- Jean-Pierre Dick still catching
- Bernard Stamm leaves Dunedin
- King Jean’s Golden Blanket does no harm
A spell of more peaceful life in the Pacific is proving something of a welcomed tonic for the two Vendée Globe leaders. Despite the fact that Armel Le Cléac’h and François Gabart - side be side just three miles apart - have been forced to concede 300 miles since Boxing Day to the fast moving Jean-Pierre Dick, second placed François Gabart asserted today that the interlude of lighter winds has been good for him to recuperate and to check Macif before the race rookie’s first passage of Cape Horn.
Gabart may have learned diligently at the Michel Desjoyeaux school of always giving positive spin, but knowing now that there are no big weather surprises set to come between him and the South Atlantic engenders yet another measure of confidence for the race’s youngest skipper, who 47 days into his first Vendée Globe has yet to show any weakness in his armoury, physical or mental.
“ It is not so bad.” Confirmed Gabart coolly to Vendée Globe LIVE this afternoon, “We have easier conditions for the boat and for me, the skipper, just to live a bit easier and to check the boat a bit, to manage to eat well. Without big waves it is always easier. I am quite happy to have these lighter conditions right now.”
Dick was 685 miles behind the leading pairing on Boxing Day. Even this afternoon he was still winding them in with his speed advantage of five knots. Most recent routing predictions still have Virbac-Paprec 3 catching to within 18 hours of the leaders who are expected at Cape Horn during the middle hours of January 1st.
Stamm’s back.
Bernard Stamm raised his anchor at around 0600hrs UTC this morning from his spot off Allan’s Beach at Dunedin NZ and, without fanfare, returned quietly to the Vendée Globe race course. Having repaired both his hydrogenerators it was an exhausted rather than elated Stamm who briefly joined Vendée Globe LIVE to confirm he is back in the race. His first concerns were to make sure that his batteries charged successfully, then to get some very much needed sleep. With both of the hydrognerator propellors re-attached to the back of the boat he started slowly, but by the late afternoon was making 14.7kts. The hard driving Swiss skipper has lost six places since his power generating problems hit but he is no stranger to playing catch up. His initial target is a fast moving one, Arnaud Boissières on Akena Vérandas, is some 60 miles ahead in ninth place.
“I’m on the way.” Stamm reported dryly, “ I am now trying to recharge my batteries. Just now I just try the autopilot. I am happy with me work. I tried to fix the pedestal winch but it has gone again. Now I am tired. I have just never stopped. I am done in. I am going to get some sleep because I need to recharge my own batteries too.”
Meantime Jean Le Cam, who has fourth placed Alex Thomson as a distant hope some 1000 miles or so in front, has restored his own sleep reserves, accumulating more than eight hours. In a more orderly sea, steady winds and under a bright moon, Le Cam is one skipper who has been very much at one with his boat and the elements. The same can be said for his counterparts Mike Golding and Dominque Wavre, but both the British skipper and the Swiss are more than 400 miles behind Le Cam’s SynerCiel and they still stand a chance of being caught by a high pressure ridge now extending from the south of New Zealand.
Ever the upbeat entertainer, Italy’s Alessandro Di Benedetto celebrated his passage of Cape Leeuwin in typically understated fashion with a thundering operatic aria.
No comments:
Post a Comment