hugo Boss is currently 370 miles from Cape Town. The forecast is very clement thanks to a ridge of high pressure on zone and Alex is expected to reach South Africa in around 2 days´ time.
There is more positive news for compatriot Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto) on the other hand. He picked up a buoy in Simonstown south of Cape Town earlier this morning and has already successfully removed his starboard rudder with the intention of replacing it with his onboard spare. “I'm just massively relieved as it was stressful last night. There was 35 knots and it was squally, a lot of shipping about so I didn't sleep. I came into the bay under index and trinquette, which was pretty hard on my broken rudder. It was an upwind approach so I dumped the trinquette, gathered it in and the boat slowed down but still with some weigh on it. There was a Japanese trawler very close to the mooring and I was heading straight for it but I managed to lean over and grab the buoy and drag it on board in time. I've just been in the water in my shorts checking the mooring lines and the keel, it's about 18 degrees temperature, not too bad. The keel (that was thought to have suffered damage after hitting a UFO (unidentified floating object) some days ago) is okay, the worst thing is I can see a white sandy beach not far away! I'm going to eat something now as I'm starving but then get on with the job to make the most of daylight hours.” Humphreys also hopes to repair his damaged cap shroud and gennaker halyard. He hopes to head back into the race in around 60 hours’ time.
Free of technical worries, leader Vincent Riou (PRB) continues on an absolute blinder of a race, 1.7 miles ahead of Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle), with a cunning early shift up to the north setting him up nicely to pass upwind of the Kerguelen archipelago. “I’ve got one mile’s visibility, under drizzle with an average of 30 to 40 knots of wind making 12 knot averages. I’m sailing under 3 reefs and staysail and the seas are fine for now with 3 to 4 metre waves. Concentration is at a maximum to get the boat going so everything is on zero, no music, no nothing. I’m trying not to put the boat under any strain and I’m not taking risks, just doing the essential. I’m sailing downwind in a fairly big swell after what was a busy night under reaching, making lots of sail changes. I have no idea why Jean decided to head south initially but I do know that I’m happy with my position.”
Reading between the stilted lines of Jean Le Cam’s communication today, it is evident that he is none the wiser, a fact supported by his decision to backtrack on his southerly option this morning to close in on Riou’s northing and also pass upwind of the islands up ahead. “It was too cold in the south” he said today, trying to avoid the subject. “The seas are fairly normal as we’re still quite a way from Kerguelen but there are lots of birds around in the grey wilderness. It’s bitterly cold and I’m wearing 3 fleecy layers as well as my thermal underwear. It’s also a bit wet but I’ll warm up once I change my socks. I’m closing in on my friend for now and I’ll decide on my strategy once I back with him, but the depression centre in the north looks really nasty.”
Around 440 miles behind him in third, Roland Jourdain (Sill et Véolia) was in rather tricky conditions in 45 knots of sustained wind, trying to find the right compromise in his sail configuration to give him enough power to get through the short seas without being too over-powered in the 21 knot surfs. “I haven’t got much sail area up. I’m under 3 reefs, staysail and small jib with some abrupt 6-metre waves. Obviously the distances between the waves are never the same and sometimes you end up falling right into the hole between. I’ve got a good 5 miles of visibility today compared with just ¼ of a mile at times yesterday as a result of a thick fog. Unfortunately I’m not very rich in terms of weather information at the moment as my Standard F is having a few problems. For now I’ve been getting in a bit of northing, unsure of what the future depression centres hold.”
Of the foreign contingent Mike Golding (Ecover) in 5th position, 640.5 miles from the leader is the only British sailor actually racing today with the top 24 hour averages over the past day or so (377.6 miles). Australian Nick Moloney (Skandia) is also back in the thick of the action now as a result of various detours towards Cape Town amongst the fleet, though he has been suffering in the clutches of the Saint Helena High this morning which clearly hasn’t finished wreaking havoc. He was becalmed earlier, “tearing his hair out” but now looks to have escaped as expected, making 10.4 knots of instantaneous speed in 8th. Bruce Schwab (Ocean Planet) is now up to 11th making solid 10.3 knot averages over the past half hour.
It is a different story for backrunner, Austrian sailor Norbert Sedlacek though on Brother. His keel may dislocate itself from the boat at any time after the breakage of one of the rear pivots of his canting keel yesterday. This could result in an immediate capsize and with this sword of Damocles hanging over him, he is doing his best to get his boat into port in Cape Town as quickly as possible, though he is still 800 miles away. There was no talk of retiring. The race management has suggested that Norbert prepare himself for the worst scenario, which he has done. “I´m making 5/6 knots but it´s still dangerous. If the seas become heavy I may lose my keel. I am sorry to everyone who has helped me in this adventure...”.
Source: Vendée Globe 2004
www.vendeeglobe.org
Vendée Globe Press Office
Tel: +33 1 55 56 62 95 - Fax : +33 1 55 56 62 90 - @ : press@vendeeglobe.fr
French Media: Caroline Concetti, Anne Millet and Soazig Guého
International Media: Sabina Mollart-Rogerson, Ophélie Théron
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