The Finish. As the time ticks down closer to the first finish of this Barcelona World Race, the closing proximity to the final line, be it a few days or two weeks away, means that the release after 89 days of racing is weighing heavily on the minds of many of the skippers now nearing the home strait, be that in actual fact, or more metaphorically.

Two of the skippers who were joined by Visio-Conference today were showing the effects of their three months of endeavour, tired and drawn, and admitted to wanting as much to get their respective first IMOCA Open 60 circumnavigations safely completed as to deliver their results.

For Jean-Pierre Dick and Loick Peyron, ETA Gibraltar around midnight Thursday,  theirs has been a day of precision manouvers off the Moroccan coast, getting to within 800 meters of the beach at one point early this morning. But it still seems like it will be at least offshore of Murcia before they may have some relief from their interminable upwind passage since the Equator. The final miles from there look light and unpredictable.

For Iker Martinez on MAPFRE it was a chance to explain their slightly problematic passage through between La Gomera and La Palma. The Spanish Olympic champion confirmed that part of the reason for their routing was to take brief advantage of La Palma’s lee to effect what should have been a 20 minutes repair, but the combination of unexpected 30 and then 40 knots gusts and some unpleasant seas meant this short repair interlude turned into three hours of hard labour which cost them an extra 45 miles on leaders Jean-Pierre Dick andLoïck Peyron.

Martinez explained how that their 10 years plus of Olympic strength and conditioning training for the 49er has been a key factor in being able to drive their MAPFRE as hard and consistently as they have. And now, low on food rations, it is clear the double Olympic medallists are using some of that nutritional experience to manage their limited body refuelling, maximising sleep to just keep going to the finish line. He said, in fact, given their pre-race experience, second for them would be seen as much as a victory.

Martinez explained: “ We are pretty tired with the food situation, physically this is an ultramarathon. Some days we have it when we are really tired, but it is not one of our biggest worries. I think we are all now thinking about the finish, not too long ago we weren’t but now we are.

We try to sleep as much as we can to keep energy so that we don’t make mistakes, and if they do like yesterday then we have the energy to deal with them and keep going.

It is more than 10 years that we have been physically training. Training for the Olympics in China was pretty extreme, so I think that physically we were in good shape for this race, but I think we pushed very hard.

We are here in this second place because of our physical preparation and ability to push, not because of our experience. Fourteen months ago we did not even have an IMOCA Open 60 and had never even sailed on of these before.?

Behind them the situation is opening up as the Azores High pressure blockade of the Straits of Gibraltar opens progressively throwing open new options to Renault ZE Sailing Team and Estrella Damm to sprint north and try to breach the high pressure ridge, perhaps for some brief SW’ly breezes but to enjoy the prospect of a more dependable N’ly and NE’ly breezes which would allow them a more direct layline to Gibraltar.

The predicted temporary compression between third placed Renault ZE, slowed slightly now, and Estrella Damm, is becoming evident – Alex Pella and Pepe Ribes gaining 12 miles this afternoon – but the direct northerly option does not seem to be offered as freely to Neutrogena.  Ryan Breymaier said:

“They (Estrella Damm and Renault Z.E) are both going quite fast at the moment, but I am not sure how well that is going to work for them because that ridge goes back north and I think that it is going to be quite tricky for them. We have been waiting, hoping for some sort of tactical opportunity just to finish quicker, not even so much thinking we can get by them, just to finish with some food less. So theirs seemed like an option but the ridge seems to move back and forth a lot and so that makes it a much more difficult to take that option.?

Under the leadership of their chief technician Stan, Jaume Mumbru and Cali Sanmarti have been making excellent progress with their boom repair in Ushuaia for their We Are Water. The boom has been successfully sleeved with initial internal lamination, but final lamination has to be completed. They can leave after 1555hrs UTC Thursday 31st but it is unclear as yet if the duo will be completely ready for that time, but it is believed they will be close.

 

Standings of Wednesday 30th March  at 1400hrs UTC

1              VIRBAC-PAPREC 3 796 miles to finish

2              MAPFRE + 311 miles to leader

3              RENAULT Z.E at + 1142miles to leader

4              ESTRELLA DAMM Sailing Team at + 1289 miles to leader

5              NEUTROGENA at + 1313 miles to leader

6              GAES CENTROS AUDITIVOS at + 1905 miles to leader

7              HUGO BOSS at + 3327 miles to leader

8              FORUM MARITIM CATALA at + 3802 miles to leader

9              WE ARE WATER at + 6060 miles to leader

10            CENTRAL LECHERA ASTURIANA at + 10753 miles to leader

 

RTD        FONCIA

RTD        PRESIDENT

RTD        GROUPE BEL

RTD        MIRABAUD

 

Alex Pella (ESP) Estrella Damm:“We are still sailing upwind but a little bit more eased, cracked a bit making north. The wind is very stable. In the next 24 to 48 hours there will be a change. First we have a transition zone with some lighter winds, then some SW’ly veering to the N. Let us see how Renault Z.E goes but for now they are better positioned than us. For sure the further north you are at the moment, the better. That is what we decided is best for getting to Gibraltar. We think that Renault Z.E has made the best choice and ourselves too. There was not much to hide, we talked about using ghost mode but in the end it was not left or right, there was only one way to go and we have to go there as fast as possible and let the others do what they can.

We’ll see what happens between now and the Strait and then in the Mediterranean. There should be the accordion effect in the Strait but really it is impossible to know because we are still about eight days from that. Until then it will be difficult to catch up. But otherwise everything is going well, the boat is all good, it is getting colder again, we have thicker clothes on again and we have food to spare, and Pepe seems to have enough painkillers for his knee until the finish.?

Iker Martinez (ESP) MAPFRE:“Yesterday was a bit of a complicated day.  We took the decision to go between La Palma and La Gomera which seemed like a good option. We thought we could use a bit of the lee to make a fix a problem with sail and the solent stay, but it got a bit out of hand, there were a lot of waves and we had gusts of 30 knots, we ended up having to run downwind to change to the smaller headsail, then we had 40 knots and it all got a bit messy. We managed to get it all in order, but we probably lost about three hours of sailing. It was a day with a lot going on, but in the end we did not break anything else. The stay we fixed works not bad, we were a bit unlucky and we broke a bit of the furler, so we swapped about a bit, changed the cables and it is OK, it works. We can use the Solent which is important.

We are pretty tired with the food situation, physically this is an ultramarathon. Some days we have it when we are really tired, but it is not one of our biggest worries. I think we are all now thinking about the finish, not too long ago we weren’t but now we are.

We try to sleep as much as we can to keep energy so that we don’t make mistakes, and if they do like yesterday then we have the energy to deal with them and keep going.

It is more than 10 years that we have been physically training. Training for the Olympics in China was pretty extreme, so I think that physically we were in good shape for this race, but I think we pushed very hard.

We are here in this second place because of our physical preparation and ability to push, not because of our experience. Fourteen months ago we did not even have an IMOCA Open 60 and had never even sailed on of these before.?

Ryan Breymaier (USA) Neutrogena:  “They (Estrella Damm and Renault Z.E) are both going quite fast at the moment, but I am not sure how well that is going to work for them because that ridge goes back north and I think that it is going to be quite tricky for them. We have been waiting, hoping for some sort of tactical opportunity just to finish quicker, not even so much thinking we can get by them, just to finish with some food less. So theirs seemed like an option but the ridge seems to move back and forth a lot and so that makes it a much more difficult to take that option.?

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 Virbac-Paprec 3 in ‘ghost’ mode

 We Are Water prepare for the worst case scenario

 Renault Z.E. third into northern hemisphere
‘Let’s play!’ commented Loick Peyron and Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA) from Virbac-Paprec 3 this morning as they entered ‘stealth’ mode at 1000hrs (UTC). Their position or rankings will not be visible for 36 hours, ensuring that their movements will remain hidden from view by the fleet and nearest rivals MAPFRE.

Tactically the forthcoming upwind section of Atlantic raises an interesting dilemma for the front-runners, and particularly for MAPFRE, 244 miles behind in this morning’s 0500hrs position report. The Azores High is expanding east-west across the north Atlantic, creating a large obstacle on the way to the Mediterranean. Whilst taking a westerly route looks like an unworkable tactic given the considerable extra mileage involved, the issue of when to tack east to avoid the centre of the anticyclone remains uncertain.

The GRIB files show stronger winds near the coast so by tacking early towards North Africa they will reach better pressure soonest, but will be sailing an unfavorable angle for longer. Carry on heading north as long as they dare and they will benefit from lifting pressure, but are at risk of getting trapped by the light winds at the centre of the high, while taking a ‘middle road’ between the two means avoiding the light winds in the lee of the Canary Islands. When to tack in, and when to tack back out? Timing will be everything, and by selecting stealth mode Virbac-Paprec 3 are hiding the clues for MAPFRE.

Battening the hatches

The situation is more serious on We Are Water. “The barometer has gone down to 956mb, we are preparing for the worst possible scenario,? emailed Jaume Mumbru (ESP) this morning, as he and Cali Sanmarti prepared to ride out what Barcelona World Race meteorologist Marcel van Triest predicted could be the worst Southern Ocean storm of the race due to a deep low pressure system.

The weather forecast for the area they are sailing in for the next 18 hours is severe: a south-westerly gale of 45-60 knots, gusting 75: a Force 12. In conjunction with the strong winds, huge seas are also predicted with a 9-12 metre swell. Heavy rain, squalls, and even snow are all likely as the winds are blowing directly from Antarctica, bringing bitingly cold dense air which makes the conditions all the more intense.

Jaume Mumbru reported from the boat around 1500hrs this afternoon that they were running away from the gale under storm jib only with zero mainsail, in around 55 knot (63mph or 101 km/h) winds. The pair were safely inside the boat, which was making around 11 knots in a north-easterly direction, and reported that although conditions were intensely cold, the wave pattern was better than anticipated with no confused cross-seas.

Battle for bronze

Just 118 miles divide the third to fifth-placed boats this afternoon as Renault Z.E., Estrella Damm and Neutrogena sweat it out in the Doldrums, where temperatures are soaring to over 30 degrees inside, making sleep during daytime almost impossible for some.

Renault Z.E. became the third boat to re-enter the northern hemisphere at 1445 (UTC) this afternoon, in what so far appears to be a relatively benign Doldrums crossing. Just 76 miles behind, Alex Pella and Pepe Ribes (ESP) remain solid in fourth, ahead of Ryan Breymaier (USA) and Boris Herrmann (GER) on Neutrogena. Ryan Breymaier explained today:

“There are position reports every six hours and I’m always looking on the map to see how many more miles we still have to cover, how fast, and when we’ll arrive. There are lots of things that can affect the rankings, the weather can change things quickly and as we saw from the start of the race the Mediterranean is not very easy for anyone to manage so we hope to be close to each other and still able to earn miles on them. But we don’t think too much about third place as I think with our damaged keel it’s going to be too difficult to get near enough.?

At 535 miles behind, Dee Caffari (GBR) and Anna Corbella (ESP) on GAES Centros Auditivos are also anticipating the light winds, as they require flat water to make laminating repairs to their leaking ballast tank. Instead they have experienced fluctuating and unpredictable breezes that Dee Caffari this morning described as a ‘practice Doldrums’, but are this afternoon once again making 10 knots.

Having exited yesterday’s brief but fierce low pressure system, Forum Maritim Catala and Hugo Boss are the fastest of the fleet over the past 24 hours, with just under 200 miles dividing the pair. With the depression having rapidly moved south-east, the race is now on for both to make sufficient ground north to avoid the chasing high and accompanying light winds. Forum Maritim Catala having gained over 80 miles on Hugo Boss over the past 24 hours, and the competition between the two is yet to be settled.

 

Standings at 1400hrs Wednesday 23rd March, 2011

1              VIRBAC-PAPREC 3 in ‘ghost’ mode

2              MAPFRE at 3066,6 miles from the finish

3              RENAULT Z.E at 887,5 from the MAPFRE

4              ESTRELLA DAMM Sailing Team at 963,5 miles

5              NEUTROGENA at 1005 miles

6              GAES CENTROS AUDITIVOS at 1540,8 miles

7              HUGO BOSS at 3558,1 miles

8              FORUM MARITIM CATALA at 3749,4 miles

9              WE ARE WATER at 5462,2 miles

10            CENTRAL LECHERA ASTURIANA at 9371,2 miles

RTD         FONCIA

RTD         PRESIDENT

RTD         GROUPE BEL                                                                        

RTD         MIRABAUD

 

Quotes from today’s skippers:

Dee Caffari (GBR), GAES Centros Auditivos:
“It’s like a practice for the Doldrums that we’ve had. It’s a bit frustrating because we still can’t sail the boat at 100 per cent because we’re waiting to do the big repair, and yet we’re still really struggling with the conditions. But today’s been much better.

“I need to laminate some carbon over some damage in our ballast tanks that are structural to the boat. So we can’t sail the boat at 100 per cent because we’re upwind and we can’t afford the cracks to open up. But we can’t do the repair unless we’re in flat water to allow it to stick, so it’s a case of really looking after the boat.?

Ryan Breymaier (USA), Neutrogena:

“The Doldrums are going very well thus far, knock on wood. We have between 5 and 10 knots out of the breeze and it’s not stopped yet, so hopefully that continues.

“In these lighter conditions we’re not as compromised as we will be later on when there’s more wind and waves, so we’re pretty happy to be keeping up now and are differently worried about what’s going to happen when we get into the stronger upwind trade wind conditions a little later on. There is no real plan for it, the boat is the condition that it’s in and we do the best we can with what we have. At the moment that’s what we’re doing and that’s what we’re going to continue to do – you know you can’t change reality, and the reality is we are not capable to cant the keel to the maximum and that compromises our speed all the time, Boris and I have accepted that and we just get on with our day to day work.

“The sun is an issue every day. Right now in the cabin it’s 32 degrees and outside it’s probably 36, I don’t know – a lot! For me more than Boris I get burned very easily and I have factor 50 suncream at least every day and wear hats and that kind of stuff, so it’s a real problem for sure, especially in this area. I would’ve told you six weeks ago that the heat really bothered me a lot, but it was awfully cold down in the south for a long period of time! But all things considered though I would say the heat is worse than the cold though, and I think Boris agrees with me.?

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British yachtswoman Dee Caffari and her Spanish co skipper Anna Corbella have been experiencing extreme sailing conditions and have also been struggling without a fleet broadband connection for the last few days.  The fleet broadband allows the all-female duo to download crucial weather data and other important information that combined enable them to make key strategic decisions.

 

GAES Project manager, Harry Spedding, said:

“A few days ago the fleet broadband connection started to show problems, Dee was struggling to get a full weather download without losing the signal. We have been working closely with suppliers and Dee has emailed back the connection logs that are stored on the computer. Currently the strongest likelihood is that this is simply bad luck.  A combination of their position in the Pacific Ocean combined with the heel angle of the boat, and the elevation and azimuth* of the satellite has led to there being an exceptionally bad connection. We have a few tests to run to ensure there are no other reasons for this problem occurring.

“Whilst the girls are unable to connect to the Inmarsat they are seriously handicapped with their decision making.  Weather models and navigation software are now so good that it helps the skippers to not only choose their route, plan sail changes and selection but also when to rest and when to push hard.  With gales forecast at Cape Horn in the next week it will be important for the girls to be able to receive the necessary data in order to plan their strategy for the rounding of the Cape.”
The stressful conditions seem to have abated for the girls with Caffari reporting this morning:

“We now have some respite with lighter winds that are finally allowing some downwind sailing. The more comfortable living is allowing us to sponge the water from inside the boat ready for the next high winds. Rest and recuperation and some enjoyable sailing rather than stressful sailing are on order for the weekend. We even saw some blue sky today which is a real treat and has helped lift spirits onboard.”

Caffari then quipped:

“Anna has made a remarkable achievement. She has brought back to life her ebook. It was completely dead, clearly not enjoying the cold damp conditions but somehow she has nursed it back to life so I am hoping her skills will do the same for the fleet broadband too.”

As a result of the conditions and lack of information, the Gaes girls have lost further miles to Andy Meiklejohn & Wouter Verbraak on Hugo Boss and at the 0900hrs ranking were 245 miles behind their closest race rivals. At the front of the fleet Virbac-Paprec 3 continue to hold poll position comfortably with Mapfre and Renault Z E in second and third respectively.

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Having suffered from anaemia for the past month, Michèle Paret has now been forced into a time-out in order to recuperate before the final push for home. Dominique Wavre is now effectively sailing the boat single-handedly.   The difficult sailing conditions that Mirabaud is currently experiencing are not making life easy for Michèle Paret and haven’t given her the opportunity to rest and overcome the anemia she has been suffering from since the Indian Ocean crossing.

 

 

Speaking to us via satellite phone, Dominique Wavre explained, “Today has been very difficult; we been crossing a zone with squalls of over 40 knots and the conditions on board have been very rough.  The sea is dangerously messed up and we’ve had to batten down the hatches to avoid the inside the boat being swamped by waves.  In these conditions, gybing is a very risky business, but luckily for the moment, nothing is broken. Last night, in the middle of a manoeuvre, Michele took a heavy fall in the cockpit and passed out while I was on the foredeck.  When she came to, she managed to get back inside the boat and with considerable courage even made it back out shortly afterwards to help me get through the gybe.?

 

 

So far, it seems that the medication we took on board in New Zealand hasn’t helped restore her to full health; for the last few days she’s been suffering a great deal and we have had to reduce sail to make the conditions easier.  The performance of the boat is obviously affected, but Michèle is in no state to be out on deck at the moment.  For the moment she is on the sidelines and I’m back in ‘Vendée Globe’ mode, power-napping for 20 minutes when I can. At the moment it’s still stormy, with the wind between 20 and 30 knots.  We are expecting a short period of calm in a few hours time before the wind picks up again all the way to Cape Horn.  Getting round the Horn will be a huge relief for us to be honest.? Dominique Wavre and Michèle Paret are not planning to stop in Ushuaia, hoping that the rest Michèle is currently getting will be enough to get her back on her feet for the final dash across the Atlantic.  Antonio Palma, Associate and CEO of Mirabaud stresses that “the health of the two co-skippers obviously takes priority over the competition.  We’re with Michèle in spirit and wish her a quick recovery and are 100% behind the team in their decision to put security first.

 

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From the leading duo counting down their final 750 or 800 miles to Cape Horn to those nearly 5000 miles behind fighting to make it across the Tasman to the Cook Strait, the vast majority of the Barcelona World Race fleet today are either racing in strong winds, or expecting them imminently.

Virbac-Paprec 3 and MAPFRE, some 78 miles apart this afternoon, are trying to outrun the approach of a fast moving low pressure system, the regenerated, reinvigorated Atu (Atu v2.0?) and escape around Cape Horn into the Atlantic. But it is the fleet’s tailgunners on We Are Water which has struggled the most today after being temporarily knocked flat by a big wave, taking water inside the boat.

Jaume Mumbrú and Cali Sanmarti reported that they are both fine, but unable to gybe due to a broken lazyjack and other sundry problems the duo were making slow SE’ly course during the early afternoon, before heaving while they baled water out of the boat and try to sort out their electronics problems. The impact of the wave ripped apart plastic spray curtains which protect part of the cockpit,. Part of the electrical equipment is not working at the moment.

And Dee Caffari and Anna Corbella last night (day time local for them) suffered a series of involuntary tacks when GAES Centros Auditivos’ autopilot hiccupped twice. With two sails partly in the water, the duo had their hands full, choosing to run north and take some pressure off themselves and the boat. The robust hard reaching conditions, with the wind slightly forward of the beam in difficult seas, made their choice of sacrificing some miles to Hugo Boss a difficult one, but a necessary one at the time.

“Things are horrible. We are upwind in 35 knots of wind and it is pretty wet and miserable. We had an ‘everything’ problem, the good thing about it all was that it was daylight when it happened. It was a catalogue of disasters and it took us quite a lot to get through it. And I just had a very brief time in the bean bag and I said to her that I feel like I have been beaten up. I feel quite exhausted by it. We are really wanting this wind to drop now.

We have come back on course now. We decided that we cant run away to the north for ever because it does just make the course worse afterwards. We are back where we should be after having a bit of rest and recovery. We are now just upwind and it is 30-35kts.” Said Caffari on this morning’s Visio-Conference.

“It was a bit emotional at the time but we did manage to giggle about it, we found the funny side of it, the fact that we were so ridiculously wet. But everything is still working, the boat is OK. We got the sails back on board, so of all the things that did go wrong we dealt with it all well.”

The duel at the front of the fleet between Virbac-Paprec 3 and MAPFRE now sees the French duo taking a clear advantage with their more northerly tracking. Individually both sets of co-skippers reported that they were struggling with the very changeable and unstable winds – requiring many sail changes and constant vigilance – in the brisk, but variable breezes sent by the low pressure centre which was just to the south east of them today, slightly closer for the Spanish duo.

Despite the intensity of the battle with the Virbac-Paprec 3, the evident chagrin at losing miles to the French pair, not to mention the extreme cold – 4 deg C and the fact that it was in the middle if a dark, dirty night – it was again an inspiration today to see the pleasure that Fernandez, Spain’s three times 49er world champion, double Olympic medalist and twice Volvo round the world veteran, takes in answering questions put to him by the young local Barcelona schoolchildren.

The duel with Dick and Peyron is dismissed for a few stolen moments Fernandez’s smile breaks his lips, the twinkle in his eyes lights up the gloomy fug inside MAPFRE as he takes time and pleasure to answer each question fully. One of this race’s unique and pure pleasures, one which perhaps will inspire a new generation of round the world racers?

And the duel for third evens out again this afternoon as Renault Z.E’s Toño Piris and Pachi Rivero fight back, 19 miles ahead of Neutrogena this afternoon both sailing at even speeds.

A special Visio-Conference in the early afternoon linked up guests and representative of sponsors Mirabaud with Dominique Wavre and Michèle Paret.

Rankings at 1400hrs Tuesday 1st March 2011

1               VIRBAC-PAPREC 3 at 7642 miles to finish

2               MAPFRE  79 miles from the leader

3               RENAULT Z.E at 1411 miles

4               NEUTROGENA at  1430 miles

5               MIRABAUD at 1597  miles

6               GROUPE BEL at  1887 miles

7               ESTRELLA DAMM Sailing Team at 1957miles

8               HUGO BOSS at 2308 miles

9               GAES CENTROS AUDITIVOS at 2444miles

10             FORUM MARITIM CATALA at 3907 miles

11            CENTRAL LECHERA ASTURIANA at 4236 miles

12             WE ARE WATER at 4859 miles

RTD        FONCIA

RTD   PRESIDENT

Dee Caffari (GBR) GAES Centros Auditivos:“Things are horrible. We are upwind in 35 knots of wind and it is pretty wet and miserable. We had an ‘everything’ problem, the good thing about it all was that it was daylight when it happened. It was a catalogue of disasters and it took us quite a lot to get through it. And I just had a very brief time in the bean bag and I said to her that I feel like I have been beaten up. I feel quite exhausted by it. We are really wanting this wind to drop now.

We have come back on course now. We decided that we cant run away to the north for ever because it does just make the course worse afterwards. We are back where we should be after having a bit of rest and recovery. We are now just upwind and it is 30-35kts.

According to the forecast by 1800hrs this evening it should start to ease and then we go through our daylight hours upwind.

It was a bit emotional at the time but we did manage to giggle about it, we found the funny side of it, the fact that we were so ridiculously wet. But everything is still working, the boat is OK. We got the sails back on board, so of all the things that did go wrong we dealt with it all well.

It was really good, because I just jump on deck and get on with then I think that she gets a lot of confidence in that, so she drove while I got the sails back on board, and she drove while I sorted the pilots, so she got a bit of a battering each day. We both warmed up and put some dry clothes on and since then we have recovered. It is really good to see her confidence grow so much and in the boat. And we looked after each other, she just said to me that the only thing she wanted was that I not go in the water. I said I was not planning on it!

It is really nice to see Anna progressing, most of confidence and she says that comes from me which I am surprised about, but now she is confident in what the boat can do and making choices like what sails to put up and I am pleased about that, because it makes my life easier. So it is working for both of us.
And she asks questions about, like this is not what you said the Southern Ocean would be like, and I say it is different for me too. It is nice to hear her talking to other skippers in the fleet and sounding more knowledgeable and confident.

Xabi Fernandez (ESP) MAPFRE: “The situation is a little more complicated than the last few days. We have spent the last 24 hours with a lot of showers, one after the other and so we have had no rest. And an area of light winds has really struck us and so we have been losing some miles, little by little.

There are some clouds with showers which bring you squalls and more wind which give you a good push but not in the direction you want. For example we are on a course yesterday of 100-110 degrees and suddenly you get a 50 degrees shift, that is you pointing 50 degrees off your course. On the other hand there are another kind which tyou get which suddenly see the breeze drop from 20 knots to five or six knots, totally quiet and you can do nothing. It pours with rain. And in these hours you are given to wondering how the other boat is going. You kind of assume that it is the same for us both, but the truth is that we had another bad cloud and a spell with zero wind.

I think they are going a bit better than us, we are fighting to stay with them. Although we have got a little bit back I think we can see some compression into Cape Horn. To pass Cape Horn first? …Well it is a big enough achievement at all to pass Cape Horn, but first would be better.

The target is just to go as fast as possible we need to simply get there as quick as possible. If we are slowed or delayed it would be difficult. There is always acceleration of the wind there, and so aside from Virbac-Paprec 3, we just want to be there before the storm gets us.”

Dominique Wavre (SUI) Mirabaud: “We will do all that we can to attack third place, but it is a bit difficult at the moment because tomorrow we have a big depression coming and that will put us in conservation mode not to break anything. And so it is a bit of a difficult position. We are expecting two storms between now and Cape Horn and so it will be difficult but we will be doing all we can to get at third place.”

Michèle Paret (FRA) Mirabaud:“We mostly have enough food to get us to the finish. We have cut back on our consumption. We will have a bit less food for the last week but we don’t have any great concerns. And it is not normal to have to stop to take on food.

At the end of the South Atlantic before the south I felt a bit weak and so we spoke with the doctor and he said I was a bit anemia. And what we had in the boat’s pharmacy would not be enough until the end of the race. And the treatment is long term. So the preference was to get a supply from New Zealand and as soon as I started to take the iron I have been feeling better. And so I continue to take it to make sure I don’t risk a new weakness.”

Dominique Wavre: “Mirabaud is in good shape. We have no big concerns. Yesterday there was a problem with a wind indicator but we use the spare which is a bit less precise but it is a little les precise. The boat feels a little tired, but everything is intact. We have been surfing at 22-23 knots. The wind is lifting and so we go a little north again to wait for the shift and then to return to the south on the back of a major depression heading in the direction of Cape Horn.”

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MAPFRE have so far been unable to make any further impression on the lead of Virbac-Paprec 3 as the Barcelona World Race’s two leading IMOCA Open 60’s play their angles downwind towards the Mid Pacific ice gate, now over half way from Wellington NZ to Cape Horn. 

Though the two leaders had become increasingly isolated at the head the fleet, with nearly 1200 miles now between Virbac-Paprec 3 and third placed Renault Z.E Sailing Team, the third to fifth placed peloton were back up to full speed this afternoon after extricating themselves from a persistent zone of light winds emerging into stronger northerly and NW’ly winds this morning.

 The lead of Jean-Pierre Dick and Loick Peyron shrunk to as little as 8.3 miles this morning as Spanish duo gybed and headed SE but after Virbac Paprec 3 gybed later the long time leader have been quicker on every count today, making ten miles on Iker Martinez and Xabi Fernandez, proving that when it comes to a downwind sprint to the next ice gate attack is the only form of defence.

Speaking live today Loïck Peyron, co-skipper of Virbac-Paprec remarked that the gulf between second and third was almost bizarre, having a match race between two boats so close together and so evenly matched, separated from the body of the fleet by so much.

Peyron was on typically rhetorical form today, describing the course that the fleet:

 “When we watch our courses we sometimes ask ourselves if we are not like a flea circus, making little, trained jumps from gate to gate!?

 

But the gap certainly does nothing to modulate the frenetic pace of the duel. Neither duo has it in their genetic make-up to consider anything other than first place as their target: for today, tomorrow, not at Cape Horn late next week nor in the longer team future. Other ocean races may feature skippers speaking of the importance of simply being with the vanguard and in shape to make the final push to win.

 

Dick and Peyron were reunited on the airwaves today in a French link up with former adversary Michel Desjoyeaux on BFM TV. Desjoyeaux could not resist the opportunity to spar with the Virbac-Paprec 3 duo:

 

Peyron: “Yes, when it’s not you, it’s one of your boats annoying us !?

Desjoyeaux: “ We didn’t want you to get bored so we called up our Spanish friends to put the pressure on you.?

Peyron: “That’s nice of you. A great idea! We missed you.?

 The leaders opened up a little more on their relationship aboard:

“Loïck is very easy on board. It is great times for me to live through this race with him. Of course there are moments when you would rather have your space. The same for him no doubt. I can be a bit head in the air, and I leave my socks around. Living three months together can be a big challenge.? Said Dick.

 The four duos who are dealing with the difficult low pressure system which was formerly Atu have been bending to their task since this morning. After discussing strategies several times Estrella Damm and Groupe Bel have taken slightly different approaches, with Estrella Damm looking to be well placed up to the north of the centre of the system late this afternoon, giving them good options to emerge on its NE side, while Groupe Bel were more to the south and east but almost equally well positioned in terms of having options to get east. Windspeeds may have been downgraded but the chaotic, huge seas created by the passage of the strong winds from changing directions over a relatively small area and a short space of time, were likely to be the biggest problem.

 Citing problems with their water-maker which could not be fixed at sea, Gérard Marin and Ludovic Aglaor indicated this afternoon that they will make a technical stopover in Wellington on Forum Maritim Catala, expecting to arrive early Monday (UTC).

 Boris Herrmann (GER) Neutrogena: “For the last six hours we have been into really good breeze and are making 21-22knots. We had a transition zone to get into this northerly breeze and so we were between gennaker and Code Zero all the time, tacking and trying to get the boat moving, and we had a two hours period when we had no speed at all. It is was half mile we made in three hours, something like that. But we can be happy, it stays the same way outside – rain and drizzle all the time – but we have 25 knots and are doing 20 knots of boat speed and it is fabulous.

I discovered today when we had a full check of the boat that we have Neutrogena shower gel on board and that makes me very happy because I cant wait to have a shower some time. The boat is well but we still have a small problem with the ballast system which leaks from windward to leeward, and so we have to drain the leeward side quite often and to refill windward often but that does not really slow us down very much.

They have a little bit of a closer angle to the wind and so that should allow us to catch up on them. At the moment I don’t think anyone in this area is going faster than us. I have just seen 22 knots on the GPS. It is awesome, relatively flat water. I just stacked everything at the back, all the sails, the food bags, everything and so the bow is up and we are surfing very nicely. It is one of the strong points of this boat, it gets the nose out easily and it can be very nice and smooth.

We have come along well and we get on well. Still it is a long race. It is amazing how we still get to know each other better and better, even after such a long time, we can distinguish the moods better and more precisely. I can see when Ryan has a good day, when he has a normal day and when he is a bit calmer today, things like that. For most of us our moods change with the weather. Since New Zealand it has been grey, grey, grey…no light, no sun. That is a bit depressing but now I am excited about our speed.

 Xabi Fernandez (ESP) MAPFRE: “We are more or less at the layline to the gate. Virbac-Paprec 3 gybed a little earlier than us. We expect a shift and so we are waiting to see if they have to gybe again. We are close all the time, although we did this last gybe a little late. And we are a little behind, but….we are 100% all the time. We used the pilot before and took the chance to rest a bit, but it has been hard recently. We have between 25 and 35 kts and gybe after gybe with hardly any rest. But we are on it!?

Selected quotes from the BFM broadcast:

 Kito De Pavant (FRA) Groupe Bel : “Seb looks like a smurf, he’s got bruises everywhere. I didn’t have time to see a doctor in Wellington. In any case he would have recommended rest, which wouldn’t have been much use. For a fortnight I could not do any stacking or hoisting. So Seb did everything. Good practice for the Vendée Globe…?

J-P Dick (FRA) Virbac-Paprec 3: “ There are bound to be times when you’d like a moment to yourself. Loïck can be… I tend to forget things and leave my socks everywhere… It’s a challenge spending three months together.?

 Loïck Peyron (FRA) Virbac-Paprec 3:: When it’s not you, it’s one of your boats annoying us !

Michel Desjoyeaux We didn’t want you to get bored so we called up our Spanish friends sto put the pressure on you.?

Peyron: That’s nice of you. A great idea! We missed you.

 Loïck Peyron (FRA) Virbac-Paprec 3: I always wear something on my head. All the old people are like that, but it is getting a bit cold. And with two people on board, we get a lot of condensation.

Michel Desjoyeaux: So if your desalination unit packs up, you can get plenty of fresh water…

Loïck Peyron : Yes, it’s streaming down the windows.

Michel Desjoyeaux : How fast are you going?

J-P Dick : 18 knots at the moment.

Michel Desjoyeaux: That’s why Loïck thinks you’re not going very fast. He’s used to sailing multihulls.

 Rankings at 1400hrs Friday 25th February 2011

  1              VIRBAC-PAPREC 3 at 9278 miles to finish

2              MAPFRE 23 miles from the leader

3              RENAULT Z.E at 1196 miles

4               NEUTROGENA at  1260 miles

5              MIRABAUD at 1420  miles

6              GROUPE BEL at  1704 miles

7              ESTRELLA DAMM Sailing Team at 1750 miles

8              HUGO BOSS at 1855 miles

9              GAES CENTROS AUDITIVOS at 1906 miles

10            FORUM MARITIM CATALA at 3256 miles

11            CENTRAL LECHERA ASTURIANA at 3570 miles

12            WE ARE WATER at 4356 miles

RTD         FONCIA

RTD         PRESIDENT

 

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It is certainly not the 50th birthday present that Groupe Bel skipper Kito De Pavant was looking for, especially not ‘second time around’.

Such is the ironic timing of the Laughing Cow’s crossing of the international date-line later today and tomorrow that De Pavant was passing his first 50th Birthday concerned about the weather situation but tomorrow he will facing up to the formidable tropical cyclone Atu when the ‘second edition’ of his 50th birthday comes around.

Both De Pavant and Spain’s Pepe Ribes, who both left Wellington on Tuesday night together on Groupe Bel and Estrella Damm, expressed their concern about how they would best deal with the trajectory and force of the challenging weather system which will propagate very strong winds and big, confused seas. Their key decisions will be based around the speed at which the system moves and both duos have been tracking the system consistently since before they left the Kiwi capital.

“ We don’t really know which way to deal with the problem: either by the south or by the north. What we do know it that it lies right on our course.” SaidDe Pavant this morning, “ It is a pretty violent and unpleasant character, not what you want for your birthday. The cyclone brings with it a lot of rain, a lot of wind, and big seas. It is a small but very compact phenomenon which can damage the boat, very risky.”

Pepe Ribes said this morning: “ The passage of the Atu cyclone will be very complicated and neither Alex nor I have ever been confronted by such strong winds and I don’t really know what it will do to us and we are worried to look after the boat. We have been looking at if for a while and still don’t know how we will cross it.”

The system is due to pass swiftly, the two boats which were in Wellington, will have it directly in their path, giving them the option to pass to the north which will at least give them the chance to use the westerlies on the north side of it, but they would need to sail a steeper angle and more miles to get there. The pragmatic solution might be to simply slow and avoid the worst of it

At the front of the fleet Spain’s Iker Martinez and Xabi Fernandez got to within 25 miles today of the long time race leader MAPFRE. The leading duo are nicely placed on the southern side of a progressive high pressure system which is allowing them a classical arc up to the NE to respect the second ice gate of the Pacific without having to worry about manoeuvres, simply having to sail fast towards the same target. As an instructive insight into the relative speeds of the 2007 generation former Foncia, built prior to the IMOCA Rule’s power cap, and the latest generation design, and of course the sailors potential, this is proving a thrilling encounter which is due to continue for a few days more at least. 

It was a triumphant but difficult passage through ‘home’ waters for the Barcelona World Race’s only Kiwi, Andy Meiklejohn who passed through the Cook Strait today, feeling a real mix of different emotions.

On the one hand Meiklejohn was feeling devastated and helpless at the earthquake which hit Christchurch, on the other he was intensely proud to be bringing the powerful Hugo Boss past Wellington, foregoing any technical stopover.

Having started the race with stand-in co-skipper Wouter Verbraak the duo have sailed a smart race so far, rising to seventh place, and now within 650 miles of the race’s podium. Alex Thomson was on the water off Wellington with technical manager Ross Daniel to greet the two co-skippers on the wet, bumpy ride past the capital.

“ We have had a tough time of the last seven weeks with several issues forcing us to be slower than optimal, this was also after a very light exit to the Med, conditions that the heaviest boat in the fleet definitely did not like.”Wrote Meiklejohn, “Wouter and I have managed to pool together our resources, our common strength and the belief  and with the support of Alex and our shore team to keep the yacht in the race, and here we are just 400 miles behind 4th place and the battle begins again.”

“ Our troubles however are insignificant compared to the disaster that has just hit the Christchurch region of New Zealand.  This is an area with incredible pride and emotional toughness.  They boast an unrivaled sporting success through their Cricket teams, netball teams and the All-conquering Crusaders rugby outfit who have dominated southern hemisphere rugby for the last 15 years.”

“ So it’s with real sadness that I sail up Cook Strait in sight of home, its hard to feel excited when there are so many people feeling so much pain.  Its great to celebrate what we do and getting to the halfway stage is an achievement in itself but it pales in comparison to what happens in the real world.  It’s a real mix of emotions that’s hard to contain and harder to put down in words.  We Kiwis are brought up to be hardened to tragedy and sadness but sometimes it doesn’t feel right, sometimes there’s a bigger picture.”

“ Christchurch, our thoughts are with you.  Look after each other, give those you don’t know a hug or a helping hand, it’s with that bond that you will once again pull through and, like the phoenix, rise again.”

Rankings at 1400hrs Wednesday 23rd February 2011

 1              VIRBAC-PAPREC 3  at 10076 miles to finish

2              MAPFRE 38 miles from the leader

3              RENAULT Z.E at 812 miles

4               NEUTROGENA at  940  miles

5              MIRABAUD at 1066  miles

6              GROUPE BEL at  1278 miles

7              ESTRELLA DAMM Sailing Team at 1282 miles

8              HUGO BOSS at 1454 miles

9              GAES CENTROS AUDITIVOS at 1482 miles

10            FORUM MARITIM CATALA at 2966 miles

11            CENTRAL LECHERA ASTURIANA at 3284 miles

12            WE ARE WATER at 3900 miles

RTD         FONCIA

RTD         PRESIDENT

Quotes:

Alex Thomson (GBR) Alex Thomson Racing Team/Hugo Boss: “ It was amazing to go out there and see the boat and see the guys, a bit weird in a lot of ways, but the guys were in great spirits, the boat looked fantastic and I just feel very proud of what they have achieved so far in a very difficult set of circumstances. They continue to stay positive and are really looking forwards at the possibilities.

The mast track problem means they can’t currently sail with the mainsail above the first reef. So basically upwind in anything less than 17 knots of wind they are compromised, going slower, and downwind in anything less than 22 knots they are going slower. So the boat is definitely not being sailed to its potential, but when you look at the options to stop or not – losing 48 hours, potentially nearly a 1000 miles – when there is the possibility of them doing the repair on board was too difficult for them to bear, and if I was in the same situation I would have made the same choice.

We went out and were alongside them for about half an hour and both Ross, our operations manager, and I had a happy conversation with them for about half an hour on the VHF, lots of laughing and joking, them suggesting I get a hair cut. It was fun, but it was also difficult: Andy and I had planned to be doing this race together so for both of us it was probably a bit strange, but I think that the reality is that the guys are in the groove, they have worked together brilliantly, they have formed a great partnership. Their place is on the boat and my place is on the land on this one. That is just a fact.

It is a difficult one. The guys speak to our team every day, sometimes more than once a day, but usually it is about media stuff, or about technical matters: the media stuff does not involve me and my forte is not the technical side, so I am acting as a bit of a supporter really, a little bit of a mentor really. It is kind of strange and I feel at a bit of a loose end at times. But I have accepted the situation but today it was real proof to me that I feel good about the situation, There is nothing I can do about it. I can be happy about where they are that they are fighting and they are doing a great job.”

Kito de Pavant (FRA), Groupe Bel:“Fifty years old, it is the fourth Cape of this round the world race for me. I am not feeling very birthday. We did not have very much time to prepare anything because we were a bit preoccupied in Wellington, there was a lot of work to do. The weather conditions before we stopped were not so good, and we have lost a lot of time. And so the festivities have gone by the by. It is not that important, especially with a cyclone which is approaching, and we don’t really know which way to to deal with the problem: either by the south or by the north. What we do know it that it lies right on our course. It is a pretty violent and unpleasant character, not what you want for your birthday. The cyclone brings with it a lot of rain, a lot of wind, and big seas. The sea, especially will be huge and the winds might be 70-80kts. It is a small but very compact phenomenon which can damage the boat, very risky.

Wisest would be to leave it to the north but that does not take us towards Cape Horn. And of course if it gets dangerous then we would just turn and avoid the worst of the waves.

The difficult conditions should not last very long, 24 hours maybe and then after that we should have some strong winds which should allow us to go quickly towards the ice gates. The Spanish crew are just behind, we can see their lights. It is reassuring to be with them facing the same things. But the truth is that in such circumstances the second boat would not be able to do too much. We ate together yesterday evening and it would be good if we remained together until Barcelona.

It took us a few weeks to get into the rhythm of the race and now you feel like its starting again from zero. We have enjoyed the comforts ashore and so now it is not so easy to set out again. And the 48 hour stopover is not good, it is too long or too short. But this is a curious birthday, because as we pass the date-line I will have two birthdays!

Pepe Ribes (ESP) Estrella Damm:“We have Groupe Bel about a mile away and it will eb good to sail with someone again as a reference. The passage of the Atu cyclone will be very complicated and neither Alex nor I have ever been confronted by such strong winds and I don’t really know what it will do to us and we are worried to look after the boat. We have been looking at if for a while and still don’t know how we will cross it.

Our morale is not so high and so we must get back to the feelings we had and stop thinking about were we were in the race and what has happened to us. We need to get back into that mind set because the race is only half way.”

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Dee and Anna are spending what is considered to be the most romantic day of the year in one of the most remote and hostile places on the planet, the Southern Ocean. However, the all female duo onboard GAES Centros Auditivos are keen to hold true to the Valentines tradition of chasing boys as their pursuit of Andy Meiklejohn & Wouter Verbraak aboard Hugo Boss continues. Having relinquished eighth position to Hugo Boss late last week, the GAES girls have been battling hard to keep the gap between them to a minimum as they seek an opportunity to regain a position in the rankings.

As the fleet have dipped further into the Southern Hemisphere the perils of round the world racing became more apparent when two additional ice gates were introduced to the Barcelona World Race at the end of last month. The ice gate that marked the bottom of the South Atlantic was moved further north to keep the IMOCA Open 60’s away from the worst of the area of ice and another gate was added just to the east of South Africa. The boats are required to pass at least one point to the north of each gate and with the race taking place so late in the southern hemisphere summer it is likely that ice presence will continue to affect the course resulting in more of the gates moving further north. This in turn will increase the distance the boats have to travel making this a longer race than originally anticipated.

Dee and Anna are currently heading towards the south of Cape Leeuwin on the west coast of Australia. The duo’s latest video reveals the topsy turvy life they are experiencing ‘down under’.

Elsewhere in the race Virbac-Paprec 3 continues to lead the fleet with Mapfre second and Estrella Damm third in the Barcelona World Race. At the 0900hrs ranking today, Caffari and Corbella onboard GAES Centros Auditivos were in 9th place, 120 miles behind Andy Meiklejohn & Wouter Verbraak on Hugo Boss.

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