23.12.2007
Dear all,
Please find the latest from Temenos below, Christmas-ing in the Southern Ocean.
The latest from Groupama is that the weather window has slammed shut and they’re
not going to be leaving on Christmas Eve after all : ) Thomas Coville is still
going well on Sodeb’O, off Cape Verde this morning and Francis Joyon is en route
to Cape Horn currently 7/8 days ahead of Ellen MacArthur's time. In theory I
will have an extra send tomorrow for Paprec-Virbac, Barcelona World Race among
others.
Christmassy wishes, Kate
A front in the guise of a Christmas present
To the detriment of Michèle and Dominique, the front expected since yesterday,
still seems to be astern of Temenos II. The rather unexpected consequence for
the duo is that their monohull is struggling to make headway, caught in a zone of calm.
“Last night was fairly fast, but since then it’s really been very light. We have
11 knots at the moment and we’re stalling a bit so we're really looking forward
to this front, constantly checking the barometer! We can make out a big cloud
mass behind us, but it doesn’t seem to be moving very quickly. Since entering
the Indian Ocean we've got used to making 15 knots… The next light patches will
be particularly hard on the nerves!” predicted Michèle contacted this afternoon.
And a light spell may well be part of the equation once they climb up towards
Wellington where the boat looks set to arrive around 2nd January.
“For the time being there are light zones pretty much everywhere, and a fine
anticyclone is in the process of settling in place across our route. It's very
active up there though, so we're still hoping that the situation will develop
over the next few days.”
Benefiting from this surprise calm, Michèle and Dominique have found the time to
get their Christmas decorations out of their bag. At sea for the past 43 days,
the idea of spending Christmas at sea gets a mixed response from our French
sailor.
“It’s nice to have a touch of colour aboard, the garlands moving in time to the
waves. Moments like these evoke images of land, which clearly makes you a little
nostalgic. On shore during these periods there is just a whirlwind of people. At
sea, you don’t have to trawl around the shops and you have time to immerse
yourself in your memories, especially with the conditions being very calm at the
moment…”
Conditions are likely to be livelier once the front decides to take a step
towards the monohull, Temenos II…
Kate Jennings
Expression.
P.O. Box 26,
Dartmouth,
DEVON.
TQ6 0YG
United Kingdom
+44 (0)7795 116699
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