24.11.2008
Temenos II slips along on a reach
Whilst the skippers thought they were in for several days upwind, a stormy
front has ended up throwing a spanner in the works for the forecasters. The
result has been an E’ly rotation in the tradewind and as such the fleet has
been able to reap the benefits of a favourable wind to ease the sheets and
lengthen their stride.
The first to benefit from this moment of respite after three days sailing
close-hauled, the leading boats saw their speeds shoot up. At the rear of
this group and with a slight W’ly separation, Temenos II didn’t touch this
favourable wind until late morning.
Prior to this however, the night had proved particularly laborious aboard
the monohull as Dominique indicated in a message sent in the early hours.
"Sticky inside, spray outside.
The obsession with the dials has reasserted itself aboard, heading, speed,
adjustment of the pilot…
The tradewind isn’t stable and you have to constantly trim, ease the
indexsheet traveller, freeing the jib clew, raise the daggerboard a little,
shine the torch for a minute to check everything’s in order before returning
to the sticky interior, albeit for a moment… The wind has headed again. I
wait 5 minutes to ensure the angle change is constant… once again the eyes
are pinned to the dials… a big swig of water… you go back up top but this
time to adjust things the other way. In short, the life of a solo regatta
sailor!
Fortunately, as in the game of who wants to be a millionaire, from time to
time you have the right to call a friend…
See you soon
Dom aboard Temenos II"
Contacted by Race HQ late this morning, Dominique had also hit some
favourable breeze. “The wind is in a good direction but the seas are
difficult. We’re getting shaken about every which way so the boat’s
suffering a little. You have to be vigilant in these conditions but that’s
no reason to slow down.”
Whilst the fleet is attacking its 3rd week of racing, all is well for the
skipper of Temenos II. “I feel very well physically and mentally. I crossed
paths with Jérémie last night and when you compare our fates I tell myself
that I’m really privileged and very happy to be here.” Indeed, since
yesterday Delta Dore has been experiencing some serious concerns with the
rig, which is forcing the skipper to alter course towards the Brazilian
coast. For the time being we are unaware if the damage can be repaired.
Meantime the race boats are continuing their descent into the southern
Atlantic, still on a reach for the next few hours. At the 1600 hour ranking,
Temenos II had yielded 11th place to Bahrain Team Pindar. Contacted at 1640
hours, the skipper had this to say: “We have around fifteen knots of
relatively established breeze. I was in sight of Bahrain Team Pindar at
lunchtime but in these circumstances it’s faster. I’ve tried pretty much
everything but haven’t been able to get back with him. In these types of
conditions it’s power that does the talking!”
As a result Dominique is suffering the ultra-powerfulness of this sizeable
as well as weighty adversary, and being much lighter there’s not a lot
Temenos II can do to respond. With its very different design, this Imoca 60
is unquestionably the most powerful of the Vendée Globe fleet and this
afternoon, whilst sailing in the same conditions, it was no surprise that it
was managing to make a knot more boat speed than the Swiss boat.
The coming strategy will be an even more decisive factor now, especially as
the evolution in the weather over the next few days reindexs a real
brain-teaser, as Dominique confirmed. “The charts are evolving everyday.
It’s not easy to find your way in that little lot! It’s a school of patience
as the situation isn’t clear. I am at the chart table a great deal to watch
how things are evolving. It’s still impossible to decide on a strategy but
I’m working on it.”
Translated by Kate Jennings – Expression
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