19.12.2008
Day 41: Kiwi transition may offer tactical one-upmanship
In brief:
- Sébastien consolidates his position in 3rd place, the chasing pack led by Armel Le Cléac'h is now 240 miles astern of BT
- "We'll see what the transition south of New Zealand holds in store. I'm doing 17 to 18 knots now, with a great sunset under the clouds."
- Safran skipper, Marc Guillemot, arrived in the vicinity of the stricken Yann Eliès on Generali - Australian Royal Navy frigate should be onsite by tomorrow afternoon
In detail:
Over the last 24 hours Sébastien on BT has covered 360 miles and although Michel Desjoyeaux has averaged a faster VMG (velocity made good), the 140-mile difference between the two reindexs the same as 24 hours ago.&xnbsp; The good news is that Seb has strengthened his position in 3rd place, now 40 miles ahead of Le Cam in terms of distance to the finish, holding a similar course to Foncia (1st) and Veolia Environnement (2nd) all sailing to the north of the East Australia Gate, whilst Le Cam has gybed on to a more southerly route for now, although he must return north to traverse the gate. The West and East Australian Gate are in fact safety gates as opposed to ice gates, put in place to keep the Vendée Globe fleet within reach of the Australian rescue services - in the current climate that has proved to be a very prudent procedure following the news that Yann Eliès has broken his leg.
From Seb today:
Image"All is well onboard BT. The news of Yann was a real shock - that type of injury is pretty serious and it sends a shiver down your spin.&xnbsp; These boats are very 'stiff' and when we say that it means the boat will come to a complete stop when it crashes into a wave. I've always been taught that at sea it's one hand for you, one hand for the boat, but actually sometimes on these machines it has to be two hands for you!"
The frontrunners are approximately 550 miles SSW of Tasmania and 1200 miles west of New Zealand and they expect to encounter a ridge of high pressure in the next couple of days, for now they are experiencing 20-25 knots of NW and more reasonable sea conditions: "We'll see what the transition south of New Zealand holds in store, if there's no compression it will be better to have three rivals to watch than 10.
I'm doing 17 to 18 knots now, with a great sunset under the clouds. The wind should decrease tonight a bit."&xnbsp; The break in the weather pattern might offer some tactical options and a chance to reshuffle the deck.
Late last night Safran skipper, Marc Guillemot, arrived in the vicinity of the stricken Yann Eliès on Generali who suffered a broken leg yesterday morning on the day 39 of the Vendée Globe. Earlier in the evening the Royal Australian Navy's ANZAC class Frigate left Perth and should reach Generali tomorrow afternoon to complete the recovery of Eliès.&xnbsp; There's little that Guillemot can do for Eliès but being close is a psychological consolation: "I'm just trying to talk to him, to reassure him. He knows he can rely on me. It's more a psychological help than a physical one but that's important because in general it's the head that looks after the rest of the body. That will help him while he awaits the arrival of the rescue team," said Guillemot.&xnbsp; Its reported that Eliès is in as good a condition that can be expected and has managed to take on some food and liquids as well as painkillers to help keep the pain in check.
The race organisers have also notified the fleet that the next ice gate east of New Zealand will move to a more northerly position.
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