Positionstabelle 09.01.2005
Press release
Sunday 9th January 2005
10h00 GMT 9 January
1. Vincent Riou (PRB) 5721.7 nautical miles from the finish
2. Mike Golding (ECOVER) 4.6 nm from the leader.
3. Jean Le Cam ( BONDUELLE) 14.7 nm from the leader.
Please do check the 1500 GMT ranking to find out if
Mike Golding has yet to overtake the lead
Mike Golding, the man of the day!
- The man of the day is Mike Golding (Ecover). At 10 o’clock GMT this morning, Mike was in second place 4.6 miles behind Vincent Riou (PRB).
- Mike Golding (Ecover) may well go into the lead late today. The rankings at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. will be worth looking at.
- Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) lost the lead in the Vendée Globe by choosing his easterly option.
- A new low-pressure area coming up for Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto).
- Nick Moloney (Skandia) is still a long way to the north. Blocked in by a low, Nick is not coming down towards the Horn, which is some 1500 miles off today.
«It’s Vincent’s birthday today? It will be mine tomorrow,» joked Mike Golding (Ecover) during today’s radio session. Mike knows full well that his Ecover is making full use of the upwind weather conditions in a 20-knot north westerly. He achieved the best speed over 24 hours and covered the greatest number of miles of those in the leading trio, which clearly makes him the man of the day. A day which has been full of news stories, as this morning at 4 o’clock Vincent Riou (PRB) took the lead in the rankings. Mike was still in third place, but Ecover’s speed and bearing showed that he would soon overtake Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) some 150 miles further east. In the 10 a.m. rankings, Mike climbed to second place and the rankings later today could offer more surprises. Mike believes he will go into the lead in the coming hours. The loser of the day is Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle). He lost the lead in the Vendée Globe, which he had held since 20th December, because of this option to the east. Jean clearly was resolved to lose ground today to perhaps gain more tomorrow. Will the weather conditions and his seizing of this opportunity pay off once again? You can place your bets now. In any case, the rankings and the average speeds place two men on the honours board today: a determined Vincent Riou (PRB) and a Mike Golding (Ecover), who is as solid as a rock. What should be stressed is that apart from the fact that Mike has had to cover 811 miles since 2nd December to catch the leader, he is also the fastest of the three today on every level, having covered 214 miles in 24 hours, in comparison to 135 for Bonduelle and 183 for Vincent…Impressive! It can be added that Mike was 250 miles behind Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) at the Horn, and he managed to catch up in less than six days.
Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec) is getting ready to repair his boom by carefully cutting up the two damaged pieces. This is stressful, tricky work considering the sea state, especially as the carbon and its splinters are unpleasant to work with. Jean-Pierre is currently 650 miles from the Horn and is averaging 8 knots with just a foresail. At this speed, the DIY expert should round the final cape before turning left in three or four days. Contacted by his shore team this morning, Jean-Pierre explained, «I’ve started to cut the boom on each side, as it’s difficult to cut straight through a cone shape. I’m going to have to adjust that later. The idea behind the repair isn’t difficult, but in practice it is. For the moment, there isn’t much wind, with 3-metre waves, so I’m being shaken around! It’s stressful, because I’m having to cope with the waves and carry out some precise work. It’s like operating on an animal in a dodgem car. I take a nap after each stage, because it’s tiring. It may last 2 days or four according to the weather, as I’ll need a bright period without rain to stick the two pieces together. It’s difficult, but I’ll manage it!»
Nick Moloney (Skandia) is going to continue to take advantage of some really tough southern conditions. A low to the south of Nick will offer him a lot of wind again today. Nick continues to head towards the north east and is hesitating to move south. Soon, he will be forced to do so, because he is currently at 47°s while Joé Seeten (Arcelor Dunkerque), his nearest rival, is at 50°S. We should add that the Horn is at 56°S and that Nick is 1500 miles from the Horn today. That’s why Joé should catch up the Australian fairly soon. The French sailor is more or less on direct course, while Nick is going to have to turn right at some point.
Behind, a new low is creeping up on Bruce Schwab (Ocean Planet) and Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto) from their north west. The wind is currently a northerly blowing at 30 knots, but the problem is the sea state. Contacted during the radio session today, Bruce, who is some 300 miles from Conrad spoke of heavy seas with waves climbing on top of each other before crashing on the deck.
Quotes :
Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) :
«They picked up the wind before me. I knew that would happen. Since Cape Horn, things have been very one-sided. It’s clear they are going to increase their lead shortly. It’s in the long term you have to look.»
Vincent Riou (PRB):
«I came here for that. I mustn’t complain. Our job is competing. The pressure is now on. It’s true that we look more at the rankings than in the Deep South. But the pressure may be even stronger in the final stretch. We may all be together in the Bay of Biscay.»
Sébastien Josse (VMI) :
«The overall situation is simple with two highs ahead to get through. But as the weather charts are changing all the time, that’s not the case. I still don’t have time to get bored. Not long ago, I was with two reefs in and the ORC, now everything is up, after a horrible night with a 10-knot wind aft. I took my sails out of the aft hold to sort them out. Inside, it’s a pigsty. I did bother to shave though. So no time to get bored. When there’s nothing left to do, I will get bored, but for the moment, I’m having a bite and that’s keeping me going.»
Mike Golding (Ecover),
“I wouldn’t want to spoil Vincent’s birthday. It’s my birthday tomorrow. It’s my turn then! (laughter) By tomorrow, we’ll be reaching and maybe running for a while. Being on the left-hand side paid off handsomely. The route ahead is looking a little clearer, but there’s still a long way to go. I have a little speed edge on PRB and a little height edge, so that’s good news. I imagined it was possible to be in this position. This kind of scenario is becoming more and more common.”
Source : Vendée Globe 2004
www.vendeeglobe.org
Vendée Globe Press Office Tél. : +33 1 55 56 66 50 - Fax : +33 1 55 56 62 90 - @ : press@vendeeglobe.fr
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