09.12.2008
Temenos II hotfooting it once more
Aboard a good number of boats contacted at the link-up today, the humour was
a little lacking. To listen to the voices of certain skippers you could
sense a little drop in spirits, which in all probability was due to the head
of the race extending their lead. Whilst the top ten were sailing just a
hundred miles or so apart 3 days ago, the deficits have grown and the 10th
placed skipper was relegated to over 180 miles astern of the leader at
midday. And what must be going through Yann Elies' mind as he bombed out of
the top spot five days ago and has now seen his Generali drop to 8th
position?
Since that time those boats relegated to the leaders' wake have seen a
reverse in this trend fortunately. Aboard Temenos II, spirits were high
again, the loss of miles the previous day had been 'digested' and the
skipper was benefiting from a steady 25 knots of breeze to lengthen his
stride and thus reduce the deficit which separated him from the leader
Paprec Virbac.
At the midday radio session, Dominique confirmed this: "I've finally got
into some wind over the past hour or so. The boat is going fast and I'm
surfing at 25 knots. I hope that this vein of wind will hold for as long as
possible and enable me to make up part of my deficit."
The proximity of the islands attracted a string of birds to the monohull's
wake. "I'm to the south of Marion and Prince Edward, two remote little
islands in the Indian Ocean. There must be a fair number of birds nesting on
it as I'm surrounded by petrels and little albatrosses. It's rather nice!"
Powering along on a reach at 18.5 knots, Dominique was seeing his hopes
become a reality. 404 miles from the leader yesterday, the skipper had got
back to within 308 miles at the 1600 hour ranking. These crazy average
speeds have a price though; the "cockpit beneath the water" in seas which
were becoming almost "vicious". The skipper's words suffice in giving us an
idea of the atmosphere that reigns aboard.
Contacted late this afternoon, Dominique confirmed this. "It's pretty
sporty. I'm getting shaken about every which way. It's good to see the
speedo climbing; it's felt like a kind of revenge over the past 24 hours.
I'm going to try to rest a little because in the cold conditions, you have
to be careful that you don't try too hard. I'm at the chart table at the
moment with the duvet rolled around me and the pilot remote in my hand. The
sun has begun to set so I'll make the most of it to top up on calories
again."
Despite a few timid attempts by the sun to break through the cloud, it's an
icy temperature aboard the boat and the cold reindexs a sly enemy to the
skippers. "It was amazing. I had a little ray of sunshine between two
squalls during the afternoon. That only lasted quarter of an hour though, so
there was only just enough time to get out the camera before the greyness
took the upper hand again. The wind changes according to the passage of
squalls. I had up to 28 knots and the rest of the time it varied between 20
and 25 knots. I am focussed on the trimming and I regularly go up top to
ease or harden the sheets a further 'umpteenth'."
At the chart table of his boat, Dominique was studying which trajectory to
adopt over the next few days. The Kerguelen Islands are taking shape ahead
of the monohull, and with it comes the decision of whether to pass to the
south or north of them. Added to this is the arrival of a powerful low,
which may spice things up a bit. "I'm beginning to look at my passage of the
Kerguelen Islands. A large low is on its way and is set to hit late this
week. If things pan out in this manner, we'll also have to watch how we
position ourselves quite early on before it hits, and then it will be
imperative that we avoid having to sail close-hauled."
Translated by Kate Jennings - Expression
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