Vendée Globe day 40 - An improving picture

1500 HRS GMT Rankings: (FRA, unless stated)
Click here to see the latest position map

1. Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) at + 12503 miles to finish
2. Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement) at 45.2 miles
3. Seb Josse (BT) at + 157 miles
4. Jean Le Cam (VM Matériaux) at + 211 miles
5. Armel Le Cléac’h (Brit Air) + 404.9 miles

Selected International:
10. Sam Davies, GBR, (ROXY) at + 1069.8 miles
11. Brian Thompson, GBR, (Bahrain Team Pindar) at + 1214.4 miles
12. Dee Caffari, GBR, (AVIVA) at + 1676.7 miles
14. Steve White, GBR, (Toe in the Water) at + 2313.7 miles
15. Johnny Malbon, GBR, (Artemis) at + 2599.4 miles
16. Rich Wilson, USA, (Great American III) at + 2692.9 miles
17. Derek Hatfield, CAN, (Algimouss Spirit of Canada) at + 2962.5 miles
19. Norbert Sedlacek, AUT, (Nauticsport.Kapsch) + 3658.8 miles

Favourable conditions mean that the Royal Australian Navy Frigate Arunta has improved her ETA by three hours to approximately 1100hrs GMT tomorrow when she should be approaching station to start the evacuation of injured solo skipper Yann Eliès (Generali).

Conditions are not anticipated to be as favourable tonight and so the ship may have to slow slightly.

In close cooperation with Erwan Steff, the Logistics and Technical Manager for the Generali team, Race Director Denis Horeau and Vendée Globe Safety Consultant Alain Gautier a detailed plan has been put in place for the Australian Navy personnel to evacuate Eliès from the Open 60. It is understood they will use a very large RIB to transfer the injured skipper. The improved schedule means that they should have around two hours of daylight to complete the procedure.

Those involved will be strictly military, while the medical supervision aboard the ship will be under the care of a civilian doctor, Race Director Denis Horeau confirmed. The civil doctor will assess Eliès as soon as he is onboard the Frigate and draw up a detailed care plan.

“The have assured us of their care of Yann until he is feeling better.” Horeau explained today, “They are very experienced and diligent operators and no one knows the conditions in the Southern Ocean better than they do.”

Erwan Steff outlined the improvement in the mood of his friend, the Generali skipper;

“He was able to eat, to drink and has managed to take some painkillers. As soon as he did that, about half an hour later he was able to sleep better, and since then his morale as been on the up. He has re-hyrdrated some. It is the first time in two days that I have heard my friend smile and laugh a little. I feel like he is now ready to leave the boat.”

A plan is also in place by the Generali team to recover the Open 60 whose position will continue to be tracked by the race direction team taking receiving a position report every ten minutes.

Steff paid warm tribute to Safran skipper Marc Guillemot for his attention and encouragement. Guillemot’s words are those who has known great pain the desperation of waiting for rescue. More than twenty years ago he was badly injured when the catamaran Jet Services capsized, sustaining two broken legs.

“Without doubt Marco (Guillemot) has really found the right words to push Yann through these difficult times. He really pressed him and motivated him to get to a bag today which he opened with his knife. And as soon as he had opened it and taken the painkillers he could sleep better.”

Still at the front of the fleet, Michel Desjoyeaux is continuing to put the pressure on those that are chasing in that leading group. Only Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement), who has had a remarkable race, is keeping up with the punishing standards set by the skipper of Foncia.

Sébastien Josse (BT) and Jean Le Cam (VM Matériaux) are refusing to be drawn into this game of ever increasing speed. For these four, what is going on behind them is not on their minds for now. They may be thinking of Yann, but the fight at the front does not leave much time for reflection.

As for those at the rear, they are telling themselves that there is still a long way to go, that they need to look after themselves and their boats, while remaining determined to face up to the ravages of the elements.

The competitors will be hoping for less confused seas, which should allow better surfing conditions. However, the nerves will remain on edge, particularly as the first observations indicate the presence of ice ahead, which has led to the New Zealand Ice Gate being moved further north.

More information on the www.vendeeglobe.org website.

Update from Michel Desjoyeaux on Foncia:

Michel going on ahead

“Tricky”, “rough”, “hard”, “rustic”, “full-on”… The adjectives are all much of a muchness when describing the Indian Ocean, which has seen the Vendée Globe plunge into another dimension. The contact racing over these first 35 days of racing is now a thing of the past. The machines have shown signs of weakness and the men and women have had to dig deep to face up to the ruggedness of the context. Cold, wet, cross seas, icebergs, uniform greyness, repeated gales; it’s imperative not to give up, not to go off your head, not to sink into negativity. In the end, you realise that this Indian is something that sailors have experienced in many different ways. For Michel Desjoyeaux on his 60 foot monohull FONCIA, this Indian Ocean is a done deal. Ultimately it proved to be fairly mild, not too violent and not full of obstacles: “I haven’t seen more than 42 knots over the past 15 days in it. It found us some ice at apéritif time and I’ve certainly had tougher times…” Indeed, this ocean has been rather positive for Michel who has been leading the way since Tuesday 16th December, punctuating what has been a remarkable and historic comeback in the ranking. The icing on the cake is that he has racked up a number of daily top times and has scored the best ever performance over 24 hours in the entire history of the Vendée Globe with 466 miles on the clock. In the end, FONCIA has escaped from the Indian in fine fettle and Michel himself admits to having “turned back into a normal guy again”.

A story of common sense…

“I’ve turned back into a normal guy again as I had turned into someone who was addicted to the rankings, the position reports, the weather, the new files which came out every 6 hours, 4 times a day”. Those listening to him stare with wide eyes… “At the start I wasn’t terribly intrigued by the position reports. I looked at them out of curiosity at a given point… I looked at what concerned me, no more than that… In the Indian Ocean though I was an addict; pure and simple. I waited to see the Sat C flash to tell me I had a message. When I saw nothing at 53 (1053 for example is one of the day’s position reports), I said to myself: what are they doing on land? What’s the satellite up to? What the hell’s going on… (laughs)”. In short, Michel has found his competitive spirit again and his passion for contact racing. He’s regained the winning core that we know so well. Anyone who competes wants to win and back at the front of the fleet after teasing the tail end of the ranking, Michel has now stretched away from part of the fleet and is sailing neck and neck with Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement), a lifetime friend and enemy. It’s a motivating situation which he is relishing: “There are two competitors, Seb and Jean, over whom I now have a slight edge of 120/150 miles, which is rather good… And then there’s our Bilou (Jourdain) who doesn’t want to give an inch and is hanging on in there. That’s no surprise to me at all though, it’s exactly what I would expect of him and it’ll have to be a case of resisting the pressure… We’ll just have to wait and see if opportunity makes the thief. And if this is how it’s got to be, it’s not such a bad thing! In fact it’s lucky I’m with Bilou. It’s a great scenario.” (Bursts into laughter). From the outside you have to wonder what’s going to be on tonight’s menu. How will Michel handle this leadership position? Will he try to accelerate? Will he play for time? “In the descent of the Atlantic I was running the routing and the polars at full bore. Right now I’m running them at about 90 or even 85% so as I can stick to some of the others’ speeds. If I see that someone is belting along, I accelerate and if ever I see that someone is easing off the pace, I do likewise… I use the routing to make a mathematical comparison of what’s happening on the water. It wasn’t my thing before I started doing that but now it’s all down to common sense!” Common sense is evidently the key phrase here. Mirroring how the other sailors are racing looks pretty easy, from the outside at least…

Full cycle…

It’s certainly ‘easier’ than ensuring you get enough food and sleep, which is a key to success for Michel, who has a deep respect for his needs and his level of alertness. Reading may not be part of his alertness programme at the moment, but the Sudoku grids are keeping him busy. In fact Michel has even discovered a new use for these brain tests: “I opened a first book but it wasn’t very inspiring and I’ve no desire to be down in the dumps. As such I’ve started doing Sudoku grids. It’s a good indicator of your lucidity in fact. If you manage to polish off a sudoku grid in 20 mins, it means that you’re in the green. If you see numbers in every direction after 2 mins 30 then you need to go to sleep… It’s not a bad little barometer. It’s a good way of finding out your level of lucidity and vigilance. You can even feel how your boat is slipping along, watch your instruments, correct your course, check your battery levels… it’s great! As regards sleep, I seriously don’t know how long I sleep… I don’t have an alarm or a timer aboard so I’ve no idea how long I sleep during the day. As I’m not having hallucinations or any moments where I feel absolutely shattered, I must be getting enough sleep… around 4 hours in 24”. A boat in good shape, like its skipper, means that all that’s lacking is a hot shower. Michel freely admits to this: “A good hot shower certainly wouldn't do me any harm (laughs). I would be up for that… I’d put several tokens in the necessary slot… I’d switch it to a wash cycle at 40, 60 and 90° (laughs)”.

Every minute…

It’s also impossible for Michel not to think about Yann Eliès on this Friday 19th December, immobilised in his bunk. “Though globally there’s been very few incidents involving physical injury, this one’s a big one… since Yann can’t move anymore. This is really full-on. I don’t know how he’s managing with a broken femur… it’s crazy. We’ll have to get him out of there quickly. This kind of accident certainly makes you want to be more vigilant. I try to anticipate a problem before it arises. I always say to myself that if I come crashing to a halt from doing 15 knots to 3, where would I end up?… On my chart table, on some electrical equipment… As such I try to position myself so the impact is as soft as possible. When I go up on the foredeck, I go as far as the mast initially. Then I look at the rhythm of the waves which the boat is being stirred up by. I correct the automatic pilot so that the boat has the most appropriate rhythm and course, and I choose which moment to move forward. Just now, the seas are throwing us around and you can’t stay upright naturally. Over the past two days – and I’ve only got to go two metres between the cockpit and the boat’s interior – you could really have come a cropper. The boat is shifting about a lot and you simply can’t follow her. I’m not surprised that you can hurt yourself.”

30 knots of wind, white skies, stubborn sudoko grids, 18 knots of boat speed… here we have Michel Desjoyeaux’s current landscape aboard FONCIA on this Friday 19th December. A page has been turned on the first part of the Southern Ocean and ends on a positive note, whilst another opens with his buddy Roland Jourdain. Michel admits that “there’s got to be worse than this hasn’t there?”

Update from Seb Josse on BT:

The sixth edition of the solo, non-stop round the world Vendée Globe race is truly living up to its reputation. Only 18 boats out of the 30 starters remain on the race course: Loick Peyron, Kito de Pavant, Marc Thiercelin, Mike Golding - all dismasted; Swiss skippers Dominique Wavre and Bernard Stamm - major keel and rudder problems respectively. The list goes on and today Generali's skipper Yann Eliès has broken his leg, a rescue operation is underway.12 victims of this unforgiving race. With the lows, come the highs - BT has been in the lead 7 times over the last 40 days and we have witnessed the incredible comeback of 2000 Vendée Globe winner, Michel Desjoyeaux (aka The Professor) who was forced to restart 42 hours after the majority of the fleet and who has now taken command of the race at the front!

For nearly six weeks Sébastien Josse onboard BT has played it wise tactically, making the most of the boat's potential, assuring the vast majority of observers who had put him amongst the top 3 favourites that they had been right to do so. He has been with the frontrunners from day one. Now BT is with the 'breakaway gang' of four - Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia), Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement), Jean Le Cam (VM Matériaux) and Seb - the chasing pack are now over 200 miles astern of BT. In the harsh environment of the Southern Ocean - 48 hours ago Seb reported 47 knots of wind (54mph/87kph) and 6-7 meter waves - he has chosen to sail a 'fast but reasonable' race as preservation of the boat it utmost in his mind. Looking at the carnage in recent days, his philosophy is proving prophetic. "I love being in the Southern Ocean but I will also be happy to leave it." Still another 3-4 weeks in the South before turning left at Cape Horn - the final great Cape of the Southern Ocean.

Update from Sam Davies on Roxy:

Sam Davies races to reach injured competitor in the Vendée Globe

Just a day after suffering a blackout and nausea after a nasty fall aboard her Open 60 Roxy, Sam Davies, leading British skipper in the Vendée Globe, has changed her course to aid an injured competitor in the Southern Ocean. French skipper Yann Eliès, aboard Generali, sustained a serious fracture of his femur whilst on deck. Yann’s boat, which was charging along at 18 knots, slammed into a wave and came to a shuddering halt with such force that he felt his thigh bone crack and collapsed. He is now stricken in his cabin on a makeshift bed, unable to move or reach a first aid kit.

As one of the closest boats to Generali, Sam immediately changed Roxy’s course to help offer the injured skipper morale and psychological support. She commented, “I can't describe my feelings of horror when the reality of the situation hit home. It is one of the phone calls that I hoped I would never receive. My bruised elbow suddenly became insignificant, although having so recently been hurt, alone on my boat I can understand what Yann must be going through only too well.”

Sam continued, “I am torn between racing to Yann at a breakneck speed and not pushing too hard to risk damage to myself or Roxy. I know I must be sensible, and get some rest en route so that if I am needed I will be on form. I'm ready to do anything to help, as I’m sure any of the other skippers in this race would be.”

Another French skipper, Marc Guillemot, has also changed his course and is currently alongside Generali attempting to throw aid parcels to his fellow countryman from on board his own boat. An Australian naval vessel has been dispatched to rescue Yann, a task that is sure to be complicated further by rough seas and unpredictable weather conditions.

This year’s Vendée Globe has so far emphatically reinforced the race’s reputation as the ‘Sailor’s Everest’. Out of 30 boats that left Les Sables d’Olonne in November, 17 have been forced to turn back to port for structural repairs and 12 have been forced to retire from the race altogether.

Sam is currently in tenth position, 1036 miles behind the leader Michel Desjoyeaux with a further 14,000 miles to the finish in Les Sables D’Olonne (France). As leading Briton and leading female in the race, she is currently ahead of British sailing veteran Brian Thompson and record breaking female sailor Dee Caffari.

Update from Brian Thompson on Bahrain Team Pindar:

Hi all

Sorry not to have written yesterday, but my mind was on what was happening on Generali and hoping that Yann was going to be ok. I know that a fractured femur is almost the worst injury you can get out in the wilds. I cannot imagine what he is going through on his boat, and how long 48 hours is going to feel like to wait for the Australian Navy vessel, whilst stuck on your bunk, unable to reach anything. I was very glad to hear last night that his condition was stable.

The Race Direction have done a great job, and to have Marco on Safran there on standby and Sam on her way, is a great psychological boost for Yann. The Australian Navy are doing a magnificent job sending one of their big frigates to the scene at top speed. The Vendée Globe is a race and everyone is fiercely competitive, but there is never a hesitation in going to a fellow racer’s assistance. In the regions where we are sailing now, it’s just the other skippers who are close by. Like many other skippers, I offered to the Race Direction my assistance to go to Generali, but it was not necessary. I hope that all goes well from now till when Yann gets to hospital in Australia.

Out here on Bahrain Team Pindar it’s been a busy time, with gales each of the two nights, so sailing with 3 reefs in the mainsail at night, and during daylight hours the wind dropped. Therefore much sail changing and gybing as the wind constantly changed, as I was passed from one low pressure to the next one. I had no rest until this morning when I grabbed a few hours of naps.

After that I went to look around inside the boat and remove some water that had been leaking through the front hatch. I found more than just water when I saw cracks in the inboard sides of both forward ballast tanks, just forward of the keel bulkhead. These act both to hold the ballast water in and more importantly as longitudinal stiffeners to the front half of the boat. The outboard sides of the tanks are ok, so I have 50% of the longitudinals intact. Today been talking with Nick Black, Boat Captain and Andy Dore, our boat builder and we have all been in contact with the design office, to work out how to proceed. Firstly, how serious is it, and secondly, how to repair it at sea.

It's going to be a big repair involving cutting a hole in the tank top so that I can repair both sides of the crack in the panel, and there is a lot of preparation work to get the surfaces ready to laminate.

Also whilst this is going on, I am still sailing the boat, keeping up the speed, whilst making sure that there is no slamming up forward to make the crack any worse. When I unrolled my J2 tonight for a bit more speed, I saw that it has a big tear on the leech. This is the sail that is permanently lashed on so there is no chance to repair it. I hope that it will be ok for the upwind sections in the Atlantic when the 3DL Kevlar fibres should align themselves ok, and that it is just in running that the leech opens and the tear appears and grows. So no more J2 till Cape Horn, that was my favourite sail, and the most all-purpose sail I had.

Then I had a little struggle to get the watermaker to make water, and that took a couple of hours, as water is essential to keep me going to get all the work done! Got it eventually by using a half full ballast tank as the feed for the watermaker pump.

So at the end of this rather long day, the sun came out for just 5 minutes, and as I went back on deck to see this rare occurrence, there behind me was the most perfect, most unexpected bright rainbow.

Brian

Update from Dee Caffari on Aviva:

Caffari surviving the Southern Ocean

The daily bombshells that are raining down on the Vendée Globe fleet over the fortunes of its skippers are having a profound effect on Dee Caffari’s mindset as survival takes centre stage in her race strategy.

Yesterday’s news concerning Yann Elies’ (Generali) broken thigh bone which came hard on the heels of Mike Golding’s dismasting forced the record breaking yachtswoman, who is lying in 12th place on Aviva, into ‘what if’ mode.

“When the news came through yesterday my immediate thought was ‘oh no not another one.’ It makes me focus on survival. I just need to survive,” said Dee sounding stoic but cheerful.

“My biggest fear is illness or injury and Yann’s thigh bone break is one of the most extreme types of injury you can get. I can’t imagine how he must be feeling or what the hell he is going to do.

“If that happened to me, I would have similar problems in reaching for the painkillers in the medical kit. These kits are heavy and they have to go somewhere – you can’t just leave them lying around. Mine is stacked on the shelf but it is not easy to get to. He is not even mobile enough to get a bag of stuff together for when he is lifted off. So that started me thinking about what stuff I would take if I had to be lifted off like that.

“And what happens to the boat? It is a perfectly good boat – nothing wrong with it but it’s not like you can drop someone off on board and ask them to sail it back for you. And he’s not going to be able to get back out there and sail it back because he’s going to be in hospital for a while.

“Everyone else has had a trauma or a problem that is manageable but to have an injury like that is heartbreaking. He has no option but to get off the boat and that is the most difficult thing of all.

Dee admitted that every time she hears about the latest gear failure, she is compelled to undergo rigorous checks on Aviva.

“When Dominic Wavre’s keel went on Temenos, I must have shone the torch in my keel box three times a day. When I heard Bernard Stamm’s (Cheminées Poujoulat) news, I was checking my steering twice a day and after hearing Mike’s news I am now checking my rig every time I go on deck. It is exhausting.

“Last night I was doing a sail change and was right up at the front when I suddenly thought this is exactly where Yann injured himself so I sat down and started crawling around. I’m not sure I can take much more bad news like this.”

Each skipper would have their own response to the high attrition rate, Dee added but hers was most definitely to ease off.

“In a Formula One Grand Prix, the cars are pushed to their extreme and they either make it to the finish or they blow up. This is like the F1 event of the oceans and it is exactly the same I guess. You look at Foncia’s speed and he has not backed off at all despite all the traumas, whereas my reaction is to ease off and concentrate on survival. We all have a different response which I suppose makes it interesting.”

Aviva has just emerged from a ‘horrendous’ few days which has subjected her skipper to hours on end of 50 knot winds and big rolling seas forcing her to contemplate putting in a fourth reef.

“It was horrible. I was thinking ‘OK I’m not really enjoying this any more’. I could see the numbers going up and up and up and I was thinking do I hang on to this sail plan or should I reduce sails. It has reduced now and I am in a very nice breeze so I’m hoping it will last a couple of days because I need a break.”