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Sunday 1st February MICHEL DESJOYEAUX ON THE
60 FOOT MONOHULL FONCIA
WINS THE VENDÉE GLOBE 2008-2009 -
Michel Desjoyeaux adds a new reference time to the race! -
Michel Desjoyeaux wins the “Everest of sailing” for a second
time -
“It’s not
a beautiful story, it’s TOO beautiful”. Michel Desjoyeaux on his
60 foot monohull FONCIA
crossed the finish line of the Vendée Globe
2008/2009 this Sunday 1st February 2009 at 15h11’08’’
UT. FONCIA’s race time is
84 days, 03 hours, 09 minutes and 08 seconds. He covered the 24,840
theoretical miles (46,003.68 km) of this course, single-handed and without
assistance, at the average speed of 12.30 knots. As such he has beaten the previous
record set in 2004 (Vincent Riou on PRB of 87d 10h
47m) by 3 days 07 hours and 39 minutes. It is worth
remembering that Michel Desjoyeaux: -
had
a deficit of 41 hours on the head of the fleet when he set out from Les
Sables d’Olonne a second time on Tuesday 11th
November, -
had
a total deficit of 670.3 miles on Saturday 15th November behind the leader, -
covered 1,160 additional
miles along the theoretical course in the Southern Ocean given the N’ly position of the obligatory ice gates along the
route. As we await the definitive number of
miles actually covered by FONCIA, we can guess that
Michel Desjoyeaux covered over 28,000 miles at the
average speed across the water of 14 knots (the exact number of actual miles
covered will be revealed tomorrow Monday 2nd February). Michel Desjoyeaux
thus adds his name to the list of Vendée Globe
winners for a second time following on from: Titouan
Lamazou (1989-1990), Alain Gautier (1992-1993),
Christophe Auguin (1996-1997), Michel Desjoyeaux (2000-2001), Vincent Riou
(2004-2005) and Michel Desjoyeaux (2008-2009). Michel Desjoyeaux
lead/deficit at the key points along the course: -
Equator: 1
day 6 hours 43 minutes deficit on Loïck Peyron (Gitana Eighty) -
Cape of
Good Hope: 4 hours 56 minutes deficit on Sébastien Josse (BT) -
Cape Leeuwin: 50 minutes lead over
Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement) -
International
Date Line: 2 hours 55 minutes lead over Roland Jourdain
(Veolia Environnement) -
Cape Horn: 8 hours 50 minutes lead over
Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement) -
Equator: 3
days 5 hours and 52 minutes lead over Roland Jourdain
(Veolia Environnement) Initial reactions from Michel Desjoyeaux
after crossing the finish line: Thoughts: “It’s incredible… In addition there was a
small ray of sunshine as I crossed the finish line. It’s magical; it’s
indescribable… It’s really phenomenal. I can’t really get my head round it… I
don’t understand, I’m making the most of it and I’ll get my head round it
afterwards…” The second start after the damage: “I didn’t think
twice about it. I said to myself: there’s a long way to go. We’ll resolve the
problem and head out to sea again and then what’s history is history. It’s
not even a beautiful story, it’s TOO beautiful”. The recipe: “The race is won 80% before the start:
in the choices made by the team, in the organisation, in the serenity, in the
experience, it’s a whole bunch of things… The remaining 20%: it’s the
competition, the race…” Damage: “It’s the hardest race there is, and when
you see the difficulties we’ve had, it’s only natural that there aren’t very
many of us at the finish.” 80 days: “Jules Verne said it took 80 days to
circumnavigate the globe. Even with these boats, in 4 years time, it’ll
easily be feasible… If you take away the 40 hour deficit and follow a less N’ly trajectory without ice, it’s feasible…” THE HIGHLIGHTS OF AN
HISTORIC VICTORY! Sunday
9th November at 13h02 The
start of the Vendée Globe 2008/2009 is all
shrouded in grey! Low cloud and boiling seas welcome the thirty solo sailors
off Les Sables d’Olonne. The schedule is nevertheless
respected with the start given at 13h02, coloured
by 10/12 knots of SW’ly wind on zone with a
pronounced 2 to 3 metre swell. As regards sail configuration opinion is
divided with one reef mainsail for some and full mainsail for others. Michel Desjoyeaux on his 60 foot monohull
FONCIA opts for the maximum configuration to make
headway with the wind on the nose: full mainsail and solent
jib. The tone is set! Monday
10th November at 05h00 Michel
Desjoyeaux on FONCIA is
in 6th position, 9.6 miles behind Marc Guillemot on Safran
in pole position. The SW’ly wind has increased to
over 30 knots and there are big seas (4 to 6 metres). Michel is positioned
the furthest west of the fleet. Monday
10th November at 09h19 Positioned
200 nautical miles from Les Sables d'Olonne, Michel
Desjoyeaux - skipper of the 60 foot monohull FONCIA – informs his
shore crew of his decision to turn back and return to port. Michel explains
why he is forced to head back: a leaking ballast tank cover has gradually
flooded his engine compartment, causing electrical problems. Statement
from Michel Desjoyeaux: “I had a small leak
around a ballast tank cover and I slightly underestimated the scale of it and
the damage it could do. Some water has got into the engine compartment… I
thought this was just a small amount but this morning, as I ran the engine,
there was a smell of burning after 40 minutes…”. Tuesday
11th November at 00h40: Michel Desjoyeaux aboard
his 60 foot monohull FONCIA
makes for Les Sables d’Olonne despite conditions hampering
his entry into port. He enters the channel under sail (three reef mainsail
and ORC) and the shore crew ‘take possession’ of
the boat. Statement
from Michel Desjoyeaux: “A circumnavigation of
the globe is long and hard. Certain skippers have paid an even higher price
than me. I’m not surprised there’s been breakage because it was pretty
violent. However, the boats are nevertheless built to last. I’m lucky to have
a mast, sails and the desire to get back out there”. Tuesday
11th November at 06h00: Michel Desjoyeaux leaves
the port of Les Sables d’Olonne. The 60 foot Imoca FONCIA exits the channel
in the morning accompanied by three support ribs and four crew aboard in
survival suits. The latter are disembarked at the last minute; one of the
team members even jumping into the water. FONCIA
has a deficit of around 360 miles on the leaders as he approaches Cape
Finisterre (Spain) and he heads back out into the race with a 41 hour
deficit. Email
from Michel: “FONCIA heads back out to
sea at around 05h40 after a pit-stop worthy of a
Ferrari, good as new. A huge bravo to the shore crew and the two guys from Nanni Diesel (the brand of engine equipping FONCIA). The seas are still big and the wind has dropped
right off as it’s shifted round to the W/NW. There were still a good number
of locals on the quayside and the pontoon in Les Sables: it was fantastic!
Setting out with a two day deficit isn’t great, but there’s still a long way
to go yet… And though we all know that the Vendée
Globe is difficult, impossible just isn’t French”. Technical
evaluation by Jean-Paul Roux, director of Team FONCIA:
“As Michel was heading back towards Les Sables d’Olonne,
we had already quickly deciphered the information he’d given us. After that,
each member of the team tried to picture the collateral damage that could
have been caused by the ballast tank, according to each of their different
areas of expertise. I got in contact with the various suppliers to ensure
they were on the alert. Indeed we’d like to thank Nanni
Diesel (supplier of FONCIA’s engine), who had
nothing to do with the damage caused by the water leak, but were able to send
us two technicians from their factory in La Teste.
They arrived quarter of an hour prior to the boat’s arrival with all the
parts which might need changing. An engineer was also on standby on the
telephone in case we had any questions… There wasn’t a minute of downtime as
we were able to have a technical debrief from Michel the second he tied up to
the pontoon. Following that, three people worked on the engine electrics and
performed a thorough check of it. Another team took charge of repairing the
pierced ballast tank cover and made the most of the opportunity to check the
others. Each team member had a job-list to check certain areas of the boat
and the whole thing concluded with a thorough clean down below!” Wednesday
12th November at 11h00 Michel
Desjoyeaux is 450 miles behind the leader,
Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac). FONCIA is making 14.3 knots VMG
in a NW’ly air flow, which
is enabling him to make headway across the Bay of Biscay. That same evening,
he passes offshore of the Spanish headland of Cape Finisterre. Statement
from Michel Desjoyeaux: “On the approach to Cape
Finisterre, it was still really slamming… In fact, that was the case throughout
the entire crossing. Even though I got across the bay on a single tack, I was
driving into the wind and the sea, which made it pretty violent. The wind had
shifted but not the waves, which led to some almighty wave jumping! It was
high time I hung a left and brought the hurdling to an end…” Friday
14th November at 16h00 The
deficits are increasing and Michel Desjoyeaux is
battling in the light airs off the Portuguese coast, performing a series of
gybes to remain in the NW’ly air flow. He is
positioned 650 miles astern of his playmates who, as
he repeats, “aren’t here to hang around!” And they certainly aren’t hanging
about as they slip along in a different weather system, boosted by a generous
and powerful E/NE’ly tradewind.
Whilst Loïck Peyron (Gitana Eighty) is slipping along at 15 knots, FONCIA is racking up an average speed of 10 knots. The
first positive point: Michel slips past Norbert Sedlacek
(Nauticsport-Kapsch) and moves up into 22nd
position. Statement
from Michel Desjoyeaux: “We’re sailing downwind
from the tip of Spain. We haven’t had a lot of wind compared with those at
the front so I lost a bit of ground yesterday, but it doesn’t matter! Right
now I’ve caught up with Norbert Sedlacek, who had
keel issues. In principle we should both have got moving again together... I
didn’t pass that far off him and now I have a few more playmates in my sights
a few hundred miles ahead…” Saturday
15th November at 05h00 FONCIA is 670.3 miles behind Loïck
Peyron (Gitana Eighty)
who is currently leading the Vendée Globe. This
will be the greatest distance separating Michel from the head of the race! Wednesday
19th November at 05h00 A
favourable weather sequence after a laborious descent down the Portuguese
coast, some judicious course choices and a straightforward trajectory with a W’ly option around Madeira and the Canaries, have lead to
a 670 mile deficit being reduced to one of 458.9 miles. FONCIA
claws back mile after mile and moves up from 22nd place to 18th
in the general ranking by drawing on a playful tradewind
and judiciously sailing to the west of the archipelagos, which can be real
wind traps. The 60 foot monohull even treats
herself to the luxury of racking up one of the best performances of the
moment: three out of four of the top speeds on Sunday 16th
November, including 298.7 miles with a 12.4 knot VMG.
Cape Verde is on today’s menu, whilst the frontrunners enter the Doldrums. Statement
from Michel Desjoyeaux: “The objective aboard FONCIA is still to continue making headway towards the
finish line, even though we’re a long way off. One thing for sure is that the
concertina effects have had an influence in one direction and right now
they’re more favourable to me...” Friday
21st November at 16h00 What
a week! In 22nd position last Friday, 647 miles behind the leader,
Michel Desjoyeaux is in 16th position
this Friday 21st November, 273 miles behind the leader Loïck
Peyron (Gitana Eighty). FONCIA has made up 374 miles in 7 days, which translates
as a 53 mile gain per day, at an average speed of over 10 knots. Suffice to
say that the heavy spinnaker aboard the 60 foot monohull
FONCIA was called upon and fully fulfilled its
mission. A W’ly option around Madeira and the
Canaries, a zigzag through the centre of the windward islands of Cape Verde,
a W’ly separation from the leeward islands to avoid
the wind shadow of the island of Fogo with its
2,829 metre summit: all of a sudden FONCIA has
outpaced six competitors and altered his targets. Michel is increasing the
series of sessions at the helm and honing the trim. He now has Marc Guillemot
(Safran), Dominique Wavre
(Temenos), Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar) and
Sam Davies (Roxy) in his sights. The only hitch in proceedings is the famous
Doldrums, which has slowed the head of the fleet and lies in wait for Michel
in 24 to 48 hours time. Statement
from Michel Desjoyeaux: “I’ve made up a little
ground thanks to the nice weather but I’m going to have to keep an eye on
when the others get moving again… They didn’t have luck on their side when
they hit a wide Doldrums. Whilst they were in there I was coming up on them
with a breeze, which has enabled me to catch up with the leading group...
It’s certainly enjoyable making up 300 miles on boats which have a 600 mile
lead over you, as well as knowing that you’re the fastest of the fleet almost
every time. Even though you know why that is and that you haven’t played a
big part in it, it’s still satisfying... I’m not annoyed about anything...
And we’re lucky to be at sea. It feels good to be on the water... When you
see the pressure of the job, personally I like being in the office! (laughs). After all, we have the finest bathrooms in the
world with a 360° view of the sea, and 180° of sky... It makes a change from
the 30 centimetre wide barred window with a view across to the back of the
neighbouring building...” Sunday
23rd November at 04h43 Michel
Desjoyeaux aboard FONCIA
crosses the equator at 03h43 (UT).
At this point he is in 15th position, 360 miles behind the top
trio made up of Loïck Peyron
(Gitana Eighty), Sébastien
Josse (BT) and Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac). Obviously slowed by the Doldrums, he
manages to the limit the extent of the damage. Michel is sailing in a 15 knot
SE’ly breeze with a 10.7 knot VMG.
The hunt is on again! Email
from Michel Desjoyeaux: “Well, it’s certainly
true that if you don’t like it when you’re heeled over, you shouldn’t sail a monohull! And if you prefer going down the waves, you
have to have the patience to sail into the wind. We’re a bit stupid in
sailing circles. We haven’t yet invented mechanical lifts so we continue on
our way with our sealskins. There’s something charming about sealskin though…
We make the most of nature, such as now, with five or maybe eight days
close-hauled on a single tack. If you look back at a few of the earlier ‘Vendées’ where it was said that “to win the Vendée, you have to go fast in the South, upwind
conditions don’t serve much purpose”. Darwin was right; it isn’t the
sturdiest of us who survive, it’s the ones who adapt.” Wednesday
26th November at 05h00 Some
find average speeds for Michel Desjoyeaux with 339
miles in 24 hours. He is 14th and 416 miles behind Loïck Peyron (Gitana Eighty), who is struggling to put some easting
into his course. The chasing pack gets back in contact with the skipper from
La Baule, on France’s Atlantic coast. FONCIA is also making the most of the opportunity but the
sailing conditions remain hard with the boat lurching, pounding and slamming…
it’s exhausting work! Email
from Michel Desjoyeaux: “Gosh, in a few hours, a
great basic principal, one which we teach our little darlings, of which I was
one once, will collapse. I’ll explain myself: "Tell us the story about
the sun on your back grandfather!" Well here we have it, some twenty
years earlier, whilst making my way down the Southern Atlantic to round this
wretched Saint Helena High, which just went on forever, I took up my watch at
the helm early in the afternoon, south bound the previous helmsman had said.
I look at the compass: 180°, all’s well; I look at the sun, everything’s gone
pear-shaped! It’s on my back! I’m amazed. I check the compass: 180°. Would
they have lied to me? They taught me, I tell myself: the sun rises in the
East, is at its zenith in the South, and sets in the West. East and West, OK.
For the South you have to see! Sometimes yes, sometimes no. That’s fortunate,
some practical work! From what point will you have the sun to the North of
you? Still 3 days of southing to make, we’ll have time to get used to it
before hanging a left. Ah yes, sailing, well at night without a moon and
stars, with waves from every direction, it’s impossible to go fast; it
lurches, it slams, it shakes, it’s not cool, there’s a variable wind and
speed too as a result”. Friday
28th November at 16h00 And
though the figures remain as they are, namely a deficit of 290 miles on the
head of the fleet, these days are resolutely positive. Positive in terms of
the progress made by the man/boat, positive because they’re marked by the
omnipresence of the Saint Helena High which, unusually, has positioned itself
a long way over to the west and, it has to be said, really suits FONCIA. At the front they’re stumbling and cogitating,
whilst behind them they’re bang on target. Michel makes the most of the
situation and clocks up some superb days in excess of 300 miles. It’s a great
morale boost! Statement
from Michel Desjoyeaux: “This weather situation
is enabling me to make up ground. The head of the fleet must be making 8/9
knots as it tacks upwind with the chop. It can’t be very quick… Meanwhile I’m
making 12/13 knots of boat speed the whole time. This is also enabling me to
stay on the pace and continue to seek the optimal course. By the time I get
to where they are, the weather situation will have greatly evolved and the
Saint Helena High is on the point of moving… As a result I won’t have to deal
with this situation. This is all part and parcel of the little concertina
effects you get and you simply have to make the most of them and use them to
best effect so as not to miss out on any”. Sunday
30th November during the course of the day Michel
Desjoyeaux drops his Atlantic staysail and hoists
his special Southern Ocean staysail on FONCIA,
which is made of Cuben Fibre (a material which is
indestructible but distorts). The Atlantic staysail is stowed away in the
sail locker in a 45 minute manoeuvre. It
is a sail he is to reveal the existence of two days prior to Cape Horn and
about which he says: “I’ve made a staysail – a sail which you hoist in
28/30 knots of downwind conditions and you keep carrying until the wind
reaches 50 knots – it’s a bit special. It’s made of Cuben
Fibre, a material which is indestructible even though it becomes distorted
with time. I hoisted this particular sail on exiting the Saint Helena high
and I stowed the other one down below, where it was nicely protected. All of
a sudden I ended up with two staysails and rather than trashing your one
staysail in the south where, in order to conserve it you furl it in earlier
and you end up with not quite enough sail area, in this instance I had a
staysail I could really thrash. I had the same system 8 years ago and I’m
rather happy with the choices I’ve made as I’ve sailed a great deal under
staysail in the south. Right now I’m going to get out the sail I used on my
descent of the Atlantic which is in perfect condition. It’ll be great for the
climb up where it’s important to have a very flat, solid sail”. Monday
1st December at 05h00 14.3
knots VMG this morning for FONCIA
and three competitors are devoured for breakfast - Roxy, Pindar and Temenos – between Sunday and Monday! Michel Desjoyeaux isn’t standing idle as he racks up some very
fine 24 hour performances throughout the weekend. He’s in 11th position,
226 miles behind Sébastien Josse
(BT)… The top 10 is within reach as Michel and FONCIA
prepare to enter the kingdom of the Southern Ocean! Statement
from Michel Desjoyeaux: “I’ve finally managed to
get past Roxy thanks to rounding the zone of high pressure. I’ve also
overtaken Pindar and I’m now neck and neck with Dominique Wavre,
who I’ve made good ground on. In terms of distance to the goal, we’re very
close. After him, it’ll take bigger, faster bites, so it’ll be harder to
close on them, but I’m not giving up hope. They’re sailing well at the front
but I can sail quite well too!” Wednesday
3rd December at 16h00 With
the afternoon’s position comes a twofold satisfaction for Michel Desjoyeaux: he makes it into the Top 10 just 193 miles
behind Sébastien Josse
(BT). Less than 200 miles separate him from the leader. He’s made up 470
miles since Saturday 15th November at 05h00
and climbed thirteen places. There’s bad news the previous day though: his
heavy tears on hoisting and goes over the side, forcing Michel to bring the
boat to a halt with the wind on the nose. Thursday
4th December at 18h15 With
these exceptional days comes an exceptional figure: Michel Desjoyeaux aboard FONCIA, shatters the boat’s speed record with 30.44 knots. The
white monohull was sailing under automatic pilot at
the time and Michel even takes a photo! Still in 10th position
Michel is 136.4 miles from the head of the Vendée
Globe. Statement
from Michel Desjoyeaux: “High score of the boat
30.44 knots, GPS speed! Do you think we’re gaining miles in the regular
customer discount programme?” Friday
5th December at 16h00 An
important date: Michel Desjoyeaux enters the head
of the fleet with the firm intention of getting past them. He is 171 miles
behind Loïck Peyron (Gitana Eighty) and FONCIA is
now within a stone’s throw of a number of competitors. He knows he can score
a big hit this first weekend of December and he’s going to do it… His weapon:
to get the boat making the optimum headway, to be on top of things as he
likes to say, to control the trim, to hone the trajectories and to take
advantage of his daily universe which combines waves, wind, weather and
strategy. He doesn’t want to doze now that he’s back in contact,
he wants to continue to pile on the pressure… Statement
from Michel Desjoyeaux: “I’ll have to stick with
the same well-tried methods of sailing: a certain
autonomy whilst watching what the others are up to. The fact that I have
boats around me shouldn’t make me any less inclined to hoist more sail aloft
and control the boat’s power. We’re working on making small gains. You have
to make gains everywhere and lose nothing anywhere. We all make errors; the
goal is to make fewer errors than those who are ahead” Monday
8th December at 05h00 But
where will it end? Indeed this is the question everybody is asking at the
start of this week… After almost a month of racing (29 days) FONCIA and Michel Desjoyeaux
are in 6th position. Not ‘satisfied’ with being back in the Top 10
last week, Michel has got back with four of his playmates in 48 hours. His
comeback is incredible and his trailblazing marks the history of this Vendée Globe. This Monday he is less than 100 miles
behind leader Jean-Pierre Dick (Papec-Virbac), 94.7
miles to be precise. On carrying out an inspection of the deck, Michel
notices that three stanchions haven’t withstood the surfing at over 28 knots! Wednesday
10th December at 05h00 FONCIA goes into overdrive, now just 57 miles astern of
the leader Paprec-Virbac. The Kerguelen Islands are
looming on the horizon, which will be an interesting strategic passage.
They’re into the Deep South and Michel Desjoyeaux
is still 6th with Mike Golding (Ecover)
less than 10 miles ahead of him… A place in the top 5 is fast approaching.
There’s bad news though as Michel notices the day before that his bowsprit is
cracked. Email
from Michel Desjoyeaux: “It’s grey from morning
to evening and grey from evening to morning; light grey or dark grey, it’s
all down to nuance. In addition to that it’s freezing. The water measures
around 5° and the air was between 1 and 6° yesterday; greaaaat!
You can’t complain though. It said as much in the tourist brochure but with
the Breton rain in Les Sables I didn’t manage to open it. You just have to
grin and bear the hood, the polo neck and all that stuff, but this kind of
garb isn’t very sexy. We’re not here to look pretty though are we? There are
those who dream of the Vendée Globe whilst they’re
in the sun, well I’m in the Vendée Globe dreaming
of a beach of fine sand, palm trees and hot water. Have a good day, I’m going
to pull the duvet up 20 centimetres and prepare myself a little toddy!” Thursday
11th December at 18h00 Michel
Desjoyeaux sends his first photos of the drifting
ice… Statement
from Michel Desjoyeaux: “It’s the third time
I’ve hung around this area and it’s the first time I’ve seen blocks of ice…
That’s what happened to me yesterday. I’m in the process of speeding around
Antarctica and I’ve seen ice. It was a long way off but close enough that
there wasn’t any ambiguity. They were modest blocks of ice, not icebergs. The
first was a good twice the length of FONCIA, at
around forty metres; at least that’s how big the bit above the water was. The
blue is quite simply sublime and reminiscent of the colours you see in seracs and other glaciers. It was very beautiful but it
was enough for yesterday”. Friday
12th December at 05h00 Terrific,
amazing, incredible… Michel Desjoyeaux is 2nd
in the Vendée Globe, 39 miles behind the leader.
The speeds are impressive: an average of 19 knots in an hour. Still as greedy
as ever over 24 hours, FONCIA has devoured 409.8
miles, which is the second best performance across the fleet. The pace in the
south continues to be very elevated. Sunday
14th December during the course of the day The
bowsprit is laminated and repaired. Tuesday
16th December at 11h00 FONCIA throws the speedos into
turmoil once again… After a peak speed of 30.44 knots GPS, Michel Desjoyeaux has just covered 466.6 miles in 24 hours at an
average speed of 19.44 knots. In land terms, this means that Michel has
covered 860 km between 0500 hours yesterday and the same time today, at an
average speed of 35.7 km/hr! However, the day doesn’t end there and the
announcement comes as a bombshell: Michel Desjoyeaux
on FONCIA takes the lead of the Vendée
Globe. Michel learns the news at the 11h00 radio
link up, at the same time as he learns about Mike Golding’s dismasting: the
hot and cold. On what is officially the 37th day of racing, the
skipper of FONCIA is 1st ahead of Roland
Jourdain (Veolia Environnement)
and Sébastien Josse (BT).
Michel has made up his 41 hour, 670 mile deficit on the pride of the class of
Imoca Open 60 footers. An amazing achievement! Statement
from Michel Desjoyeaux: “My position at the head of
the fleet today is unexpected. It’s fantastic, great. I cannot describe how I
feel. Today isn’t the day to be at the front though, that’s for two months
time. First you have to finish”. At
19h25 (UT), Michel
crosses the longitude of Cape Leeuwin. Wednesday
17th December Goodbye
Indian Ocean, hello Pacific… Michel Desjoyeaux on FONCIA yesterday passed the longitude of Cape Leeuwin (Australia) at the head of the Vendée Globe. Michel also notices this Wednesday that the
main support of the port rudder case is partially broken and is no longer
attached on one side. Email
from Michel Desjoyeaux: “The Indian didn’t take
up the hatchet, though a lot of skippers left feathers behind in the 15 days
I spent with him. He even found us some ice cubes at apéritif
time! I can recall tougher regions. Two masts, one keel, rudders, daggerboards, and other undisclosable
damage… The question of the day is will the Pacific be the Justice of the
Peace, wisdom and serenity?” Monday
22nd December at 05h00 No
respite at the head of the Vendée Globe and Michel Desjoyeaux continues to stamp his rhythm at the front of
the fleet. The separation continues to yo-yo between Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement),
who is holding out on FONCIA. Behind them there is
a big gap… Sébastien Josse
(BT) is 183 miles astern, Jean Le Cam (VM Matériaux) 221 miles and Armel
Le Cléac’h 537 miles. So as to drive the point
home, Michel sends a photo of his new speed record aboard his boat: 32.37
knots! Thursday
25th December late at night It’s
status quo at the head of the race. The night of Christmas Day is coloured by
close-hauled sailing and the presents have remained in their wrappers.
However, Michel Desjoyeaux notices some serious
damage aboard FONCIA, which is a spin-off of that
observed on 17th December. The damage is such that he fears the
worst… The day continues in this vein as the hydro generator, positioned on
its support on the boat’s aft deck, falls into the water, held on by the
safety rope and electric cable. Analysis: electric cable pulled out and oil
in the cockpit. Result: “holidays on oil”, inside and out and a compulsory
degreasing session with washing-up liquid! As Michel would say: “a s**t day”. Statement
from Michel Desjoyeaux on 26th January
2009, about this damaged rudder, which he had deliberately hidden: “I was
sailing close-hauled, full and by, in a good 35 knots of breeze and big seas.
I was carefully making headway with 2 or 3 reefs and ORC.
I had raised the windward rudder to the horizontal position. I think a wave
hit the rudder. The piece which holds it in the raised position had broken
and it was impossible to get the rudder back into its original position. It
was now only held by the strut on the side and the upper section. I decided
to slow the boat down and we ended up with flattened sails which quickly went
aback and I began to go backwards. At that point I
saw the rudder go under the boat, then it came back towards the stern and, as
luck would have it, the casing gradually returned to its original position.
It shook me up to see the rudder splashing about. Miraculously the situation
stopped deteriorating at that point. A few days later, I managed to make the
system safe. I even made a support which enabled the rudder to kick up in the
event of impact with a floating object. It feels like I came close to a
catastrophe and even though you’re not frightened during the event, it creeps
up on you retrospectively once you’ve sorted the problem out. A boat without
a rudder is like a car without steering: no salvation.” Tuesday
30th December at 05h00 It’s
been two weeks since Michel Desjoyeaux took the
lead of the Vendée Globe and he is still being
tailed at varying degrees of proximity by Roland Jourdain
(Veolia Environnement). Advantage to you, to me… To
me, to you! It is pretty much on these terms that the two leaders of the Vendée Globe are making headway in difficult wind and sea
conditions. The skipper of FONCIA is holding onto a
good lead of 73.6 miles. This isn’t much fun for some competitors as the
separation from the rest of the fleet increases: Jean Le Cam (VM Matériaux) is relegated to
over 300 miles astern, Sébastien Josse (BT) has had to withdraw from the competition
following his capsize during a storm and Armel Le Cléac’h (Brit Air) and Vincent Riou
(PRB) are over 600 miles astern… It’s a fine breakaway!
However, FONCIA’s bowsprit is cracked again. Statement
from Michel Desjoyeaux: “We’ve got rather tricky
weather with squalls dropping in on us. One of these hit us earlier at 50
knots... You have to be fairly vigilant so as not to end up side onto the
course. It’s always tricky knowing what sail area to set… Either you hoist
enough sail area for 50 knots and don’t use it very often, or you hoist
enough sail area for 25 knots… And when you have a 50 knot squall, you don’t
know what to do with all the sail you have! It’s a bit frustrating in fact…
You’re never comfortable”. Friday
2nd January at 16h00 The
head of the fleet is approaching Cape Horn. The 54th day at sea
and the 17th day in the lead for FONCIA.
Ultimately, given the position of the Ice Gates, this Vendée
Globe will be 1,160 miles longer and will extend the number of miles to cover
from 23,680 miles to 24,840 miles. A record! For the time being, the game of
cat and mouse continues with Roland Jourdain
(Veolia Environnement) who is still less than 100
miles astern of Michel Desjoyeaux. Statement
from Michel Desjoyeaux: “Bilou’s
a tough nut to crack. He is a lot less sensitive than others to the harshness
of the weather phenomena. I know him well so I’m not surprised. He’s very
consistent. He doesn’t stampede along at the front of the low and then
crumble at the back of it. He’s more linear… For my part, I came from behind
at pace and I haven’t stopped. Bilou’s one of those
who have followed suit and that’s no surprise to me”. Monday
5th January at 04h10 FONCIA rounds Cape Horn at the head of the Vendée Globe with a 120 mile lead over Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement),
481 miles over Jean Le Cam (VM Matériaux)
and, over 700 miles on Vincent Riou (PRB) and Armel Le Cléac’h (Brit Air). Michel has taken 56 days, 15 hours
and 08 minutes to round the Cape of Storms, that is two hours less than Jean
Le Cam in 2004/2005 (56d 17hr
13m). An amazing performance when you know that
Michel set off 41 hours after the fleet and covered 1,160 extra miles in the
Southern Ocean in relation to the 2004 course! Email
from Michel Desjoyeaux: “That’s it, as we say in
the Broken Arms (nickname of his shore crew): "That’s done”! FONCIA has just returned to the Atlantic. It was 03h10 UT when I passed to the
South of the Cape in squally weather with 35-40 knots and 45 in the squalls.
It was as black as a Monday so you won’t have either photo or video footage
of the rock lost all the way down here. The 2 lights are working, that of the
Cape and that of the Eastern tip. The seas are finally flat and the wind is
finally reasonable at 23 knots. Light conditions you might say! We’re now
bound for new adventures up high.” Tuesday
6th January during the course of the day FONCIA’s bowsprit is operational once again after a
successful lamination! Thursday
8th January during the course of the day FONCIA’s second heavy spinnaker goes overboard during the
hoist. Michel Desjoyeaux salvages it: it’s out of
order. The same day, three battery elements are changed. There’s an energy
problem which could prove to be a handicap for the next stage in the race. Statement
from Michel Desjoyeaux: “I had to change some
elements of one of the battery installations which were weak. I have the
advantage that I have them in individual units on board. When there’s one
faulty one on the four strips of 12 elements, you remove the problem one and
you switch it for one that works. When you have batteries cast in one piece,
you can’t do that. If there’s a fragile element, your whole battery is up the
spout… For the past two days I’ve just been using the automatic pilot and the
navigation instruments. I’m being careful but it’ll hold out till the end of
this round the world. It’s a system I put in place on FONCIA
which I’m very satisfied with… It’s just as well I have this solution!” Friday
9th January at 16h00 This
two-step with Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement), which began on 16th December
as Michel Desjoyeaux led the way around Cape Leeuwin, is still in full swing. And though the 26 mile
lead during their passage around Australia has been transformed into 178
miles, the red monohull is still as dangerous as
ever. This is especially true given that a zone of high pressure with a
stubborn side will cause FONCIA no end of
grief… Violent squalls, sudden wind rotations, manœuvres
on deck, the climb along the Argentinean, Uruguayan and then Brazilian
coastline will be far from restful. The SE’ly tradewinds aren’t easy to catch onto due to a confounded
Saint Helena High, once again… Statement
from Michel Desjoyeaux: “Since the passage of Le
Maire Strait, we’ve done two days in 35 knots of
breeze gusting to 40… It’s been pretty full on! Right now I have 18 knots of
S/SW’ly. The anticyclone has been kind and waited
for us. We’re going to round to the east of it, then the north-east and
north. After that the system will join up with the Saint Helena High and
should merge with it… Last night proved to be a bit complicated with a fairly
shifty, ‘annoying’ wind. I woke up at one point with the boat beam onto the
track… It wasn’t planned. In fact, for several days now, there have been a
fair number of squalls with gusts of 40 knots associated with some big
rotations in the wind. All of a sudden it’s not so easy to relax…” Wednesday
14th January at 05h00 It’s
incredible but the edge of this zone of high pressure is proving stubborn and
off Rio de Janeiro FONCIA is yet to hit the SE’ly tradewinds. Once lying
over 300 miles astern of Michel Desjoyeaux, Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement)
comes back to within 241 miles. The deficit continues to yo-yo until FONCIA comes out the other side of the high pressure and
can once again devour the miles on her way to the equator and the Doldrums. Statement
from Michel Desjoyeaux: “It’s hot in the
Southern Atlantic. 28°C inside the boat. I’ve
gained around twenty degrees in 8 days. The weather’s difficult but we’re
making headway. Yesterday (Tuesday 13th January) for example, I had a gentle
afternoon in terms of breeze. It’s the cool element of the race but it’s not
very exciting. Upwind, upwind, upwind… I’m not complaining though, especially
in relation to my playmates still in the Pacific.” Tuesday
20th January at 06h14 The
Doldrums have decided to position themselves a long way South for FONCIA’s return trip so she’ll feel its effects a long
way before the equator. The tough ITCZ
(Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone) will block Michel Desjoyeaux’s
progress for several hours… FONCIA crosses the
equator at 05h14 UT.
Thanks to the concertina effects, Roland Jourdain
(Veolia Environnement) snatches back 159 miles on
the leader and is now 334 miles astern. Armel Le Cléac’h, 3rd on Brit Air, is over 1,000 miles
back. Email
from Michel Desjoyeaux: “Well, that’s done and
dusted! It doesn’t have to be done again since it’s done! 05H14'10"
UT this Tuesday 20th January 2009, FONCIA crossed the equator for the second time in this Vendée globe, and at a brisk pace too! I don’t think I
paid the toll on the way down, which was only natural given that there was
nobody in the sentry box! This time they didn’t let me slip through, I paid
for the 2!” Thursday
22nd January at 05h00 Trapped
in the Doldrums, Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement) can but watch Michel Desjoyeaux’s
fine getaway. Positioned within the NE’ly tradewinds, FONCIA greedily
devours the miles… a 440 mile lead for the white monohull,
which escapes her encounter with the Azores High and the final obstacle to
round. It’s lumpy, slamming and wet… but this bears fruit since FONCIA has a bonus of over 500 miles the following day! Statement
from Michel Desjoyeaux: “Yesterday evening,
prior to pulling on my pyjamas and going to bed, I furled in the staysail and
set the small jib and it blew all night long. During the course of yesterday,
there was 18 to 25 knots. Within the weather systems, things went quite
smoothly under staysail. During the night though, I had up to 32 knots in the
squalls. As such everything went very well! It was perfect! It enabled me to
get some sleep…” Tuesday
27th January at 05h00 The
right-hand turn has begun, the Azores High roundabout has been negotiated…
For her 79th day of racing FONCIA is
slipping along the Northern edge of the high pressure and is now looking to
catch onto the train of lows circulating in the North Atlantic. The idea: to
hook onto the prevailing W’ly wind and get pushed
along by the stormy winds. During this time, Roland Jourdain
(Veolia Environnement) can but follow in Michel Desjoyeaux’ tracks. Tactically, there’s nothing the red monohull can do, as she’s being perfectly controlled by
Michel. The 524 mile lead will continue to extend as the hours pass… (*)
Further information about the damaged rudder. Explanation from Marc Liardet, Boat Captain to the 60 foot Imoca
FONCIA: "Open 60 footers are
equipped with two rudders. When sailing, a single rudder is enough to steer
the boat, the other is raised to reduce the hydrodynamic drag. They are used
alternately according to how much the boat is heeling with the aim being that
they’re as submerged as possible. As such you need a rudder for each tack.
The raising or lowering of the rudder is done by activating ropes and the
rudder pivots around an axis, like a gate around its hinges. On 17th
December, the port rudder’s lifting assembly was partially damaged. On 25th
a wave crashed into this rudder whilst it was raised, breaking the rope which
was holding it up and thus smashing the rotation assembly. There was nothing
left to hold the rudder on the boat except the lateral strut, the tiller bar
to position the rudder and the rope to lower it. With the boat going too fast
to drop the rudder into its lowered position, this was the only safe option
which could be envisaged. Michel eased the sails to empty them and bring the
boat to a standstill, and then he made the most of this opportunity to go
backwards. As such the rudder partially disappeared beneath the hull, to
‘miraculously’ (carbon twists very badly!) come back up to the surface. At
this point, Michel managed to get it more or less back in its housing and fix
it together again with ropes. Later on, with the help of a pump hose and some
stanchion pieces, Michel managed to reconstruct a support of the right size
so as to give the rudder the capability of kicking up again in the event of a
collision." For the translation of the list of damage
suffered by FONCIA during the Vendee Globe please
visit: http://www.windreportmedia.com/sailing/Foncia/cp/FONCIA-MD-MEDIA-ARRIVEE-VG_UK.pdf ***FONCIA Since 3rd April 2007, FONCIA
has formed part of the Groupe Banque
Populaire. ***Technical partners TBS,
TOYOTA Entreprise, Consultencia, Cristec, ICOM, Nanni Diesel, NKE, Plastimo, Nautix, Harken, Maxsea. Team FONCIA Press Service |