01.12.2008
Impressive progress
Since setting out from Les Sables d’Olonne a second time on 13th November,
Cheminées Poujoulat has made it back with the rest of the fleet and, at the
1100 hour ranking today, she was up into 19th position, and still the
fastest of the fleet as has been the case for several days.
A little reckoning
We can see from the 1100 hour ranking today that the deficits have evolved
in the following manner: In relation to the top 9 in the ranking, Bernard
Stamm has made up 240 to 340 miles on the competitors in this group. He has
made back 340 miles on Marc Guillemot and 280 miles on Dominique Wavre,
respectively 10th and 11th. Stamm has also made up 460 miles on the British
sailors Brian Thomson and Samantha Davis, as well as 564 miles on Dee
Caffari. He has closed 660 miles on Arnaud Boissières. Naturally he has made
the greatest gains on the competitors he has overtaken, including Rich
Wilson (728 miles) as well as Unaï Basurko (807 miles). Michel Desjoyeaux is
the only one not to have conceded a single mile to Stamm, the former
covering just 47 additional miles…
This progress has been impressive in terms of the time it’s taken him to
make this comeback. This is particularly evident in the fact that on 16th
November, at 2000 hours, at the point where Cheminées Poujoulat had lost the
most ground, Stamm was then 1,401 miles behind the then leader, Gitana
Eighty.
In relation to this greatest deficit, Bernard has made up between 600 and
800 miles on the top 14 competitors, with the exception of Michel
Desjoyeaux.
The next few days will be less favourable for Cheminées Poujoulat however.
The head of the fleet is now in the roaring forties and is already
negotiating an initial front in downwind conditions, which will enable them
to pick up the pace. Despite this, the Saint Helena high is back in its
usual position in the west so Bernard will be able to shorten the distance
travelled to get into the deep south.
The next moment of reckoning will take place after the passage of the first
gate to the south of the Cape of Good Hope.
Last night’s message from on board
“It’s as if we’re already in the roaring forties. There is more heat and
fewer birds. The rest is the same. Low cloud with intermittent rain. The
medium wind is stronger than forecast and is gusting in excess of 10 knots,
though it isn’t very stable either in terms of strength or direction. On
average the wind is on the beam, which means that even the smallest task up
on deck warrants full foulies. That said, this situation is enabling
Cheminées Poujoulat to make fast headway in the right direction, which is
excellent. Normally the wind is set to hold until tomorrow afternoon.
However, I’ve certainly had better rides than this as the boat is leaping
off the waves as a result of the sea hitting us pretty much head on. Eating
is a mission in itself. So there you have it; I’m going up top again in a
bid to make headway without breaking anything.”
Translated by Kate Jennings – Expression
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