Vendee Globe Parlier plans his approach

by Philippe Jeantot on 15 Mar 2001 Parlier (Aquitaine Innovations) confirmed this morning during the radio chat with the Vendée Globe Race HQ that given the current, favourable weather forecast, he should arrive
in Les Sables d¹Olonne at around 1700hrs French time, Friday 16th March. The tide will not allow him to enter the channel before 1745 hrs. However, that is the rising tide and so one
can lessen the margin either side for safety¹s sake. Yves insisted that he wanted to get in as soon as he possibly could, in mind of the enormous media schedule he will have to plunge
into as soon as he returns.

For the time being, Yves Parlier is managing not to get distracted by thoughts of what awaits him on arrival. 'I still have a few days left sailing my boat, I know they will be my last miles
with her, because she will be put up for sale after the Vendée. So I must benefit from this time as much as I can. I want to savour every moment. I¹m already thinking about my future
boat, the multihull.'

Parlier knows his race is not over yet, and he is being especially mindful of the sudden increase in shipping around him, now that he is coming round Cap Finisterre into the Bay of
Biscay. 'I have passed quite a few boats this morning, they smell of the coastline. There was a container ship and two fishing trawlers stretching out a line between them both.
Thankfully I didn¹t end up passing between them either. I¹m actually parallel to the shipping lane, so when I will gybe, I¹ll cut through the lane squarely so as to sail through it for the
least amount of time as possible.'

And as for his boat performance, Yves is making a steady average of 8 ­ 9 knots. 'There¹s a 20 knot SW breeze, and I¹ve got the genoa, which I managed to repair a bit, flying again, so I
have about 228m2 of sail up between the genoa, staysail and the main with 2 reefs. That¹s a fair amount of cloth, I¹d say!'

Still in the race and in the North Atlantic, Didier Munduteguy (DDP/60ème Sud) has left the strong North Easterly Trades and is under the influence of slightly calmer winds
approaching the Azores. 'We managed to make good progress to the North in the last few days, and now the wind has died off a little I am sailing at around 7 knots, it¹s certainly more
bearable for the boat now. I am much more optimistic for the last 10 days of my race. I have never been afraid for myself during the Vendée, but when the boat suffers, or I don¹t handle
her properly, I don¹t feel good myself.'

Pasquale de Gregorio (Wind), the valiant Italian skipper, bringing up the rear of the fleet in his Open 50 footer, has finally succeeded in gaining sufficient miles to the East after a short
back track yesterday. 'By tomorrow, if things stay as they are now, we should be completely free from the Brazilian coast, meaning that, if the wind happens to turn back on our nose,
we'll be able to bear away all the way until Panama!' Able to make a proper heading North in more Easterly winds, Pasquale is now a few degrees from reaching the Equator.

ETA

Yves Parlier (Aquitaine Innovations) ­ 16th March at 1700hrs French time

Latest Ranking* polled at 0900hrs (UT):

Psn Boat Skipper Lat Long Headg Av. Speed** DTF***
1 PRB Michel Desjoyeaux Finish: 10 February 2008hrs 32 sec
2 Kingfisher Ellen MacArthur Finish: 11 February 2036hrs 40 sec
3 Sill Matines & La Potagère Roland Jourdain Finish: 13 February 1713hrs 33 sec
4 Active Wear Marc Thiercelin Finish: 20 February 1248hrs 49sec
5 Union Bancaire Privée Dominique Wavre Finish: 22 February 1858hrs 12sec
6 Sodebo Savourons la Vie Thomas Coville Finish: 22 February 2335hrs 0sec
7 Team Group 4 Mike Golding Finish: 28 February 0833hrs 0sec
8 Voilà.fr Bernard Gallay Finish: 1 March 0818hrs 11sec
9 EBP - Défi PME - Gartmore Josh Hall Finish: 1 March 1159hrs 2 sec
10 Nord Pas de Calais - Chocolats du Monde Joe Seeten Finish: 5 March 0857hrs 50 sec
11 VM Matériaux Patrice Carpentier Finish: 5 March 1643hrs 48 sec
12 Aquarelle.com Simone Bianchetti Finish: 10 March 1739hrs 0sec
13 Aquitaine Innovations Yves Parlier 43°19'N 10°46'W 21 9.84 426
14 DDP - 60ème Sud Didier Munduteguy 28°03'N 33°24'W 339 4.55 1854
15 Wind Pasquale de Gregorio 08°47'S 33°34'W 12 4.22 3822

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

For further information:


Go to the official race website: http://www.vendeeglobe.com - click on the English flag
Positions are updated at 0830, 1230, 1730hrs GMT daily on the site.