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Vendee Globe 2008/09 - Foncia/Michel Desjoyeaux/F
www.vendeeglobe.org - Übersicht
26.12.2008
Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia):
A LESS THAN CHIC PACIFIC!
- Squally weather and cross seas
- Changes of tack by way of gybes
- A difficult speed to indextain
“A less messy Pacific Ocean and a steadier wind” is as believable as Father
Christmas! The Pacific Ocean has decided to set a different tone and be a
spoilsport. The summer in the southern hemisphere is taking on a wintry feel
with squalls teasing 60 knots, cross, lumpy seas, with waves in excess of 8
metres, the whole lot coloured by an air/ water temperature bordering 6/8°.
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Foto: Michel Desjoyeaux/Foncia
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Frankly we’ve known better winter breaks. The weather is not dissimilar to
Mercato and, like the transfer of footballers, the wind and the sea have no
sense. The men and their machines are suffering, compelled to sail on a
level bordering reasonable. We’re in the doindex of the highest bidder:
pushing your machine is a risky business, easing off the pace and enduring
bad weather is even worse. As such, you have to find the right balance. The
right balance to keep on the pace and stay at the top of the rankings,
without making the boat suffer too much, not to mention managing your own
batteries, so as you don’t commit the slightest of errors, as these can
quickly turn into a catastrophe. All those who have set foot on a boat just
once in their lives know that everything happens very quickly, damage
causing further damage. Michel Desjoyeaux on FONCIA is no exception to this
rule, despite being in the lead for what is now 10 days, battling with his
compatriot Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement). “Bilou”, as the latter is
known, is sticking to his guns and is benefiting, like the great competitor
he is, from every opportunity to get back in contact. Whatever happens,
there is great variety with each week that passes, and though Michel has
just concluded a positive Indian Ocean, FONCIA has had to deal with a less
cooperative Pacific Ocean for the past week. With Christmas Eve ticked off,
Michel is now making headway with the wind on the nose, sailing close on the
wind to reach the first Pacific ice gate. However, complicated weather and
boat-breaking seas with the presence of drifting ice mean that nothing is
going right: “At the point where I’m speaking to you, I’ve got the remote
control for the automatic pilot in my hand and I’m correcting it so that the
boat stays upright. It’s pretty full-on to say the least…”
Squally weather!
And we can well imagine the situation in the pitch black night, which
prevents you from being able to anticipate the violence of the squalls and a
wind which yo-yos like Roland Jourdain’s deficit, in hot pursuit further to
the north. “We’re in slightly tricky weather with squalls dotted about our
course. One hit us with 50 knots earlier... You have to be pretty watchful
so as not to end up with the boat beam onto the course. It’s always tricky
knowing which sails to carry… Either you carry the sail for 50 knots and you
don’t use it much, or you carry sail for 25 knots… And when you have a 50
knot squall, you don’t know what to do with all the sail area! It’s a little
frustrating in fact… You’re never right. Indeed, since I’ve been talking to
you, the wind has gone from 25 to 42 knots and the boat speed from 12 to 22
knots. It’s hard to concentrate on two things at once…” Every point is
important when racing but Michel knows that right now he has to be
increasingly vigilant so as to effectively deal with this harsh forecast and
the trajectories imposed by the ice gates, which evolve according to the
movement of the icebergs spotted by satellites. “I’m gradually re-centring
myself a little further north… The position of the second gate will be
modified because there’s an iceberg to the north of it, so it’s naturally
changing. As such, Bilou’s (Roland Jourdain) trajectory appears reasonable
in view of the position of the ice”.
The Ross Sea danger…
In the immediate future, Michel Desjoyeaux will have to put in a series of
short tacks to reposition himself in relation to the next gate further to
the north. As such the ranking will continue to yo-yo with his closest
adversary, Roland Jourdain; the latter having chosen a more N’ly option and
hence racking up a better VMG towards the next ice gate. It has to be said
that this sailing zone sees little shipping due to the proximity of the Ross
Sea, a deep bay in the austral ocean bordering the Antarctic continent
between Marie Byrd to the east and Victoria to the west. Of note is the fact
that the southern part of the Ross Sea - around 500,000 km2 - is taken up by
the Ross Ice Shelf, a thick layer of permanent ice which sweeps along
numerous icebergs which then drift northwards. Danger… Here the safety of
the gates cannot be underestimated and they have a major influence on their
positioning, and hence the competitors’ course. Michel knows he’s got to put
in some northing into his course and as such is being forced to make a
series of tacks for want of gybes. He explains: “Personally, I’m gybing when
the sail up forward is larger than the indexsail. When I’m under spinnaker or
gennaker, I gybe and I’m certain that I won’t break the battens as it’s this
large headsail which will tow the boat in the gybe. At the moment, when I
have a smaller sail up forward as I do where I’m under staysail, I tack. I
don’t even think twice about it!” This is certainly good advice but it
translates above all as a fantastic practical guide. We listen and we note:
“I roll in the headsail. I take care of the windward backstay. I luff up.
The boat positions herself against the wind. I haul on the indexsheet. You
set off with the seas slamming into your bow. The boat then starts heading
backwards. You line the boat up. You adjust the keel. You reposition the
backstay. The boat gets back on course again and you unfurl the headsail.
However, manœuvres aren’t too tiring with these small sail areas”.
And though Michel is happy to dish out advice, he also always reindexs frank,
even via satellite: “I’m not sailing very well at the moment, but I’ll get
into the swing of things again… Often, I don’t sail very well but you don’t
know that! (laughs). It’s a candour tinged with humour which doesn’t
disguise any of Michel’s extreme concentration at the moment. This same
Michel admits that he isn’t satisfied with his speed in this Southern Ocean
and its minefield characteristics, where the breakers smash across the
sterns of the boats and where the bow picks up over the resulting chasms. It
slams, it hums, it forces its way through, it’s difficult to hold onto your
speed and the pace is complicated to handle. And that is something that
Michel doesn’t like, even though he knows that vigilance is the mother of
safety today and hence, in the long term, the mother of performance. “No
time to take your time” is unquestionably the motto of the moment on FONCIA!
Ranking on 26/12/2008 at 1500 GMT
1 – Michel Desjoyeaux (FONCIA) 10,240.5 miles from the finish
2 - Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement) 32.8 miles from the leader
3 – Jean Le Cam (VM Matériaux) 105.2 miles
4 – Sébastien Josse (BT) 139.4 miles
5 – Vincent Riou (PRB) 296.2 miles
Team FONCIA Press Service
Agence Blanco Negro +33 (0)1 47 72 81 41
Stéphanie André. Mob: +33 (0)6 34 18 66 54 / Laurence Dacoury. Mob: +33 (0)6
18 41 30 28
presse@teamfoncia.com
www.teamfoncia.com
Dominique Wavre (Temenos):
Temenos II expected in Fremantle tomorrow
After setting out from Kerguelen on 17th December, Dominique and Temenos II
are reaching their goal. Contacted at midday a little over 24 hrs from the
finish, the skipper was preparing to launch into a last gybe, which should
enable him to make a direct course towards Fremantle. As a result he is
expected into port tomorrow by his shore crew.
“It’ll do me good to tie up and know my little Temenos is safe!” admitted
the skipper yesterday when questioned within the framework of the French
broadcast “L’hebdo du jeudi”. Even though the skipper has managed to
indextain a certain control of the keel movements of his damaged monohull, we
can well imagine how keen he is to bring the tension associated with this
decisive delivery to a close. “I’m eager to complete this voyage. I’ve
realised that I’m not managing to relax or sleep properly. I’m still a bit
under pressure with my keel issues, which is naturally a little wearing. I’m
constantly on my guard but fortunately I’m managing to do a spot of reading
to clear my head.”
Despite the lack of good sleep, Dominique was still able to relish the small
savoury delights. “I’m eating well and managing to knock up a feast at
virtually every meal time. Now that I know I’m going to spend New Year’s Eve
on shore I’m making the most of it and tucking into the special meal we’d
scheduled aboard for that date.”
Under the influence of the high pressure for the past two days, the seas
have finally calmed protecting the keel from the harshest movements. To
Dominique’s satisfaction, Temenos II had avoided the flat calm conditions
and has been managing to make honourable speeds over the past 48 hours. “I
never really got stopped in the high pressure. I always had a little wind,
with the exception of a short moment where I had to use the engine. Other
than that I am happy as it’s not gone too badly at all. I’m a little less
than 250 miles from Fremantle, so if all goes well I should be offshore of
Perth in 24 hours time. I hope I’ll make it in at about 1000 hrs with the
evening tide.”
With another day at sea to go, Temenos II’s approach should be accompanied
by a moderate S’ly flow, though Dominique will have to watch out for the
thermal winds famed for being violent in this zone. “For tomorrow the
forecast is showing S’ly wind. There is likely to be around twenty knots
offshore and a lot less in the bay of Fremantle. This will also depend on
how sunny it is. If it’s cloudy, as it is at the moment, this is likely to
limit the thermal breeze, which can be very strong in that area. The S’ly
wind should thwart its development which is a good thing.”
Translated by Kate Jennings – Expression
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