Page 24. MAINE COASTAL NEWS March 2009
Yacht Racing News
acht Racing News
Update Vendee Globe: Eight Finished, Three To Go.
and Guillemot has 82. did that in the Indian and the Pacific Oceans.” Day 91, 8 February: The battle is still hot
Continued from Page 22.
As Brian Thompson (BAHRAIN TEAM Day 89, 6 February: Armel Le Cléac’h between ROXY and SAFRAN. Davies
the anchors did not hold and as he was PINDAR) nurses his boat, and is just 143 (BRIT AIR) is expect to finish tomorrow. He (ROXY) should pass the Azores tonight more
heading for shore was forced to cut the an- miles behind Guillemot, but Dee Caffari is now just 170 miles from the finish, but did than 100 miles back of Guillemot’s SAFRAN.
chor line. He was given permission and did (AVIVA) is gaining on him. Thompson is not have a very good night. In winds gusting Davies is making 15.3 knots and hopes to
take on medical supplies to treat an inflamed battling confused seas and wind on the nose to 45 and 18 foot seas, and was sailing with avoid another high pressure system.
elbow. as he takes care of the damaged keel rams. He three reefs in the main and no headsails. One Guillemot is sailing a knot faster in good
Wilson said, “Today, we had wind, not hopes that when the winds are not on the wave ripped the protected cover, which slides sou’westerly winds and 20 plus foot seas.
too much, not too little, in a good direction, so nose and the seas are not confused he can sail over the cockpit, off. He also had the mainsail During the night Davies was making better
that we could make a good direction and go harder. car ripped off its track. speed and had taken back almost 20 miles.
straight for a waypoint off Rio de Janeiro. Rich Wilson said, “We are making very The battle between ROXY and SAFRAN, Thompson said that he was sailing in
Solent and one reef in the main, and making good time, we have finally got a couple of now shows SAFRAN with the speed advan- much better conditions for his damaged keel
about 13 knots average, easy on the boat, those days when you can make miles prop- tage after he got to the north side of a high and can now push harder. Unfortunately he
fairly easy on skipper. Walter Greene, the erly in the right direction at good speed, so we pressure system. He is now in a 25 knot may hit the new Azores anticyclone and this
great designer, builder, racer of multihulls, have been making about 14 knots or so for sou’west breeze and reaching speeds of 15 would slow him.
said to me once, “make the easy miles Richie, probably the last 12 hours or so, and before knots. Steve White (TOE IN THE WATER) has
there will be plenty of hard miles, so make the that a little bit less. The last 24 hours we have Dee Caffari, (AVIVA) is now just 125 crossed the equator and is sailing in good
easy miles”, meaning, when you can go, go, been having a pretty good shot at it, which I miles back of Brian Thompson, (BAHRAIN conditions at 11 knots.
for as long as you can, as hard as you can. think we needed.” TEAM PINDAR) after regaining 250 miles on Norbert Sedlacek has reported that he
Seems forever since we had some easy miles. “We may back off here a little bit here, we him. has developed some problems onboard. The
At dark, put in a reef to #2, and then a few are on the edge of a low pressure system, so Day 90, 7 February: Armel Le Cléac’h display on his autopilot is not working, and
hours later, went Solent to staysail as the there are lot of grey clouds around and some onboard BRIT AIR crossed the finish line at a halyard clutch,a block and the base for the
wind picked up some more. Still averaging thunder clouds so we are having some surges 0841 GMT and took second place. He paid generator have broken. If that was not bad
nearly 13 knots. We needed this. Here’s hop- up to 20 knots or so, sometimes they don’t tribute to winner Desjoyeaux and Roland enough he had been hit by the boom twice
ing it will last for a day or so more, as forecast.” necessarily help, but we are doing well. We Jourdain, who was forced out of the race so during the night.
Day 88, 5 February: Making his way needed to have a break in the winds we had, close to the finish. He also said that his most Day 92, 9 February: At was reported that
through seas up to 24 feet and heavy winds the heavy upwind, particularly two nights stressful time was off Cape Horn when he Marc Guillemot’s SAFRAN had developed a
out of the nor’west, Le Cléac’h now had 260 ago or three nights ago, we just pounded the went to the assistance of Jean Le Cam’s VM keel problem. He tried to make a temporary
miles to go. Unfortunately heavy winds on boat relentlessly upwind, in 35-45 knots. It is MATÉRIAUX, who he knew was still inside. repair by tying ropes to the head of the keel
the nose are the forecast for this last segment awful for the boat, awful for the skipper and Davies’ (ROXY) has seen her lead over to secure it, but later the keel slipped out of the
of the race for him. By the end of the day he you feel awful for putting the boat through Guillemot (SAFRAN) completely disappear boat. He filled the ballast tanks with six tons
was sailing in 30 knot nor’westerly winds and that. Trying to get to a place where you have and is now just less than 100 miles back of him. of water and is determined to complete the
going an average of 12 knots. better wind conditions. I certainly feel a lot SAFRAN went 365 miles in the last 24 hours, last 976 miles to the finish.
Davies (ROXY) is still putting more miles better about beam reaching or broad reach- while ROXY did just 69.7 miles. The problem began off the Azores and
between her and fourth place racer, Guillemot ing, going upwind into.” As for the battle between Thompson had gotten progressively worse and was
(SAFRAN), who is making just 3.9 knots. Wilson was concern for Raphael Dinelli, and Caffari, Thompson hit the edge of a high relieved that it was gone. He thought that the
ROXY is now over 280 miles ahead, but is this (FONDATION OCÉAN VITAL) who was pressure system and slowed. Caffari was damaged stemmed from the collision with a
enough to hold the position once the re- battling with a low pressure system. “None of making better progress and was now back by sea mammal on 17 December. Guillemot was
dresses are subtracted. ROXY has 32 hours us need any more storms,” said Wilson. “We just over 40 miles. still sailing at about 10 knots with a tripled reef
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