Positionstabelle
12.01.2005
Press Release
Wednesday 12th January 2005
1500 GMT 12 January 2004
1. Ecover (Mike Golding) 4838.9 miles from the finish.
2. PRB (Vincent Riou) 23.2 miles from the leader.
3. Bonduelle (Jean Le Cam) 140.6 miles from the leader.
Mike Golding Leading Vendée Globe for First Time Ever.
After 66 days of racing and over 18000 miles (33300 km), English skipper Mike Golding (Ecover) has taken the lead of the Vendée Globe for the first time in his long sailing career at 1500 GMT today 12 January 2004. In so doing he deposes Vincent Riou (PRB) and Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) who have been reigning since the start on 7 November. Mike has a lead of 23.2 miles, making 5 more knots boat speed than the chasing duo with by far the best 24 hour performance of the fleet (333.5 miles). The first arrivals in Les Sables d’Olonne are expected between 27 and 30 January...
On Sunday 5 December 2004, while sailing around the southern tip of the African continent, Mike Golding, original favourite in this 5th edition, was 811 miles (nearly 1500 km) from the leader! At Cape Horn, he was over 250 miles from the leader Jean Le Cam, and is now heading the fleet. The recent episode involving the breakage of his indexsail halyard only served to delay the inevitable takeover by 36 hours. In true battle mode since his entry into the Pacific, Mike makes no secret of his immense desire to win this fantastic race, with his boat in perfect condition just 3 weeks from the finish. The big question on everyone’s lips is whether Mike can become the first foreigner to win the Vendée Globe. A just reward indeed for the British skipper that dismasted 8 hours into the race in November 2000, but only time will tell whether this will become a reality with just over 5000 miles to go.
“Clearly it’s a good result this morning but we’ll wait and see how it pans out once we’re through the trough” said a chirpy Mike Golding on his trusty Ecover today. “We may come to a stop but it doesn’t look like that’s going to be the case. I’ve been fortunate to get back so quickly. I think I’m on the right side of the course but we’ll see what it’s like once we’re into the northerlies. After the Atlantic High going south I had to get into a new rhythm to catch up with the leaders and I’m still in that rhythm now. I’m not terribly surprised at Jean’s loss but knowing him I’m sure he’ll bounce back. I don’t think I’m taking a big chance being out west. Soon I’ll be on a port tack heading away from the coast again on the other side of the system. I’m on a more direct course and it was the only option open to me given the weather. We’re racing on a day to day basis at the moment, watching what’s going on around us. You physically see the conditions, check the barometer...It’s very warm and overcast with grey skies and rain squalls. We’re reaching with the seas behind us and the wind from ahead making things messy. I had some rest overnight but it was boisterous with up to 30 knots of breeze. It was difficult to know how low you could sail and there were a number of sail changes. The boat is really the star of the show – upwind or downwind. It doesn’t seem to have any particular weakness. The boat does everything it is designed to do and more and downwind it is especially surprising.”
23.2 miles behind Mike, a tired Vincent Riou (PRB) wasn’t quite sure what to think of the situation today. “It’s a mixture of excitement and apprehension. I don’t know what to think about our east west spread. I didn’t go west as I was afraid it would finish badly over there, it’s more a decision based on my knowledge of that area rather than the forecast. The forecasts aren’t clear at all. Mike’s trying to go north with this airflow and turn right later. Jean must be sailing upwind in the high. It’s all very complex and complicated. I’ve been pushing hard and broke a reefing line. Sailing in between Mike and Jean suits my way of sailing. I know it’s a bigger risk to go west than east so I’m playing it safe in the middle. One of the models says to go to Brazil, while the other says to go straight into the high and leave with the trade winds. It looks like there may some small wind holes there though which would make it tricky to escape. My option is wiser but I don’t know if it’s better. I’m only thinking 4-5 days ahead. Conditions right now are unstable. A bumpy sea and 15-20 knots of wind.”
Jean Le Cam’s voice perfectly mirrored his disappointing 140.6 mile deficit on the leaders today. “I haven’t had any sleep. Conditions are unstable and I’ve been trapped in wind holes with rain and squalls. I have one big wind hole and a bunch of small ones. Since Cape Horn luck hasn’t been on my side. It’s tough! The leaders have gained around 150 miles on me in real terms. The situation looks very complicated. The wind holes seem to track me down as they weren’t here yesterday. It’s been like that for the past 10 days. There’s nothing I can do. I just hope the forecasts are wrong. You make a sail change and the wind changes, you increase your sail area and the wind increases, you drop some sails and the wind drops off. It’s exhausting and frustrating. There’s nothing more I could do...”
Back in 6th position, Jean Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec) is the latest skipper to round Cape Horn and make it into the Atlantic. Australian Nick Moloney (Skandia) is now around just 600 miles from the legendary rock with a few power issues to solve after a failed battery cell. The remedy is to change one of the battery units for one of the two reindexing unused ones, this requires Nick to totally shut down the power systems onboard for a couple of hours and manhandle these heavy units, this means no pilot and leaving the boat ‘hove-to’, drifting. Nick has been waiting for the right conditions for a few days to perform this compulsory exchange.
Quotes from the Boats:
Nick Moloney (Skandia):
“I have run out of wind, with messy waves... wind is shifting to NW at 35-40kts, I need to gybe at some point. I'm slow at the moment and VMG is bad, not really going directly to where I want to go [Cape Horn] pretty frustrating. Little bit worried about this breeze. Just want to get around, desperately want to get around. Had enough. Just want to see some nice sailing in this trip. I’ve had a terrible south, I reckon a total of 24 hours of sunshine since Cape of Good Hope. Just want to enjoy the sailing, get back into it, finish the Vendee Globe and not look back and think it was a total disaster. Boat is fine we both just need a bit of warmth and drying out.”
Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto):
“It’s been quite a lively night, as it’s very gusty, up to 40 knots, and there are some quite big waves. I’ve got 3 reefs and the staysail up now. The waves are breaking side on as the wind shifted to the West. I’m kicking myself for not getting a bit further South, it may not have made much difference, but 200 miles ahead the breeze is in the north west and I’ve got Westerlies, we may force me to gybe at first light. I’m making about 060 heading and Cape Horn is about 105 so I’m right on the edge of a gybe. Obviously seeing what happened to JP Dick, gybing in 35 knots is no light hearted affair. I’ve got two options, I can either keep sailing north and gybe in a few days time or gybe now and sail south again. There is a chance of lighter breeze in the south, it may get very light and be a tricky transition rounding Cape Horn. The models show more breeze potentially in the north, so it’s going to be an interesting 5 days sailing to the Horn. I’m sailing as fast as the conditions allow me, the ice and the squalls are a very present threat, even more so rounding Cape Horn, so it’s a case of just having to live with it and sail fast when you can. My only checks are the water temperature and the radar. The water temperature is going from -10 to +10 this morning, I’m not sure it’s an accurate reading but when a growler has melted it leaves a residue of 1 or 2 degrees and quite often you’ll sail through those patches of cold water and hope there are no lumpy bits left behind.
Jean Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec):
“It is extraordinary! I saw the impressive Cape at around 0730 GMT this morning. I rounded with nearly 45 knots of established winds with 55 knots at times. It was raining and conditions were a little extreme. What satisfaction. It’s a childhood dream come true. It’s the result of team work and it’s a great incentive to finish off my repairs!”
Raphael Dinelli (Akena Verandas):
“I’ve had up to 50 knots of wind and the seas are very big this morning. I’ve now got 35 knots and reindex under 3 reefs and trinquette as it’s still pushing in the surf.”
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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