07.12.2008
Stalling in view
Today it’s Paprec Virbac 2’s turn to make its mark at the head of the
ranking. With no less than 22 changes of leader in what is now 28 days of
racing, the Vendée Globe is living up to expectations.
Whilst at midday the leaders were making headway in a good thirty knots or
so of breeze, at the rear of the fleet, the arrival of a ridge of high
pressure was depriving the boats of wind. As the fleet make easting, this
high pressure is likely to affect the frontrunners too, but they aren’t set
to be slowed before tomorrow. In the meantime, the important speed
differentials between the boats are likely to see the deficits increase
between the head and the tail of the fleet.
280 miles from the leader, Dominique was beginning to see the first signs of
the calm spell early this morning. After spending several days in the hubbub
of a boat surfing in 25 to 35 knots of wind, Dominique was savouring the
drop in decibels.
“The wind kept on easing this morning; I had around just fifteen knots which
I was still pretty well managing to make the most of with all the sail
aloft. It feels good to have a little silence aboard again. I made the most
of it to cook up a nice little beef bourguignon with pasta; a real Sunday
lunch! We’ve had a few rain showers, which wasn’t such a bad thing as it
rinses the foulies off!”
Aboard Temenos II, Dominique was anticipating a difficult night, caught up
by the calm spells. However, the most worrying thing for the skipper was
doubtless imagining the leaders escaping this high pressure; a scenario
which has fortunately been contradicted in the latest weather forecasts.
“The high pressure has already joined up with the tail end of the fleet and
it is likely to gobble up Safran and I from this evening, then it will start
having an effect on the leaders tomorrow morning. Everyone is likely to be
slowed as the zone of high pressure is so big; it runs from north to south,
that is from 40°S as far as the latitude where ice is indicated. According
to the grib files, it was unrealistic to imagine we could escape it, other
than maybe dropping right down to the south, but that would involve a high
risk of encountering ice.”
To Dominique’s surprise, the Sunday rest only lasted a short while aboard
the monohull. Smack bang in the middle of the afternoon, in what should have
been a last jolt before the night’s calm spells, the wind filled Temenos
II’s sails once again, enabling her to rack up 17 knots of boat speed over
the past hour at the 1600 hour ranking.
“I was completely taken by surprise. I was carrying full indexsail and large
gennaker when the wind increased sharply to nearly 30 knots. I dashed
forward to reduce the sail area. It’s a nice surprise, I really wasn’t
expecting this wind here.”
This acceleration is unlikely to protect Temenos II from the arrival of the
high pressure, though it has enabled Dominique to put off this fate for a
while as he gains easting…
Translated by Kate Jennings – Expression
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