Around The World Of Sailing

B&Q Starts Solo Record Attempt

Ellen MacArthur, skipper of B&Q, crossed the start line off Ushant at 08:10:44 GMT today (Sunday, 28.11.04). Passing within a few miles offshore of the WSSRC observer on the island of Ushant off the north coast of France in winds of 28-30 knots from the NNW.

Half an hour before the start, Ellen reported...'feeling sick with nerves and only slept 10 mins in the night...'.

The Omega clock is now ticking on Ellen's attempt to break the current 72 day, 22 hour, 54 minute and 22 second record set by Francis Joyon.

B&Q will have to cross the finish line by 07:04:06 GMT on 9th February 2005 (the WSSRC rules state a world record must be broken by more than 60 seconds and this finish time takes this into account).

GOOD LUCK MESSAGE FROM FRANCIS JOYON:

I wish Ellen good luck for this big adventure. May the conditions be
favourable to her on this course so wonderful but also so difficult.

I will follow her with a lot of interest like a lot of people who will be passionned for this new adventure of Ellen.

Good luck to you,
Francis

B&Q Casts Off

THE 75-FOOT TRIMARAN B&Q CAST OFF HER LINES AT THE DOCKSIDE IN FALMOUTH AT 1400 GMT THIS AFTERNOON...

ELLEN'S SHORE TEAM WILL SPEND THE NEXT FEW HOURS DOING FINAL OPERATIONAL CHECKS ON B&Q allowing Ellen to get a couple of hours of rest before she heads alone across the Channel to the french end of the Lizard-Ushant start line.

FINAL DECISION ON TIME TO CROSS START LINE TOMORROW MORNING WILL BE MADE ONCE FINAL WEATHER MODELS HAVE BEEN ASSESSED LATE TONIGHT...

WEATHER CONDITIONS STILL GOOD FOR START - NW 20-30 KNOTS OF BREEZE FORECAST BUT WEATHER OBSTACLES AHEAD...a rapid crossing of the Bay of Biscay is going to be critical to escape an approaching ridge of high pressure (light winds).

IF ELLEN CROSSES THE LINE ON SUNDAY (28.11.04) SHE WILL HAVE TO FINISH BY 9 FEB 2005 TO SET A NEW WORLD RECORD...

B&Q WILL NEED TO AVERAGE BETTER THAN 15.38 KNOTS FOR 72 DAYS TO BREAK THE CURRENT RECORD...15 knots is faster than most leisure sailors go even for a minute, in their lives..

TIME TO BEAT 72 DAYS, 22 HOURS, 54 MINUTES AND 22 SECONDS SET BY FRENCHMAN FRANCIS JOYON...he sailed almost 27,000 miles to get around the planet finishing 3 February 2004 last year and taking 21 days off the previous record.

Official Timekeeper of Ellen MacArthur: OMEGA

http://www.teamellen.com follow Ellen's record attempt via the website for all the latest information, see Race Viewer console for latest positions and animations, click on webcam to see 'live' images from onboard (when connected online) and updates from Ellen...

IN DETAIL:

At 1400 GMT the lines attaching the 75-foot trimaran B&Q to the dockside in Falmouth were cast off and the tow boat gently nudged Ellen MacArthur out of Falmouth Harbour and on her way.

Am impressive mid-winter crowed had gathered at Port Pendennis Marina next to the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth to wave goodbye to MacArthur as she sets out on her biggest challenge to date to attempt to set a new solo, non-stop world speed record around the planet.

Conditions in Falmouth Harbour were slightly overcast with a light SW breeze as Ellen and her shore team got to business hoisting the huge mainsail up the 30 metre mast. Her shore team will stay onboard for a few hours to make the final preparations of unloading mooring lines, fenders and any other unnecessary weight into the support boat, as well as carrying out 'pre-flight checks' to all the boat's systems - from here on in, Ellen won't have anyone onboard to help her when things go wrong. Ellen will then head off alone across the busy shipping lanes of the English Channel, a sleepless night ahead of a sleep depriving voyage of speed.

US based weather routers, Commanders' Weather, have predicted good starting conditions for Sunday morning between 0600-0900 GMT bringing 20-30 knots of wind from the NW following the passage of the cold front in the early hours of Sunday morning rotating the wind from a SW direction to NW which is ideal to propel B&Q over the start line at the start of the 26,000 mile lap of the planet. Ellen will make the final decision of when to actually cross the start line tonight, when the latest weather models can be assessed.

The course is 26,000 miles (approx 42,000 km), a thousand marathons, around the globe, although in reality B&Q could sail more miles in search of favourable weather conditions. B&Q will cross the start line between Ushant and the Lizard (crossing closer to the French side for the official representative from the World Sailing Speed Records Council to ratify her start time) and the course should take her west to east on a route south of the three Capes (Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn) all kept to port with Antarctica to starboard. The round the world route will take Ellen into the heart of the Southern Ocean, where gales are the norm, and storm force winds are expected. Icebergs, towering seas and bitter cold are the real enemy here, on the most desolate part of the world's oceans.

FROM ELLEN MACARTHUR IN FALMOUTH JUST BEFORE DEPARTURE:

What is the weather situation looking like?
The front will go through tonight which will give us the breeze in the north and head south with this. The weather in the first week is showing NW-N but ahead is a low pressure off Portugal and west of that low is 40 knots of breeze so very windy for a crucial gybe down to the south but there is a good high below for 36 hours and I will use its strength to get down to the trade winds. Not sure, right now, how good the Trade Winds will be but will just have to wait and sea.

Why are you doing this?
I love sailing, I love being on the ocean and I love learning...it is really a logical step following on from the solo, non-stop Vend�e Globe, then sailing in 60ft multihulls and the fully crewed Jules Verne attempt - I learnt masses on that even though we lost the mast. The next step was to build B&Q to try this record. I have sailed 25,000 miles in her already and I can't think of a better boat to be in to try this attempt.

How hard will it be to break Francis Joyon's record?
Francis has made my job much, much harder! He set a very high benchmark. It is not impossible to break and I am holding onto that small possibility with both hands. To average 15.38 knots of boat speed over two and a half months is very hard and every second counts. Managing yourself, the boat, the weather, in the Southern Ocean the big storms, icebergs and the isolation itself can be hard. It is important to manage yourself to make sure you can go the distance.

How hard is it racing against the clock?
It is really hard. The person you're racing against is the clock and we will always be making comparisons to Francis (Joyon) but he would have been in different weather to what I will encounter and that is the hard part because in a fleet race you are racing against the other guys but you are in the same weather. So if they have a slow day, you do too but it is no big deal - against the clock it is totally different mentality.

How are you feeling right now:
Pretty stressed...pretty nervous and I am about to be on my own for a long time... It has taken three years of planning and a lot of hard work to get to this point but it is just the next step...

FORECASTED WEATHER FOR THE START BY COMMANDERS' WEATHER:
Winds will be SSW on Saturday and Saturday night for the delivery to the start area. Wind speeds 10-16 knots midday Saturday and increasing to 12-18 knots for few hours during the afternoon, but wind direction will be more SW when the wind speeds increase. Partly to mostly cloudy with few squally showers overnight, especially at midnight with risk of pockets of fog in late afternoon/evening.

A cold front will pass between 0600-1200UTC Sunday. Winds NW 20-30 knots at 0900 GMT decreasing through day to 18-24 knots by 1800 GMT. Sea state 4-7 feet from the NW and WNW. Few early showers possible with cold front then mix of clouds and sunshine.

Two obstacles are ridge of high pressure developing from WNW to the ESE and getting west of a low pressure area off Portugal during Monday morning. The low will move east and it will be important to get west as the boat moves south.

The Way Out

Vincent Riou (PRB) et Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) are in the lead on the 21st day of the race. Vincent is now�398,1 miles ahead of Roland Jourdain(Sill et V�olia) in third place in the 3 p.m. rankings.
- In the 3 p.m. rankings, Mike Golding (Ecover) is fifth, 551,4 miles from the leader Vincent Riou (PRB). Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) is in sixth place and Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto) 11th.
- Mike Golding (Ecover) and Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) have finally made it out of the St. Helena high.
- The fleet can be split in four parts: the two leaders are entering the low-pressure areas in the Deep South, a second group with Ecover and Hugo Boss is located in a transitionary zone between the high and the southern lows, a third group with Hellomoto and Ocean Planet is still in the anticyclone, and finally the last group with Brother is sailing in the easterly trades.

While they are all going on the same route, the sailing conditions they are facing are extremely varied. Vincent Riou (PRB) et Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle), the present leaders, are continuing to increase their lead with each check-in. 3 or 4 knots extra speed per hour is enough to lead to 96 miles extra on the mileage gauge after 24 hours. Vincent Riou (PRB) currently has at 3 p.m. a lead of�13 miles over Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle). A drop in the ocean compared to the gap that they have established over Roland Jourdain (Sill et Veolia) in�third place, who is currently�398,1 miles from the leader. In a few hours, they will be entering the series of lows, which turn around the Antarctic, which marks a turning point with cold weather, a large swell, ice and storms.

Behind, the hunt is on. Mike Golding (Ecover) is part of the first group of chasers, including Sill et Veolia and VMI. He is finding it tough to get out of the St. Helena high and today at 3 p.m. was�551,4 miles behind the leader. Like those in front, he is firstly finding a 10-knot west-north-westerly generated on the southern edge of the high. As he makes his way south, the stronger the wind will become, until he also enters the low- pressure systems. While Mike seems to be out of trouble, he is going to struggle to regain the miles he has lost, which have been increasing steadily with each position chart. Alex Thomson is facing the same conditions (Hugo Boss). He is currently gliding along in a 12-knot wind with the spinnaker and full mainsail. Alex finally made it out of hell after a terrible day yesterday. At 3 p.m. he was�751,8 miles behind the race leader. Further to the west than the others, he is sailing in a wind three-quarters aft and was making faster headway than Mike (Ecover) according to the latest positions.�200,4 miles currently separate the two British yachtsmen.

Behind, while the situation is, and will be, less and less difficult, the miles they have lost are nevertheless still increasing. The speed of the boats is crucial and most of the fleet is making very hard work of it. Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) has escaped and soon it will be the turn of Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec), Dominique Wavre (Temenos), and finally Bruce Schwab (Ocean Planet). Moving off gradually to the east, the St. Helena high will let go firstly those, who were furthest west. The situation is likely to be trickier for Marc Thiercelin (Pro-Form), Jo� Seeten (Arcelor Dunkerque) and Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto), who was�837,9 miles behind at 3 p.m. today, off to the west of the fleet. For the moment, they are still struggling with the high and its wind holes. Crossing a high is such a risky business that it is impossible to know whether the aforementioned will find the way out.

Finally, the group at the tail end including Norbert Sedlacek on Brother (1701,6 miles from the leader) is continuing to sail in easterly trades along the Brazilian coast. With a 10-15 knot wind on the beam, which should accompany them around the St. Helena high, which is gradually moving off to the east and the African coast as the days go by. Those bringing up the rear will be able to catch up a little with the rest of the fleet, which will have struggled for five days or so in this anticyclone trap.

Quotes�:

Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss)�: �Throughout a race a sailor always faces problems, but most can be solved. Yesterday, I had really had enough, as there are no solutions to the absence of wind�.Yesterday was an awful day. I must have done 30 or 40 tacks. I felt like putting my anchor out. I had a talk with myself. I told myself I hadn�t done much wrong and I needed to concentrate on the future to get away from the pack of wolves coming up behind.�

Vincent Riou (PRB)�: �We are accelerating as the wind is gradually increasing. The sky is still blue with a few clouds, showing us that the low isn�t that far off. It�s going to cloud over during the day. We�ll be sailing along nicely for another 24 hours, before we dive right in. I�m taking advantage of the conditions to take care of a few checks. For example, I gave the engine a once over, and after doing the housework outside, I�m going to do some cleaning inside. I�m not that excited�. I�m waiting to see what will happen. For me, the Deep South is a voyage into the unknown. I�m trying to anticipate things, as much as I can. For the next few days, I�m glad I�m here rather than 700 miles behind. With Jean, we�ll be setting off on the first low to find our legs. Behind us, they will be experiencing the second low, which is much more violent than the first. The forecasts are predicting 45 knot winds in this second low.�

Dominique Wavre (Temenos)�: �It�s just so frustrating, as I can�t get back up there. We will need a large high like this one or the Doldrums to hold them up. Unless there is an unexpected evolution to the south of Australia or New Zealand, I don�t know how we can get from one system to another.�

Marc Thiercelin (Pro-Form)�: �In theory, unless there is a miracle, the Vend�e Globe won�t be mine. I already know that in my head. In the south, everyone will be going quickly. It�s impossible to get back up there, even in my wildest dreams. Only the areas between the lows could help me catch up or if there is damage to the boats. Which we wouldn�t wish on anyone, of course�! It�s just impossible � �.

Still Two Months to Go

Vend�e Globe : DAY 21
27th November 2004
Leader : PRB (Riou FRA)
HUGO BOSS Ranking : 6th
Distance to leader : 729.0 nm
09:30 GMT Position of HUGO BOSS : 31 42.96' S 24 21.96' W
Wind direction & speed : 12kts NNE
Heading : 110o
Boat speed : 11.2kts

Yesterday

Alex found Friday �terribly frustrating�. In his call to us this morning, he said, �Yesterday was just terrible. It was so frustrating. But I know that�s what ocean racing is all about�. The winds were light and from variable directions all day, and although he could see wind starting to arrive in the distance (from the cloud formations � see picture on AT Racing or Hugo Boss websites), he just couldn�t quite get to it. Alex estimates he tacked the boat forty times, and switched between the code zero and the spinnaker four times during the day. Finally, as evening arrived, a proper breeze started to whistle over the decks of HUGO BOSS, and after many false starts in the last few days, managed to stabilise, and give Alex a pleasant night sailing in consistent conditions. Having not slept for over 30 hours whilst trying to get the boat moving in the light, fickle airs, Alex finally managed to catch up on his sleep, achieving 4 � hours in short bursts. This is a long way short of the 8 hours many of you will have managed last night, but is a good level for a single handed sailor.

This morning

Alex was in good spirits this morning, and very focussed on making the most of the breeze. �My number one priority�, said Alex with renewed enthusiasm, �is to make sure that the boats behind don�t catch me. There is now a pack of seven of them, and I intend to keep well away !�. Alex doesn�t underestimate the scale of the task of catching up with the leaders either, but there�s still two months to go, and that�s a long time at sea. He has a couple of small jobs to do on board today; thickening one of the halyards, and servicing his winches. The stable conditions are ideal to allow him to get these tasks completed. Weatherwise, he is also keeping his eye on a low pressure system that is coming through, possibly bringing with it winds of up to 45knots (about 50mph).

E-mails

Alex has received over 1,400 e-mails since the start of the race, and they are one of his key links to the outside world. He sends his thanks to all of you have already e-mailed him, and says �keep them coming�. For those who haven�t � why not ?! Get writing now � you can simply use the form on the AT Racing website. These are sent on to Alex at least twice a day.

Greatful the Race is Long

KEY DATA AT 0930GMT: SKANDIA 12th in the rankings (830 from PRB), but regains ground to south (the exit), now just south of HELLOMOTO, ARCELOR AND PROFORM. At the front of Div1, PRB takes a small 10 mile lead on BONDUELLE, VMI and SILL neck and neck 390 miles back from PRB, and both ECOVER (522) and BOSS (729) finally escape the clutches of St. Helena...

QUOTE OF THE DAY FROM NICK : �[the weather] has been very different to my previous passages...I kept asking myself is it me...my lack of weather experience [putting me in the wrong place]...but then I think I�m not the only one in this situation...being where we are [in the fleet rankings], makes us grateful that the race is long...�

RACE UPDATE DAY GOING IN TO 21ST DAY

DICE ROLLS NICK�S WAY OVERNIGHT as a north easterly wind varying from 7 to 13 knots pushed Nick steadily south, and allowed him to regain some of the ground he lost in the previous, head exploding, 24 hours of calms. This morning he is now south of three of his key competitors who had overtaken him yesterday, and less than 40 miles north now of TEMENOS and VIRBAC the leaders of this 8 boat pack. Ranking of course continue to measure distance to finish via a waypoint to the south east, but with the exit being to the south, we are still more focused on latitude south. Of course, once through, being further east will be an advantage � but first you have to get south.

WHERE IS HELENA GOING? As Nick reported this morning, the weather models are a bit confused...he expected to be right at the centre of the windless zone this morning, but in fact has breeze from the north-east, indicating perhaps that its slipped faster east than predicted?? He hopes so! We�ll know during today...

4 YEARS AGO...whilst Nick might think his journey so far has been slow with his Doldrums nightmare, and recent calms, in fact he is only a 100 miles off the pace of Yves Parlier�s position as he led the Vendee 2000/1 fleet down the Atlantic...

THE LEADERS: PRB takes the reins from BONDUELLE in their private match race for first place, and Nick�s good friend (and fellow crew member on his Jules Verne rtw record passage on Orange) Seb Josse on VMI and SILL swap 3rd and 4th at each report � Seb and Bilou (SILL) are some 390 miles behind PRB � the guys in front are getting progressively better wind pressure, and therefore boat speed as they hook in to the Southern Ocean westerly airflow.

OUT OF JAIL OR NOT? At 0400 it looked like BOSS and ECOVER were out and clear, but Mike Golding online at 0900 said he�d been swallowed again by a light airs patch of just 5 knots...is his nightmare over or not??

AUDIO CONFERENCE WITH NICK:

<

Not out of the nightmare yet...all the models show we should still be in it...keep making our way in the best direction we feel...last evening when I saw Hellomoto was doing 4 knots, I opted to head differently...>>

REST? <>

THE LEADERS, CAN YOU STILL CATCH THEM? <>

THINKING ABOUT BIG WINDS FURTHER SOUTH? <>

HAS THE WEATHER BEEN �UNUSUAL�? <<[the weather] has been very different to my previous passages...I kept asking myself is it me...my lack of weather experience...but then I think I�m not the only one in this situation...being where we are [in the fleet rankings], makes us grateful that the race is long...>>

JARGON BUSTER: which way does the wind turn around the Depressions (low pressure systems) and Anticyclones like St.Helena (high pressure systems) - well it turns the opposite way in the southern hemisphere to the northern European setup!! The wind goes clockwise around the highs...and anti-clockwise around the Depressions in the south....so in the south the key is to be on the northern side of the depressions so as to benefit from following winds...

We have a weather Window to Go

IN BRIEF

* ELLEN MACARTHUR PLANNING TO DEPART FALMOUTH TOMORROW (SATURDAY 27.11.04) FOR POSSIBLE START ON SUNDAY (28.11.04)...

* "THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE BEEN PLANNING FOR, WORKING FOR AND WAITING FOR...WE HAVE A WEATHER WINDOW TO GO AND FOR WE ARE PLANNING TO TAKE IT..." More from Ellen below.

* WEATHER MODELS ARE SHOWING GOOD START CONDITIONS FOR SUNDAY MORNING...BUT WITH 36 HOURS TO GO TO POTENTIAL START THINGS CAN CHANGE...

* PICKING THE RIGHT WEATHER FOR THE START IS CRITICAL...IT IS THE ONLY TIME ELLEN CAN ACTUALLY HAVE SOME CONTROL OVER THE WEATHER SYSTEMS DURING THE WHOLE WAY AROUND THE WORLD!

* ELLEN IS SETTING OUT TO ATTEMPT TO SET A NEW SOLO, NON-STOP ROUND THE WORLD RECORD ON BOARD HER 75-FOOT TRIMARAN <>...

* IF ELLEN CROSSES THE LINE ON SUNDAY SHE WILL HAVE TO FINISH BY 9.2.05 TO SET A NEW RECORD...

* TIME TO BEAT 72 DAYS, 22 HOURS, 54 MINUTES AND 22 SECONDS SET BY FRENCHMAN FRANCIS JOYON...

***OMEGA OFFICIAL TIMEKEEPER OF ELLEN MACARTHUR***

Follow Ellen's record attempt via the website Visit http://www.teamellen.com for all the latest information, see Race Viewer console for latest positions and animations, click on webcam to see 'live' images from onboard (when connected online) and updates from Ellen...

IN DETAIL:

<> skipper, Ellen MacArthur, confirmed today she will depart Falmouth (UK) tomorrow (Saturday 27.11.04) at approximately 1400 GMT to make her way to the start line area off Ushant (France). <> will leave her pontoon at Port Pendennis Marina next to the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth with her support crew to set-up the boat and allow Ellen to get some rest before crossing the Channel on her own to the start line between Ushant and the Lizard. Crossing the busy shipping lanes of the Channel at night will not allow Ellen any sleep before the start planned on Sunday.

Weather routers, Commanders' Weather, have predicted good starting conditions for Sunday morning between 0900-1200 GMT. But with 36 hours to go to a possible start, Ellen will make the final decision of when to actually cross the start line the night before when the latest weather models can be assessed. There is another good weather window developing for Wednesday/Thursday next week (1st/2nd December) that might offer MacArthur a further opportunity to start.

FROM ELLEN THIS MORNING IN FALMOUTH:
"This is what we have been planning for, working for and waiting for -it looks like we have a weather window to go and for we are planning to take it. For sure, I am feeling both excited and nervous - to go out and try and beat Francis' record is going to be very, very hard. I do not underestimate the challenge ahead and I have said before, Francis' record deserves to stand for a long time but I am going to have a go at getting around and setting a new record...if I didn't think it was possible, I wouldn't be here on the dockside today.

The weather models for a start on Sunday are good but the reality is the weather is constantly changing and although we can try to predict what the situation will be in another 36 hours, we could find ourselves in a situation where starting on Sunday is not so good. I will be looking at the weather constantly between now and then and will make the final decision on timing Saturday night, with there always being a possibility of delaying if the weather has changed in a big way.

To break this record we will need the weather on our side to try and average over 15 knots around the planet. I will need to keep the boat together as best I can and myself too, in what will be a punishing environment - on top of that we will definitely need a bit of luck to carry us around quickly and safely.

All I can say, is that we are ready... <> is a fantastic boat that I have sailed halfway around the world already and pushed to her limits on the transatlantic record attempt in June so I know what she is capable of..."

FORECASTED WEATHER FOR THE START BY COMMANDERS' WEATHER:
Winds will be SSW on Saturday and Saturday night for the delivery to the start area. Wind speeds 8-14 knots midday Saturday and increasing to 14-20 knots for few hours during the afternoon, but wind direction will be more SW when the wind speeds increase.

A cold front will pass between 0600-1200UTC Sunday. Winds NW 20-30 knots decreasing through day to 16-22 knots by 1800 GMT. Sea state 4-7 feet from the NW and WNW. Few early showers possible with cold front then mix of clouds and sunshine.

Two obstacles are ridge of high pressure developing from WNW to the ESE and getting west of a low pressure area off Portugal during Monday morning. The low will move east and it will be important to get west as the boat moves south.

Water Level Update

Below you'll find water level info that pertains to Lakes Michigan and Huron.

Reference Point- Measurements in Inches

Difference from Chart Datum +3
Difference from last month -2
Difference from last year +6
Difference from long term average for November -13
Difference from Record High -51
Difference from Record Low +17
Forecast for 26 December 2004 -2

Click for information on other lakes.

Linky Sailing News

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News B&Q goes green. Brit yachties of the year nominees

Great Lakes Ferry forclosure

College Sailing Timme's

Crossing the Void

Crossing �The Void��

Elapsed Time: 19 days, 1 hours, 0 mins
Fleet Leader: PRB (V.Riou FRA)
HELLOMOTO: 7th out of 20, NE of Tristan da Cunha island mid S Atlantic

Where other boats around have struggled to keep above 5 knots, HELLOMOTO has kept moving at 6-7 knots all night � 1 knot above wind speed � thanks to his new light Code 0 headsail, 20% bigger than the genoa!

HELLOMOTO has gone from 11th to 7th in one week. By comparison was 5 miles ahead of Skandia last Friday, and now lies 70m ahead today, but don�t place any bets�

Weather brief: the �H� on that chart is for Hole! Conrad is heading SE at right angles into the high pressure ridge which extends from NE to SW in order to limit the amount of time he spends parked up�but he reckons he�ll get hit hardest.

Latest photographs and inspired email sent in by Conrad at sunrise this morning are on the website � pure poetry in motion! He just finished reading �Touching the Void� and empathises with climber Joe Simpson�s desperate situation as he sits in a vast empty sea�

Conrad Humphreys interview from onboard HELLOMOTO this morning courtesy of Geolink/Iridium:

�I�m a little tired this morning. It�s been a tricky night but I haven�t stopped and boatspeed has been good, about 6 knots on average, and 1 knot above wind speed right now which is 5 knots. It was a weird night too, though, intense and very tactical, but enjoyable. I slept a lot yesterday so I could be alert all night, hand-steering most of the time. It was very pleasant, the full moon was so bright, and it inspired me to write about the conditions as it was a very special evening too [ed: see latest email in diary section online].

�The wind is from the north at 8 knots, there�s a completely flat sea, it�s very shifty, and the gusts which come in tend to head you, and when the lulls come in they tend to lift you and I can come up, that�s pretty convenient for me. I optimised the boat just for these conditions as it was her real weakness before. I had a new Code 0 headsail built before the race, which sheets on the deck track sheeting system, the same as the genoa, so we�ve got real control over sheeting position, but the sail is a good 20% bigger than the genoa and it�s very flat and light. It�s doing a great job, as when the wind dies it carries us through the lulls. It�s been up for 30 hours and earned its pay already! The mainsail is really flat too, and we increased the batten tension by using stiffer battens. The sails are one of the big differences on the boat performance, also Joff [shore team manager] and Marco [boatyard manager] worked hard to smooth the finish of the bottom of the boat given her wide Finot shape, and she just slides through the water now.

�Am I happy with my position? Well, I was 100 miles behind Skandia 1 week ago, and now I�m 100 miles ahead of him, when we�d spent so much time side by side. I can�t ignore that, but at the same time I�m probably in the most precarious position so not wanting put my big toe inside my mouth, I think I�ve got the hardest job ahead to get through this, I wouldn�t bet on me yet. I�m very comfortable where I am though. I know that Virbac will start showing her legs and Temenos is very hot, so to be ahead of those 2 boats is very pleasing. Nick on Skandia we�ve matched for pace well enough so we�re probably in our right place but as the race progresses, we should find favourable reaching conditions to try to push up into top 5, but it will be hard to get them back in the short term.

�My beautiful morning has gone and now it�s getting thicker, murkier and hazier, there�s some big patch in there waiting for me, we�re ghosting along at 7 knots true wind at the moment but I don�t imagine it to stay like this. If it does somebody�s looking down on us. I expect we�ll park up at some stage!�

Weather Brief

According to Conrad�s weather chart which he sent through from the boat this morning [in onboard images online], �H� is for Hole! From Ecover in 5th to UUDS in 13th, it seems most of the skippers have had extremely frustrating nights in shifty, fickle light airs, which as Conrad wrote this morning can be �soul destroying�. Golding is still not out of the mire, Thomson on Hugo Boss hasn�t made gains from his early option to head SW. The high pressure ridge itself extends on an axe from NE to SW across the course and so Conrad�s strategy is to cross it at right angles, this is why he is on a SE heading of 150 degrees. It�s right in front of him and so we�re not going to attempt any forecasts today, just watch this space and hope the Code 0 keeps HELLOMOTO moving!

Vendee Globe Report 26 November

Whilst we go about our daily routines 20 lone sailors are racing around the world without a stop.

Each weekday ATWOS will present a report on the 2004-2005 Vendee Globe race. Who will join Lamazou, Desjoyeaux etc. as winners? Who will be a breakout young star like Ellen Macarthur? Which sailors will participate in dramas such as those of Pete Goss & Yves Parlier?

The report will cover the rhythm of the race, whether it's fast or slow, what's the degree of difficulty, is it iceberg territory?

Each day we'll check the standings to see who the leaders are and who else is on the move.

The fleet roundup will cover news of interest from any and all boats both the success's and the inevitable failures.

From the lone sailors will highlight the most interesting communications from the multi national group of sailors.

Rhythm of the Race All depends: Fast and close for top 2 .5 miles apart/11.5 knots average...slow for many including just 50 miles for Virbac.

Standings 1. PRB 2. Bonduelle .5 miles back 3. VMI 277 miles back 4. Sill 288 miles back 5. Ecover 387 miles back.

Fleet Round Up "Vincent Riou onboard PRB called the raceheadquarter in Paris around 0500 GMT to say he could see Bonduelle 20 lengths... behind him!"

From the Lone Sailors Vincent Riou: "It�s going well. I am not one of the unlucky ones! I was frightened this morning. I was sleeping soundly when I heard a beep close to my boat. I came up on deck and saw the sails, it was Bonduelle. For now he is upwind and on the attack." Conrad Humphreys: "Having just read Joe Simpson's book "Touching the Void" I am starting to empathise with his desperate situation being sat here in this vast empty space in the south Atlantic. Attempting to cross this "Void" is energy sapping, frustrating even soul destroying." Jean Le Cam: "It was obviously meant to be that we have joined together today in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean this 26 November! We couldn�t have hoped for a better scenario for ourselves but it�s been catastrophic for the others. It�s a fine day, clear skies, squalls this morning, the thermals are on and tomorrow night it�ll be the socks...I haven�t yet decided my strategy for the south but it was clear that I didn�t attack hard enough last night." Mid ocean video from Bonduelle of PRB

12 Hour Crocker Shocker

KEY DATA AT 0930GMT: Skandia 13th on the water, the 8 boats in �Division 2� all within a 50 mile radius circle, all with the same problem. Saint Helena. At the front of Division 1, BONDUELLE and PRB in sight of each other, some 280 miles ahead of VMI/SILL also glued together. ECO 5th at 387 miles, BOSS 6th at 607, neither yet fully clear of the calms.

QUOTE OF THE DAY FROM NICK : �I�ve had a crocker [Barry Crocker � Shocker � BAD DAY!], totally becalmed for 12 hours now, flat calm, mirror like sea. I think two grabs of 15 minutes sleep only�

RACE UPDATES

*�I�VE HAD A CROCKER�: Nick�s words early this morning...a total nightmare 12 hours as SKANDIA sailed out of the breeze � but Conrad just to the east held on to it and has not stopped at all, PROFORM and VM MATERIAUX sail down from the north with the breeze. Only ARCELOR looks to have suffered as well, and is now only a handful of miles away from Nick. Nick remains extraordinarily in control of his emotions, after very bad luck overnight...

EIGHT BOATS NOW IN A CIRCLE OF 50 MILES RADIUS: With the top four out the other side of the High, and ECOVER and BOSS just at the exit door, the next 8 boats are all queuing up on the wrong side...the St.Helena is growing right in front of them and engulfing them �blocking any passage to the south. Frustration, exasperation, fatigue...gain a metre, lose a metre, ultimately someone will get out the other side first and lead this second pack in to the south.

MAGNETS AT THE FRONT: PRB and BONDUELLE racing in sight of each other now, incredible in all these miles of ocean, or maybe not so with these Figaro sailors....together they are 280 miles out in front of VMI and SILL also very close to each other. Two match races that are likely to be the main feature of the race in to the Southern Ocean for the leaders.

RACEVIEWER DATA NOW ONLINE: CLICK ON and you will be able to access real-time Weather data onboard SKANDIA, as well as a summary of the race leaderboard (top 5 + Nick for now). The graphs track the past 48 hours of weather data as well...we will continue to add features to the site over the coming weeks, and all your feedback, good and bad, is welcome at feedback@ocvision.com

* �AT THIS RATE ELLEN WILL BE CATCHING ME PRETTY SOON� commented Nick on news that his Offshore Challenges team mate Ellen MacArthur has gone to AMBER mode for possible departure this weekend on her own solo record attempt around the world. http://www.teamellen.com

AUDIO CONFERENCE WITH NICK:

<

Forecast everyone going to get stopped. Things are going to go bad for everyone.

HOW TO COPE WITH THE STRESS? Got the psychiatrist on standby! Just watching the water going past the boat, changed sails quite a bit...just hoping I suppose. I think two grabs of 15 minutes sleep only...pretty bizarre dreams...so focused on the motion of the boat.

I�ve got 4 knots of wind from the north, tough going downwind....anything more than this is better. Hoping for it to get a bit better. Going to be tough one.

Pretty mild...going to be windy and cold soon....so not too many complaints I suppose....>>

JARGON BUSTER: WEATHER DATA BACK FROM THE BOAT: the plan for a number of the boats was to communicate semi-real time data back for the public to follow their race...hourly position, speeds, and weather data. The race organisation made a new ruling just a couple of days before the start that meant we were only allowed to send the weather element back...which we are doing. How does it work? The data is collected by the onboard B&G instrument system, recorded on Deckman software (5 minute averages) running on a Sony VAIO, and then transmitted back to land via a small satellite unit called a Thrane & Thrane MiniC. The data is then fed automatically in to the Active24 hosted website...click on the button at http://www.nickmoloney.com and you are able to check on an hourly basis the actual weather Nick is experiencing, even if we can�t communicate his performance details.

Frustrated Yet Optimistic

Vend�e Globe : DAY 20
26th November 2004
Leader : Bonduelle (Le Cam FRA)
HUGO BOSS Ranking : 6th
Distance to leader : 536.0 nm
03:30 GMT Position of HUGO BOSS : 29 50.32' S 27 13.16' W
Wind direction & speed : "you don't want to know"
Heading : 200o
Boat speed : 2.5kts

Yesterday

Alex had a glimmer of hope yesterday when the wind started to fill in from the anticipated direction. For a time, he had up to 20 knots of breeze, and HUGO BOSS was making speeds of up to 14 knots again, but unfortunately it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, leaving Alex in extrememly light conditions overnight. Alex took advantage of one of the wind holes yesterday afternoon to replace the broken top batten in his mainsail. In order to do this, he had to drop the main all the way down, take out the broken batten, and replace it with a new one, which he had cut to size from the spares he carries. That's the easy part ! The difficult bit is then getting the mainsail back up the 26m mast again. Alex counted 420 turns on the winch as he ground it up bit by bit. There is no pedestal grinder on HUGO BOSS, so this is just a winch-handle and hard work task. He completed the whole job in hour though, and had timed the changeover well, as a bit of wind filled in just after his main was back up.

Last night was very calm and quiet, with the wind under 3 knots all night. Alex didn't get much sleep, as he had to concentrate hard on looking for the wind, and keeping the boat moving as much as possible in whatever direction the wind would allow.

This morning

"How much wind do you have this morning, Alex", asked the shore team as usual. "You don't want to know" was his reply - and we didn't really. HUGO BOSS is currently in another light patch, and the instruments were showing just 2.2kts from the east. Although he described the situation as "very, very, very, very, frustrating", he is in good spirits, and is very optimistic and focussed on getting to the new breeze ahead of the boats behind him. It is another couple of degrees colder, and his sailing trousers are back on. The shorts have been stowed again, not to reappear for several weeks now, whilst he continues his descent to the south. The boat is sailing with full main and code zero.

Tactics

The leading pair (Bonduelle and PRB) have now escaped the threat of the high, and are firmly on their way south-east. The next two (VMI and Sill), appear to be beginning to pick up the new breeze, and it will be interesting to see their progress today. Ecover is still in the same conditions as HUGO BOSS, and Alex's more westerly option could yet benefit him. He is still happy with his tactical choice, and knows that if he was following Ecover's route in these conditions, he would be fairing even worse.

B&Q Goes Green

* ELLEN MACARTHUR PLANNING TO DEPART FALMOUTH TOMORROW (SATURDAY 27.11.04) FOR POSSIBLE START ON SUNDAY (28.11.04)...

* WEATHER MODELS ARE SHOWING GOOD START CONDITIONS FOR SUNDAY MORNING...BUT WITH 48 HOURS TO GO TO POTENTIAL START THINGS CAN CHANGE...

* PICKING THE RIGHT WEATHER FOR THE START IS CRITICAL...IT IS THE ONLY TIME ELLEN CAN CHOOSE A WEATHER SYSTEM THE WHOLE WAY AROUND THE WORLD!

* ELLEN IS SETTING OUT TO ATTEMPT TO SET A NEW SOLO, NON-STOP ROUND THE WORLD RECORD ON BOARD HER 75-FOOT TRIMARAN <>...

* IF ELLEN CROSSES THE LINE ON SUNDAY SHE WILL HAVE TO FINISH BY 9.2.05 TO SET A NEW RECORD...

* TIME TO BEAT 72 DAYS, 22 HOURS, 54 MINUTES AND 22 SECONDS SET BY FRENCHMAN FRANCIS JOYON...

Spring Duel

Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) and Vincent Riou (PRB) finally hit on the south-westerly airflow in the middle of the night, after slinking along the shortest route under the axis of the ridge of high pressure. At the 15h00 GMT ranking it is evident that the duo could not be on a better course, the leader 12.3 knots of boat speed in the past 4 hours, with a VMG (speed towards the goal) of 12 knots. The airflow is set to strengthen still further as they progress down towards South Africa and the path ahead has been swept clear leaving the leaders to greedily swallow up the miles (60 miles/4hrs) while the chasing pack continue to wallow in the wind holes strewn across the track. Today must surely be a crushing blow to those watching the fearsome duo take to their heels, a sensation heightened by the fact that they themselves remain in the clutches of the anticyclonic magma, but with 18891.5 miles to the finish on this the 18th day of racing, the road ahead is a long one...

"Jean Le Cam is going well, tired but happy� said the pilot of the lead boat during today�s radio chat. �I�m used to having my little neighbour beside me (Vincent Riou) and it�s a great stimulation to be sailing in contact. It made interesting sailing last night, suddenly you track down a little puff of wind, other times it feels like you�ve got nothing at all, and then you take off. I did expect to do better out west but Vincent the terrible seems to have come off very nicely too a little further east."

Vincent Riou is indeed keeping on the pressure just 13.9 miles behind him making 11.4 knots of instantaneous boat speed, much to the dismay of Roland Jourdain (Sill et V�olia), a whopping 214 miles from the duo but nonetheless in third. "I�ve been had! said Jourdain earlier. �It�s been pure hell since the end of yesterday but I�m making headway centimetre by centimetre. There was a point yesterday when I could feel the wind shift but couldn�t catch it. We�re well and truly stuck in this �bazaar�. I thought I�d done most of the work yesterday but no... I�ve also had some trouble with my rudder head where the link between that and the autopilot became unstuck. There have been some good things though; I saw a big turtle and the sunset was stunning in the big calm.

Jourdain thinks that 4th placed Jojo (S�bastien Josse) will get ahead of him soon. �I can hear the train whistling� he said today of his hopes to hold onto the leaders. �Frustrating as the conditions are there was a superb sunset last night and the reflection of the sails in the calm waters was something else. I haven�t seen so many constellations in a long time. I�m Mediterranean so I don�t mind these conditions...it�s a game! It was interesting the feel you get near the centre of a high pressure zone � You don�t know whether to go to the right or left and you fear getting stuck in the middle on your own.�

Behind him, Mike Golding on Ecover is suffering too though forecasts indicate that this chasing pack will soon be able to extract themselves from the ridge of high pressure between now and this evening. For now, they are trying to put in as much southerly as possible to make 30� of latitude. Incredibly it would seem that the leaders may get a staggering 300 mile lead.

Behind this group, Alex Thomson is seemly racing his own race on what many deem a �wild west option�. He bravely took an enormous, but nonetheless well calculated risk 48 hours ago and has the gut feeling today that he�s going to lose a bit of ground. �I�ve got absolutely no wind and the sea is like syrup. I�m not very satisfied with my position but it was always a catch 22 situation. The weather file does say that I should have 10/12 knots of south-westerly but I need to make around 300 miles south to be in a more fruitful situation. For now I�m not steering much, just continuing my job list: 45 minutes changing the battens I broke 2 weeks ago, another 8 hours� work downloading a 47 Meg file of video footage, repairs to the daggerboard and the pilots...� Clearly he has got his work cut out but remains in good spirits in the cooler airs but it may well be that Hugo Boss while holding onto his current sixth place he may later have a 100 mile deficit on the trio.

The picture behind him is looking decidedly gloomy for those set to head straight into the Saint Helena high, including Australian Nick Moloney in 555.2, miles from the leader. A similar �dodgy� scenario for Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto) who had a close call last night when he discovered a loose pin on one of his mainsail track cars and had to spend 3 hours fixing it.

A huge barrier is being created by this air mass without a gradient, barring the whole of the southern Atlantic. To pass it, one sole solution looks possible: gaining southerly and westerly, with an exit at around 30�S and 28�W. This doesn�t look too far ahead but it is far off their theoretical course (60�) and in light winds...Between now and tomorrow evening this group is unlikely to have tracked down the anticipated west south-westerly. During this time, the two leaders may well be skipping along at over 10 knots. This Sunday, after 3 weeks of racing, this group is highly likely to have a 1000-mile deficit on the leader. There will be three divisions in this Vend�e Globe: the first comprising the top 6 in the current ranking, the second which will extend back to the 14th placed racer, Ocean Planet, and the third, with last 5 in the ranking�

Quotes from the Boats:
Nick Moloney (Skandia): �I�m making 14 knots south bound and there could be more trouble ahead. The high pressure system is establishing itself across our path and it looks very strong and very large, we are going to be forced into it, so it�s not looking good. However blue skies and a gentle breeze make this a beautiful part of the world and I am happy to have sailed this far alone and be out here actually racing in the Vend�e Globe.�

Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto): "I feel like I'm in the most precarious position as I could lose all the gains I've made crossing this second high ridge...it's a gamble still but 5 days ago I was 14th, now I'm 8th, if I drop down to 14th again then I haven't lost�, says Humphreys rather optimistically. �I'd rather have tried and be in this situation than just fall into a procession behind the leaders - maybe my Code 0 headsail will save me."

Headboard Car Fix

Elapsed Time: 18 days, 1 hours, 05 mins
Fleet Leader: Bonduelle (J. Le Cam FRA)
HELLOMOTO: 8th out of 20, on Tropic of Capricorn latitude SE of Trinidad

HELLOMOTO back up to 8th from 14th after 5 days but position is precarious as Conrad expects to get hit the worst heading into the second high pressure ridge for the next 48hrs

Damage limitation: the upside is that the boat is now fully checked and ready for the Southern Ocean after an eventful rig climb in which Conrad noticed a sheared headboard pin in the top car attaching the mainsail to the mast � even the smallest things can escalate into big problems if not fixed!

Weather brief: The leading two boats are away with the WSW winds, the next 4 boats will soon join them after a spell in light airs, leaving the 2nd group, including HELLOMOTO, to struggle for another 48hrs as the high pressure system is not moving easterly as hoped

Watch Conrad as King Neptune, sailing through the Doldrums, even taking a shower�! NEW Video Library is now on www.conradhumphreys.com (click on homepage image). View Quicktime internet clips taken from Conrad�s onboard footage sent back via satellite during the race � a big thanks to Extreme Tec for the brilliant camera system installed on board.

Conrad Humphreys interview from onboard HELLOMOTO this morning courtesy of Geolink/Iridium:

�I�ve got a steady 15 knots right now and really don�t want to look at the positions until we�re through this high. I�ve got to decide very soon whether to sail on course but make 11 knots boatspeed, or bear away South and pick up 15 knots. I managed to sail away from Pro-Form more because I used the Code 0 headsail a lot overnight. Let�s hope it continues to bring me a little bit of luck in the next 48 hours!

�I did the rig check at 1830 last night and everything is cool, I took some photographs and then realised in one of the pictures that the headboard pin � there are two pins that hold the mainsail headboard on the car � one of the pins had sheared. I got back down, finished off the stuff on the rig, and I knew I�d have to drop the mainsail to replace the pin, which I did, but then I couldn�t get the old pin out it was so badly bent, I couldn�t align the headboard to get the new pin back in. I spent 2-3 hours with the mainsail down, just cursing as it was nice and breezy, blowing 15kts! Even worse, I got the mainsail back up once the pin bent and came out, but then the wind died!

�From about midnight until now the conditions have been worse than the Doldrums with squalls of 20 knots and black clouds. Every time I head down for a kip the wind shifted, so I�m literally grabbing breakfast now before a quick 20 min kip as the wind seems to be stable. It was a bit of a tough night really but I must be getting better and stronger as I�m feeling okay now, the actual rig climb was fantastic, I couldn�t have picked a better moment as it was blowing 10kts, there was a flat sea and I got up very quickly without using too much energy and I didn�t get thrown around at all. You always wish there were two other people helping just to get the job done when you�re getting pieces fixed.

�Apart from feeling tired, though, as last night I�ve not had a huge amount of sleep, because in last week I have had so much rest and sleep, I can cope with this quite well. Over the last 2 days I�ve checked everything on the boat and discovered little jobs which could have escalated into big problems later on. If you�re tired or hungry, you don�t do these checks and fail to notice vital signs of wear and tear. For instance, if I�d not noticed the headboard pin, this could have come out in the Southern Ocean on a wild night and ripped half the batten cars off, I�ve only got 3 spare so it potentially could have cost me the race. Given the rather ominous forecast for the next few days the good news of these last few days is that I know the boat is fully prepared and everything�s been checked for the Southern Ocean. My main objective is to get the boat round the course, and in this respect we�re doing very well.

�On the flip side, I feel in the most precarious position right now as I could potentially lose all the gains I�ve made in the last week as we cross this second high pressure ridge. I think it�s going to hit me the hardest, I�m consoling myself thinking of Mike (Ecover), Jo-Jo (VMI) and Bilou (Sill) just sitting still right now. It�s a gamble, but thinking about it, I was 14th five days ago, now I�m 8th, so if I drop back to 14th by the time I get through then at least I can say I�ve not lost out, and it�s better to have tried than to have fallen into a processional line and just followed the leaders.�

Weather Brief

Leading duo Bonduelle and PRB are now in the WSW breeze under the high pressure ridge and back up to speed. Watching them sail away are Sill, VMI and Ecover, who are all literally �sitting� on the water some 200 miles further back, stuck right in the ridge with no option but to struggle through � these boats should see the light at the end of the tunnel tonight perhaps. However the high pressure system is not moving easterly as expected, and so the boats to the east of the race course � inc our skipper � could potentially lose out the worst as the second group of boats from Virbac to Ocean Planet cross the ridge of light airs. Conrad confirmed that the better position to be in would be around 28W, four whole degrees and over 200m to the west � about where Hugo Boss is � from where HELLOMOTO is right now. The exit sign is situated around 30 degrees south so that�s definitely another 2/3 days of agonising light airs sailing until they reach the westerly flowing depressions of the Southern Ocean�

B&Q status from Red to Amber

IN BRIEF

* STANDBY MODE CHANGES FROM 'RED' TO 'AMBER' FOR ELLEN MACARTHUR AND <>...

* POSSIBLE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY FOR DEPARTURE THIS SUNDAY OR THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK

* 60% CHANCE OF DEPARTURE WITHIN NEXT 5 DAYS FOR MACARTHUR'S ATTEMPT ON THE SOLO, NON-STOP ROUND THE WORLD RECORD...

For latest information, please go to http://www.teamellen.com

IN DETAIL:

The standby mode for <> has changed from Red to Amber signifying a possible departure from Falmouth within 72 hours. There is a possibility of a weather window for Ellen to depart Falmouth either this Sunday (28.11.04) or in the middle of next week.

<> will depart Falmouth to sail to the start line between Ushant (north coast of France) and the Lizard (south-west coast of England). <> will cross the start line at the French end (shortest distance to sail once across) within 24 hours of departing Falmouth.

The ideal weather for Ellen to start her solo, round the world record attempt is for the wind from behind or on the side ie from the north or north-west. Additionally it will take a strong area of High Pressure located over the Azores to create strong Trade Wind conditions south of the Canary Islands to propel the 75-foot trimaran south down towards the Equator.

WEATHER FORECAST BY COMMANDERS' WEATHER:
There will be a nice area of high pressure developing NW and N of the Azores on Saturday and Sunday for good start conditions. It would be perfect if the high is stationary, but it will move slowly SE, so several chances to get through the Canaries before the high arrives late Friday (3.12.04) and Saturday (4.12.04).

Next we need a NW, N, or NE wind in the start area. A cold front will move through the start area on Sunday with strengthening N winds during the afternoon and evening, as a low develops over NW France.

Will have to race a ridge of high pressure approaching the Bay of Biscay, but we may be able to win the race.

The last situation with a Sunday afternoon/evening departure is a low pressure area passing near or N of Madeira Monday/Tuesday - this low has to keep moving to the E and will pass down the west side of the low.

Looks like good trade winds south of 20N/east of 30W for the end of next week.

Today is a tough day

RACE UPDATE:

KEY DATA AT 0930GMT: Skandia 11th in rankings, 12th in north/south terms big loss overnight to HELLOMOTO, but then reclaimed this morning to be 10 miles to south of Conrad. ARCELOR 68 miles south, and UUDS gained at 86 miles from Nick. At the front, BONDUELLE and PRB look to have shaken off the calms, but SILL, VMI and ECOVER still gripped by St.Helena. Still uncertain as to BOSS�s fate...

QUOTE OF THE DAY FROM NICK [0430gmt]: �I�m spending 100% of my day motivating myself, had some good days, had some tough days. Today is a tough day�

�I�VE HAD A SHOCKER�: Nick�s words in the early hours of this morning after the 0400gmt positions were released to the boats. 146 � 087 � 164 � 152 � 110 � 064 �185...these are the hourly wind direction reports OC Mission Control receives automatically from the boat...ie ALL OVER THE PLACE...Nick reported sailing south west one moment, south east the next, wind hole the next...frustrating times as he�s watched his 20 mile gauge on Conrad disappear...a good cloud carried Nick along again after sunrise to put a few miles back on, to now be 10 miles to his south.

WHAT NEXT? DOMINIC VITTET�S EXPERT ANALYSIS: If you want an in depth analysis of the weather situation facing Group B (VIRBAC in 7th back to OCEAN PLANET in 14th), check out the excellent piece from French Figaro sailor �Mino�. The fleet is clearly divided in to three packs now, the leading group who will get through shortly to the winds of the Southern Ocean, pack B who are about to have the door slammed in their face by St.Helena, and pack C who will sail right past the obstacle when they catch up at the weekend...

BONDUELLE AND PRB FIGHT IT OUT: Le Cam and Riou temporarily swapped places yesterday with PRB taking a 1.7 mile lead, but it wasn�t for long, and was a function of who was on the southerly making tack, or the easterly making tack as they slip along slowly but surely upwind, very close to the �exit� from the anticyclone. SILL didn�t have too much luck overnight, spending most of it at LESS THAN ONE KNOT...Bilou has a full head of hair to pull out, but it might not take long in those conditions...BOSS�s westerly option still might pay or at least not be a disaster, keep watching closely!

NICK SCALES THE MAST SUCCESSFULLY [JARGON BUSTER BELOW]: All well up the rig for now, after Nick spends an hour hauling his way up the mast...a bit bruised and with fingers that refused to function after he got down he reported in to OC Mission Control to say that all was well � but that he might do the next check using the binoculars (actually very effective!). �I feel good that I went up and checked...but it wasn�t easy, even in these conditions I was being thrown around all over the place, very hard to hang on...�

NICK NEEDS SUPPORT, EMAIL HIM! �Its been so cool all the messages, I can�t believe people are following me! Keep �em coming!�. Each day Nick has been getting hundreds of messages, they are all read at Nick�s race control, and a large selection is sent through every day by satellite to the boat, as well as the number received...they make a big difference to Nick, so keep them coming! Click on the EMAIL NICK button at :
http://www.nickmoloney.com

AUDIO CONFERENCE WITH NICK:

0430: <>

0930: <

I�m spending 100% of my day motivating myself, had some good days, had some tough days. Today is a tough day. Rang home for my brother in law�s birthday...I am missing land today.>>

JARGON BUSTER: SO HOW DO YOU CLIMB THE MAST ALONE? Most people might have seen people going up masts in harbour...being hauled up by their crewmates below on a rope halyard...on your own of course its a bit different � even more so while racing with the boat moving around, a small movement of the boat translates to a huge pendulum swing at 27 metres up! Nick uses climbing equipment to �ascend� a fixed rope (one of the other halyards), sliding himself up and then down, inch by inch. At the same time trying to stay close to the mast, as the motion tends to throw you away from the carbon spar, and then slam you back in to it. Of course not only have you got to hang on to the rope and the mast, you�ve also got to do the work you set out to do! Right now its not snowing at the same time either...that is to come! Arrival safely back on deck usually comes with complete exhaustion...mind and body...with the whole exercise rarely taking less than an hour.

Day 19 time to don the jacket again

Vend�e Globe : DAY 19

25th November 2004
Leader : Bonduelle (Le Cam FRA)
HUGO BOSS Ranking : 6th
Distance to leader : 414.3nm
03:30 GMT Position of HUGO BOSS : 28 01.52' S 28 46.28' W
Wind direction & speed : SW � variable from 3kt to 15kt
Heading : 170o
Boat speed : 3.5kts

Yesterday

Alex took advantage of yesterday�s calm conditions to go up the mast and work on the fractional halyard that has needed some attention since jamming in week 1. Whilst up there, he not only did a thorough rig check, but also took some photos, which he sent through this morning. You can find these new pictures shortly on the AT Racing Website in the News section, or on www.hugoboss-sailing.com � go through to media centre, click on webcam, and then choose today�s date on the calendar. Alex actually had to go up twice to complete the job, and it was a tough climb as he took lots of gear up with him. On his second trip up, he noticed that the pin in the shackle holding some of the straps of the chair together had started to work loose � a scary moment ! Alex said that he suddenly realised that his life was in the hands of the integrity of this piece of kit. He then started worrying about the chair, the halyard, whether he�d bang his head whilst up there, whether the mast would fall down and whether the keel would fall off ! He was a bit battered and bruised, and relieved to be back on deck at the end of a long day. Alex is not intending to go up the mast again !

Last night was very calm and quiet, with the wind dropping below 2 knots at times. Alex spent a lot of time studying the forecast weather patterns for the next 48 hours. He also started to work on a solution to be able to send back video files, which he hasn�t been able to do yet. He has started to download a large file from the internet to enable him to get video footage back to us �� he estimates it will take 13 hours to download via his satellite comms !

This morning

Although the wind is beginning to veer slowly, and is now mainly in the SW, it is still variable, and needs to establish itself more. Alex is aware of Virbac being close behind him, but knows that she has yet to encounter some of the fickle winds that he is currently in as she starts to get further south. It is slowly getting colder, and Alex has donned a jacket again today for the first time since approaching the Equator.

Tactics

Alex�s opinion on his westerly option is that it hasn�t paid off ..�... yet. He feels sure that if he�d have just followed the other pack of five upwind in light airs, he would have lost out more. He is concerned about the approaching high � if it creeps up and crosses his path he could well get stuck. If his plan works however, he will pick up westerly winds and escape before it arrives, and start to make in-roads into the leading pack.

Hot Angles Cool sailing for Conrad

Sailing Hot Angles and Keeping Cool

Elapsed Time: 16 days, 23 hours, 40 mins
Fleet Leader: Bonduelle (J. Le Cam FRA)
HELLOMOTO: 10th out of 20

HELLOMOTO is hovering around the Top Ten still, currently closest to the direct route and therefore higher in the rankings than UUDS and Skandia, who are in fact further south but further to the west.

HELLOMOTO scored the best 24hr run out of the Top Ten boats since 1000GMT yesterday and Conrad has come back 40 odd miles on leaders as the winds die up ahead.

Today�s agenda includes the last full rig check so that HELLOMOTO is fully repaired & prepared entering the Southern Ocean.

Weather brief: no option for all the fleet but to point due south, maybe there is a gain to be made for HELLOMOTO in cutting a little off the corner..? Conrad in decision mode�

NEW Video Library on go to Media section or click through from Latest News. View Quicktime internet clips taken from Conrad�s onboard footage sent back via satellite during the race � a big thanks to Extreme Tec for the brilliant camera system installed on board.

Conrad Humphreys interview from onboard HELLOMOTO this morning courtesy of Geolink/Iridium:

�The breeze is between 100 and 140 degrees (ESE � SE), it�s quite shifty so I spent much of the night on wind or just off. It�s been hard to sleep, you�re just trying to get south, we need to get south quickly. There are clear skies overhead, I�m expecting the wind to head and drop over the next 12 hours, and the fleet will slow up and start to bunch up a bit more. The high pressure ridge that�s coming across fleet is moving very slowly, the models this morning show it to be even quite stalled. It�s a very hard call to decide whether to sail course or sail due south, ultimately we do need to be south, but there still maybe a gain to be made cutting a little off the corner. It�s difficult to be clear, to be honest, as I don�t know what�s best.

�The difference between sailing angles with Skandia and HELLOMOTO is down to sails, and there�s no more to it than that. Nick�s sailing with his reacher, I�ve got the genoa up, and I could come off another 20 degrees and put the gennaker up, but it�s just as quick to sail slightly hotter with this sail. There�s really no massive difference in wind between where Nick is and I am on the course. He�ll sail into the ridge before me and we�ll start converging with the boats to the west.

�I am more tired today, it�s hard driving the boat to the maximum when the conditions are so shifty, it�s going to take another 5 days to really get into the South. But nobody around me will get a significant jump out of their position through this high pressure system, we�re all heading into the same light weather, but it�s going to be on the nose, which is great as I have the Code sails to use and the boat will keep going as long as the breeze stays above 5 knots, so there�s nothing to agonise over. Yes, I�ve not sailed the race I wanted to since the Canaries but I just have to sail the best course I can.

�My strategy here is to do a full boat check-up and make all the repairs needed to prepare the boat for the Southern Ocean as it will be very tough to do rig checks once we�re in strong conditions. I want to finish this race with the boat in as near as possible the same condition as when we started. When the breeze goes lighter today I will go up the mast to check the halyard block especially. Also I have had a leak in the daggerboard casing and have been temporarily bailing 6 � 10 buckets of water a day to clear the water but once I�m on the other tack I can repair the casing properly. If I look after the boat, HELLOMOTO should look after me!�

Weather Brief

The entire fleet is resigned to the simple fact that the only direction to go is south, and whether you are west or east on the course it won�t make much difference as the high pressure will generate light SE headwinds for everyone as they reach the northerly section of the system and skirt round it�s eastern side. Eventually they will meet the favourable SW wind shift at the bottom of this system, which signals their entry into the westerly flowing depressions circling the bottom of the world. Conrad�s strategy is to find a balance between sailing the hottest & fastest angle on the direct route, which would be 150 degrees and on a more SE heading, and sailing due south on a heading of 190 degrees in order to reach the SW wind shift more quickly, even if it means slowing down in the short term.

Fleet leaders & HELLOMOTO Ranking* polled at 0930 GMT

Ranking / Boat / Latitude / Longitude / Heading / Speed** / DTF*** / Miles from leader
1. BONDUELLE / 27 08.96' S / 19 44.96' W / 209 / 8.7 / 19090.9
2. PRB / 26 24.56' S / 19 18.24' W / 192 / 8.4 / 19104.5 / 13.7
3. SILL / 26 02.48' S / 20 56.08' W / 124 / 7.6 / 19182.8 / 91.9
10. HELLOMOTO 19 43.24' / S 24 16.24' W / 169 / 12.5 / 19584.4 / 493.6

Thomson hangs to the West

THOMSON STICKS WITH HIS WESTERLY ROUTE

Vend�e Globe : DAY 18
24th November 2004
Leader : Bonduelle (Le Cam FRA)
HUGO BOSS Ranking : 6th
Distance to leader : 397.2nm
03:30 GMT Position of HUGO BOSS : 26 04.16' S 29 15.40' W
Wind direction & speed : SE � variable strength
Heading : 200o
Boat speed : 9.0kts
Location : approximately 1000 miles from Rio de Janeiro

A relaxed Alex called into the office this morning, to update us on his progress. He described very comfortable sailing conditions, finally having escaped the overbearing heat of the equatorial latitudes. Alex is currently sailing with his code zero (biggest upwind sail) and full main in calm seas and light SE winds. He is very happy with his choice of route, and is using the lighter conditions to make final preparations for himself and HUGO BOSS for the coming weeks in the Southern Ocean.

He still has one last trip up the mast to do, which he plans for today, as the conditions are now ideal. Whilst he is up there, he will take the opportunity to do a thorough rig check, and make sure he is happy that everything is in A1 condition. Alex will probably also take advantage of the calm conditions to change the top batten in his main sail which has been a minor job on his list for a while.

Alex hopes to be in westerly winds within the next 24 hours, and then we�ll see if his tactical gamble has paid off. If you want to understand more about this have a look at Harry�s tactical analysis on the website.

Don�t forget to keep those messages of support coming in ! Alex has been extremely impressed by the number of messages he has received, and it really makes his solitude more bearable when he hears from everyone at home.

Riou Takes the Lead

The 1500 GMT rankings are a reflection of the desires of the whole fleet to reap the rewards of a south-westerly wind the other side of a high pressure zone that they are currently trying to negotiate. The big news of the day is that Vincent Riou (PRB) has taken the lead, from Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle), albeit by 1.7 miles, with over 3 knots of boat speed. The leaders are virtually all on a heading of 200�, currently sailing upwind trying to cut through from the south-easterlies north of a high pressure zone. They are close to the eastern end of this anticyclone and the goal in the next 12 hours is to pass to the southern edge and into the south-westerly winds, which will take them towards the next passage mark below South Africa down in the southern ocean. The faster the boats get to the south the bigger the advantage they will gain in this particular ocean. Emphasis lies on making the right moves at the right time, multiplying the sail changes and studying the weather situation in depth. Wind holes, sudden gusts, gains and losses in the east as well as the west, have made the overnight sailing more than a little tricky, Mike Golding (Ecover) admitting to �babysitting the automatic pilot". Sharp minds needed for the next 24 hours then, even if the bodies are tired...

On a very similar course to Jean Le Cam, a spritely-sounding Vincent Riou (PRB) was particularly impressed with his boat�s performance in the close-hauled conditions in today�s radio chat session. And rightly so, since he has benefited from excellent conditions locally to pass Le Cam in the past 4 hours, after the latter has been leading for the past 11 days. �We haven�t had any real upwind before. The sail changes and trimming are a little laborious but it�s not wearing physically. PRB is naturally fast in such a situation. I think we�ll be free of the high pressure in around 24 hours but we�re not going to hit the express way immediately. Instead we�ll have medium winds for the next 24 to 36 hours, so our performance in the day ahead is going to be vital.�

�In principal, I�m sailing in warm, southerly winds, said a cagey leader (in this mornings radio chat session) Jean Le Cam. We�re in the process of passing a ridge of high pressure and it�s not going to be easy to get through it but I feel good after 4 hours of sleep. The key moves at the moment are to carry out manoeuvres at the right moment, spending some time on the helm, lots of time on the weather, and being attentive. With 300 square metres of sail area we can get through this stuff alright. What is the most amazing thing about this current sailing is the phenomenal rise in temperature as we negotiate this high.�

After making up 25.4 miles in the past 11 hours, Roland Jourdain is still holding onto third, although he has had very little sleep in the past 48 hours, afraid the frontrunners would �hotfoot it out of here�. Physically tired he said of the current conditions, �it�s testing and I can�t wait until we�re gliding along again.�

Still managing to tail Jourdain, 59.8 miles in his wake, S�bastien Josse (VMI) is having a blinder of race, holding on grimly to the leaders, while English sailor Mike Golding (Ecover) has a rather tenuous, but nevertheless apparent link with this top group after a difficult night. He has made good progress in the past 4 hours though reducing his deficit to 175.4 miles. "Once we were going we had 16 to 17 knots but we kept hitting the occasional wind hole, the pilot was struggling to take control so I spent the night babysitting the pilot, right now I would rather be further east as it looks better over there�.

Heading what must now be described as the second group, Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) remains the only one to have made a �daring� gybe south south-west to try and track down this new breeze before the others. Though he is clearly suffering the option right now with a deficit of nearly 400 miles, he may well come off better in around 72 hours once he�s negotiated the high and reached the south-westerlies. Just 6 miles behind him now, Jean Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec) has decided to hedge his bets and take an option between Thomson�s extreme westerly and the more easterly option taken by the leaders.

With the two high pressure systems set to join up and consolidate to the southwest of the boats, there is likely to be more breeze to the west eventually which would clearly not be such good news for the likes of Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto) and Marc Thiercelin (Pro-Form) the furthest east. These skippers may well rack up a hefty deficit on the leaders as they are close to the centre of the anticyclone. Conrad's strategy meantime is to sail the best angle he can using his genoa headsail, between the course and 190 degrees. "Not too much agonising to do, we have to get South, it'll be light winds for everyone but at least it's on the nose so I can use the Code sails and keep the boat moving along � I�m still to decide whether there is a gain to be made cutting a bit off the corner..."

In this seemingly more profitable course to the west, Nick Moloney (Skandia) is optimistic. �For now it could be a long way west to get around the high pressure, but it will move progressively east and there is the possibility that we�ll be able to pass on the back end of it as it moves east.�

Completing this second group American Bruce Schwab (Ocean Planet) summed up his race so far: �chasing, chasing, always chasing�. A similar scenario for the last group comprising Raphael Dinelli, Anne Liardet, Beno�t Parnaudeau and Karen Leibovici who are now south of Recife, off Aracaju; Liardet more offshore than Leibovici. Behind them, in 20th position, Austrian Norbert Sedlacek (Brother) was the last to cross over into the southern hemisphere last night.

Quotes from the Boats:

Jean Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec): �I�ve got some repairs to do on deck due to the holes left by pulpit being ripped off deck when gennaker lashing failed. There�s a little crack which I�ve sealed with some Sikaflex. I think it will support my weight on the port side at least. It was a difficult night with a wind that changed direction a lot. It�s the most time I�ve spent on deck and I never slept more than 15 minutes in one go. I even had to reverse at one point to get the boat on right heading.�

Bruce Schwab (Ocean Planet): �The past few days since the doldrums have been ok sailing-wise, but pretty hard from the competitive standpoint. Day after day of medium wind jib close reaching, our worst point of sail relative to the other boats, resulting in an inexorable loss of miles at nearly every report. I've been trying different sail combinations and positions, and have made slight improvements but no where near what is needed to keep up.�

Mike Golding (Ecover): �My guess is that the boats that are furthest south are going to break out there first. But we�ll have to wait and see.� In the meantime he knows he has to fight as hard as possible to make sure that the gap between Ecover and the lead is kept to a minimum. �That gives you a chance of catching again. I�ve already caught up once and fallen back again and I believe I will do it again.�

Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss): �I plan to make one last trip up the mast today as the conditions are now ideal. I�ll make the most of being up there to check the rig and probably change the top batten in my mainsail while it�s calm.�

Linky Sailing News

Racing In search of breeze. NZL Match race

News VOR crew announced. Handicap info

Great Lakes Federal $

College Sailing This weekend the Timmes at CYC team include: Wisco, Fordham and Oklahoma.

To Park or Not

For the first time since the start of this Vend�e Globe, the leading boats have slowed the pace as the head deeper into the south. Over the past 24 hours, Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) has covered just 204 miles at an average of 8.5 knots and even the passage of the doldrums did not provoke much of a reduction in the pace of the frontrunners. This change in speed has increased the pressure, forcing the skippers to spend long hours in the cockpits, sheets in hand, to take hold of what has become a more erratic and capricious wind. It is the right time for speed, as the frontrunners are all too aware that the first to escape the meteorological listlessness, is most likely to hold the advantage. The top four, Le Cam (Bonduelle), Riou (PRB), Jourdain (Sill et V�olia) and Josse (VMI) appear to be keeping a hold on to their advantage. Behind, their pursuers are making the best of the situation but they all know that they too are going to have to cross this barrier of the St. Helena front before joining the motorway south. All that is, except for what some may consider as a daring westerly option adopted by Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) last night. In an attempt to avoid getting parked up on the Saint Helena high pressure zone, the English sailor is going for broke with a solo westerly option which is distancing him from the theoretical route and also from the leader in the rankings. From Thursday, the leaders are likely to hit south-westerly winds generated by a depression giving them a little foretaste of the conditions to come in the Southern Ocean. For the next 24 hours the winds are likely to be weak and variable.

Despite seeing Vincent Riou closing in on him, to as little as 15 miles today, Jean Le Cam was his usual complacent self at this morning�s radio chat session. �It�s a long time since we�ve had such slow speeds. It�s very tranquil. As a result you end up hoisting a sail and then the wind changes and you have to drop it again and put up another; then that�s no good so you have to repeat the process all over again...As for my strategy, I�ve chosen to be here and I don�t know if it�s the right choice. What is sure is that these are options we are going to have to live with for a few days.�

Still on the hunt in second, Vincent Riou (PRB), nick-named Vincent the Terrible by Jean Le Cam, seems more preoccupied with catching his prey. � Jean shook off his marker this morning and it cost him dearly. But he is the one who has been the first to hit this new weather system. He is paving the way and we�re reaping the benefits. In these kinds of circumstances it�s nice to be the hunter but I may well be the hunted in the near future �.

After losing ground in the past 4 hours, 73.7 miles in Riou�s wake, Roland Jourdain (Sill et V�olia) also has his sights on the coming hours and days. � I�m keeping up with the latest news to get an idea of which side the wind is going kick in from. There looks to be some in the east but there is going to come a point when we�re going to have to turn right towards the south �.

Fifth placed Mike Golding on Ecover is just about hanging onto 4th placed S�bastien Josse (VMI), nearly 80 miles ahead. �I�m obviously hoping to get to the gateway south but for now I�m concentrating on minimising on the loss by working very hard. It would be a shame for the race if we had to watch the leaders make their escape.�

Overnight, compatriot Alex Thomson on Hugo Boss has made what is deemed by Jourdain, Riou and Golding to be a defendable move out on his own to the west, in an attempt to by-pass the park-up ahead. �My strategy is simply to get to the south as quickly as possible. I couldn�t see any other way through. To be honest, I�m not sure the way I�m going is much better. If I get lucky I might move up, if not hopefully I won�t lose too much. I really feared that the alternative would have meant sitting on deck in the Saint Helena high with a gin and tonic and a deckchair. It was hard to leave the group but I was in trouble either way you look at it.�

Heading the �second� group between 7th and 15th position, Jean Pierre Dick has suffered further breakage aboard Virbac Paprec. A lashing holding the big gennaker down broke onboard yesterday, and as the sail burst away it took the pulpit (metal structure protecting skipper on the bow) with it. All is well aboard despite the damage.

Steady progress amongst the group lead by Raphael Dinelli (Akena Verandas), just over 1000 miles off the pace while right at the rear of the fleet, Austrian Norbert Sedlacek (Brother) is due to pass the equator this evening after over 16 days at sea. An interesting comparison can be made with the 1989 edition. During that first edition, Titouan Lamazou was the first to make the southern hemisphere after 18 days of sailing� Symbolic of the pace in this the fifth edition of the Vend�e Globe...

Quotes from the Boats :

Nick Moloney (Skandia): �I�m a bit relieved that the guys have slowed down, it�s becoming more and more difficult for all of us. Even the guys in front are not going to bust out and sail away...losing the breeze already, last hour down to 8 to 10 knots...just slipping along at the moment. My transition is 24 hours away, some light air cells that are drifting east/west in front, got to know where those cells with no wind are going to be. 21/22W and 19 S is what I reckon, so I�m aiming to stay at 25 West for now. Going to do a rig inspection today. Working hard on eating, and resting...�

Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto): �Nice sailing conditions if a little light. I�m sailing under full main and genoa heading due south with 12 knots. It�s been a similar picture over the past 24 hours with the wind shifting from 110 to 150 degrees. Nick headed south last night under what is an ever growing moon, we�ve been chatting a few times in the evenings. It�s been a hard race but I�m enjoying myself. The crossover of sails has been interesting, with shifty winds. In the next 24 hours I�m going to have to go up the rig again to check the gennaker because now is the time to put something in the bank.�

Mike Golding (Ecover): �There�s been a drop in the low pressure. Lots in front have benefited and the fleet have extended out. It�s clearly difficult for the boats behind to do anything. I�m obviously hoping to get to the gateway south but for now I�m concentrating on minimising on the loss by working very hard. I had an interrupted night and though I was tempted by the same option as Alex and even gybed south like him for a bit but I decided to stick with this choice in the end. It would be a shame for the race if we had to watch the leaders make their escape. For now I�ve got light conditions with a full main and genoa.�

Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss): �I�m in good form. I�d been looking at the weather situation for 3 /4 days before �spending a lot of time searching for something positive. I�ve had S, SE, NW winds and the only wildlife I�ve seen has been my arch enemy the flying fish. Aboard the boat the winches need a service and I�ve still got a job list to complete before the south. There�s not much time and it�s already getting colder. I�ve probably only listened to about 15 minutes of music since the start and in terms of home I miss my Sunday roast and my friends and the rugby!�

Norbert Sedlacek (Brother): �On board everything is ok. There are 60 miles until I cross the equator. I�m not in the slightest bit worried about being at the back of the fleet. It was clear from the start that I have an old boat and I can�t afford to break anything. I�m learning French for an hour a day. I sometimes miss my family but I�m getting lots of support from Austria. The important thing for them is to participate and to try to finish. It would be great to see more of us doing this kind of race but it�s all down to finding the money and sponsors. I�ll let you know after the Cape Horn if I fancy doing the Vend�e Globe 2008!�

Vendee Globe Report 24 November

Whilst we go about our daily routines 20 lone sailors are racing around the world without a stop.

Each weekday ATWOS will present a report on the 2004-2005 Vendee Globe race. Who will join Lamazou, Desjoyeaux etc. as winners? Who will be a breakout young star like Ellen Macarthur? Which sailors will participate in dramas such as those of Pete Goss & Yves Parlier?

The report will cover the rhythm of the race, whether it's fast or slow, what's the degree of difficulty, is it iceberg territory?

Each day we'll check the standings to see who the leaders are and who else is on the move.

The fleet roundup will cover news of interest from any and all boats both the success's and the inevitable failures.

From the lone sailors will highlight the most interesting communications from the multi national group of sailors.

Rhythm of the Race Reliable..."Austrian sailor Norbert Sedlacek (BROTHER) has crossed in to the southern hemisphere overnight, and completes the 100% success rate of the fleet so far...in the last Vendee three boats retired before getting to the Equator."

Standings 1. Bonduelle 2. PRB trailes by 13.7 miles
3. Sill V�olia trails by 92 miles.

Fleet Round Up Ecover is 204 miles from the lead, Skandia 513 back and Akena 1005 miles back.

From the Lone Sailors Nick Moloney: "Yeah, watched a DVD yesterday, the 6th Element, Clark Jones, big Aussie surfer, motivation for the south, those guys are pretty insane. Bit of a freak and he charges pretty hard.� Mike Golding: "Once we were going we had 16 to 17 knots but we kept hitting the ocassional hole, the pilot was struggling to take control so I spent the night babysitting the pilot." Norbert Sedlacek "I�m learning French for an hour a day."

Satellite image of winds for Vendee Globe Fleet. Blue=5-10 Knots, Green 15-20, Yellow 20-25, Red 25-35

Moloney Watches DVD

RACE UPDATE:

KEY DATA AT 0930GMT: Skandia 11th in rankings, 12th in north/south terms, at 513 miles from leader, having closed down ARCELOR & UUDS to 75 & 71 miles in latitude. Midway between Rio de Janeiro and Cape Town.

QUOTE OF THE DAY FROM NICK: �Yeah, watched a DVD yesterday, the 6th Element, Clark Jones, big Aussie surfer, motivation for the south, those guys are pretty insane. Bit of a freak and he charges pretty hard.�

SKANDIA MAKES STEADY PROGRESS OVERNIGHT: 20 miles now to the south of HELLOMOTO, and just 75/71 miles north of ARCELOR / UUDS, this �second pack� of boats have a different challenge to the leaders who are now heading to the south east as best they can (they are sailing upwind, tacking). This second pack will see the High Pressure systems merge in front of them and create a vast windless area over the next 48 hours...for them the objective has to be to get south of this as quickly as they can.

BONDUELLE MAINTAINS LEAD AS BOSS CONTINUES TO MAKE CLEAR OPTION SOUTH: Le Cam has continued to maintain a small 13 mile lead despite attacks by PRB, and SILL confirmed 3rd place leaving VMI in his wake, followed by ECOVER. In 6th place, HUGO BOSS continues to take a different option by tacking south and west, attempting to getting to the south first for the favourable winds, but will it pay to sail at near right angles to the direction of the racecourse? He is some 400 miles west of Bonduelle. By tomorrow we might know.

GOLDING ANALYSIS ONBOARD ECOVER: �While I�ve lost some miles, I haven�t lost anywhere near as much as I thought I would�, commented Mike Golding this morning, as he accepts that the leading bunch are all now sailing in similar conditions. He is hoping to be under the influence of the low pressure to the south by tomorrow, and the main hope is to jump on to the same weather system as BONDUELLE. It is virtually impossible to catch up a system in front once you are on the �conveyor belt� of the Southern Ocean.

RIG CHECK TODAY: Nick put off his mast climb yesterday as the breeze increased...so its on today�s job list!

* BREAKING NEWS is updated all day on the website at http://www.nickmoloney.com � this window uses �push� technology (ie it updates without you doing a refresh), and is sized so you can leave it open on your desktop...

AUDIO CONFERENCE WITH NICK: courtesy of Geolink/Iridium

<>

CAN YOU CLOSE ON JOEY AND HERVE? <

At the front, looks like they are punching in to the westerly flow...they are going to progress nicely to the east, but not outrageously fast.

Looks very dodgy for us in two days time...predominantly right in our path, maybe we can wiggle through, that�s the option I�m going to aim for.

Slept ok during the night, conscious of continuing to keep moving...spent some time on deck...>>

ANYTHING ELSE BEEN HAPPENING ONBOARD?<>

JARGON BUSTER: ENTERTAINMENT ONBOARD? As Nick mentions today, he does have the ability to watch DVDs via the Sony VIAO laptops that form the nerve centre of SKANDIA�s nav centre. He is also a Sony sound system, a few books and a lot of manuals if he really gets bored! He also has a bunch of DV tapes that his friends and team recorded for him before he left...the reality is though it is very rare in a 3 month round the world race that the conditions allow the skipper more than a 5 minute diversion from tactics, trimming, maintenance (body and boat), sail changes, weather, eating, sleeping...

SKANDIA DATA LOG 0930 GMT: data communicated to on Thrane MiniC via BT Business Broadband
LAT / LONG: 20 03 S / 25 12W � at 22.5 South, they will officially exit the �Tropics�
WIND: 13 knots from 130T
SEA TEMP AND PRESSURE: 26 degrees / 1022 Mb.

POSITIONS 1000 GMT 24th NOVEMBER 2004
BOAT / LAT / LONG / distance to finish
1. BONDUELLE, 27 08.96' S / 19 44.96' W, 19090.9 distance to finish
2. PRB, 26 24.56' S / 19 18.24' W, 19104.5 distance to finish
3. SILL, 26 02.48' S / 20 56.08' W, 19182.8 distance to finish
11. Skandia, 20 03.20' S / 25 11.96' W, 19604.6 distance to finish

Fedor to Set Off

Prominent Russian traveller Fedor Konyukhov on Wednesday sets out on the first-ever solo round-the-globe voyage from the British seaport Falmouth aboard his 25-metre long maxi-yacht �Trading Network Alye Parusa�. This will be his fifth circumnavigation cruise.

At 10:00 GMT (13:00 Moscow time) on Wednesday, the yacht will leave the port. Usually, 12 to 15 men handle such a yacht. According to Konyukhov"s son Oskar, the travellers"s contact with the land will be maintained via two satellite-aided phones that are available aboard the yacht.

While in the Atlantic, Konyukhov is to cruise not far from Canary Islands, cross the equator, sail past the Cape of Good Hope in Africa"s south, brave the "roaring forties" and the "frantic fifties" and proceed on his way towards Australia and New Zealand and farther on towards the coast of South America.

After passing off Cape Horn, Konyukhov is to cross the Atlantic again, this time from the southwest to northeast and arrive at Falmouth in about 100-120 days" time. The overall length of the voyage is 28,000 nautical miles.

ABN Armo crew announced for VOR

ABN AMRO announced today the crew that will race under the leadership of Mike Sanderson in the 2005-06 Volvo Ocean Race. The line-up, selected by skipper Mike Sanderson, and technical director, Roy Heiner, is as follows:

Brad Jackson - Watch Captain (NZL) (New Zealand Endeavour/Merit Cup/Tyco)
Tony Mutter - Helmsman Trimmer (NZL) (Swedish Match/Team SEB)
David Endean - Trimmer Pitman (NZL) (Tyco)
Jan Dekker - Bowman (FR) (Merit Cup/Tyco)
Robert Greenhalgh - Helmsman Trimmer (UK)
Justin Slattery - Bowman (IRE) (News Corp)
Stan Honey - Navigator (USA)

TEAM ABN AMRO skipper Mike Sanderson said: "Next year's Volvo Ocean Race will be the toughest ever test of our technical, physical and emotional strength. The Volvo 70's will be extremely fast and the mix of offshore and inshore racing adds new pressures. I am delighted by the composition of the team - great talent, huge experience and strong personalities. Over the next 11 months we will be building the spirit and understanding required to win a world class team competition."

Jan Berent Heukensfeldt Jansen, Managing Director of TEAM ABN AMRO said: "This is an international crew to represent an international bank. We have huge admiration for these men, for their skill, professionalism and commitment. Our role is to provide them with the infrastructure and support teams that will ensure TEAM ABN AMRO fulfils its potential."

The Volvo Ocean Race is arguably the toughest test of teamwork in world sport. No other groups of elite sportsmen could be expected to maintain performance levels day in day out for nine months. Crews are stretched to the limits of endurance as food and sleep are sacrificed in the name of speed. And each man relies on his team-mates for their health and safety.

Miami OCR Upcoming

The Olympic Sailing Committee (OSC) of US SAILING, national governing body for the sport, has announced that its 16th annual Rolex Miami OCR will return to Biscayne Bay from January 23-28, 2005 and on-line registration is underway. Now a mainstay on the winter competition calendar for any sailor planning an Olympic campaign, the Rolex Miami OCR is an International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Grade 1 event that features competition in the 13 events selected for the Olympic and Paralympic Regattas.

Reflecting changes that were determined at the recent ISAF Annual Conference, the Rolex Miami OCR will replace the Europe dinghy with the Laser Radial in the Women�s Singlehanded discipline. Boardsailing disciplines for both men�s and women�s classes will be included if the newly designated equipment�the Neil Pryde RS-X�is made available for charter from the manufacturer. Other featured classes are the Finn, 470, 49er, Laser, Star, Tornado and Yngling as the equipment selected for the 2008 Olympic Games, along with the 2.4 Metre and Sonar for the 2008 Paralympic Games.

"As Olympic and Paralympic sailors look toward the next Games in China, they can expect world-class talent, experienced race management, and exciting racing at the 2005 Rolex Miami OCR," said Gary Bodie (Hampton, Va.), US Sailing Team Head Coach and Co-Event Director.

Established in 1990, the Rolex Miami OCR annually draws elite sailors, Olympic medallists, and future Olympic hopefuls from around the world as they prepare for the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Regattas. In 2004, 323 boats and 503 sailors, representing 39 countries, competed. The regatta is especially important as a ranking regatta for sailors hoping to qualify for the US Sailing Team or the US Disabled Sailing Team, which annually distinguish the top five sailors in each Olympic and Paralympic class.

Regatta Headquarters for the 2005 Rolex Miami OCR are at the US Sailing Center, with classes hosted by Coral Reef, Key Biscayne and Miami Yacht Clubs; the Coconut Grove Sailing Club; and Shake-A-Leg-Miami.

On-Line Registration

Early registration is recommended and encouraged by discounted fees for entries received by January 17, 2005. Registrations received after January 17, 2005 will be subject to late fees.

The Notice of Race, Online Registration, and regatta information can be found online at www.ussailing.org/Olympics/RolexMiamiOCR.

Finot, No?

Not that long ago Finot was la bombe in Open 60 design. In fact, they designed PRB winner of the last VG, which is currently 2nd in this edition of the Vendee Globe.

Christophe Augin sailed a Finot design (Geodis 1994) to victory in the 1996-97 Vendee Globe and Giovanni Soldini won the 1998-99 Around Alone in Fila a Finot Open 60 designed in 1997.

Recently the design team of Owen Clarke has been a frequent designer of Open 60's. They began their involvement as part of the team that designed Kingfisher and then did Hexagon and most recently Mike Golding's Ecover.

Another popular Open 60 designer has been Marc Lombard. This year both Sill and Bonduelle are sailing the Vendee Globe. Hugo Boss was a previous design that was 3rd in the last Vendee Globe.

Just strange that Finot designs the winning boat for one edition of the Vendee Globe and then has no new designs this time. In this case success did not beget more of the same.

Another record for Joyon

The WSSRC announces the ratification of a new initial World Record.

RECORD: Singlehanded Cadiz to San Salvador. The Discovery Route
Yacht: Idec 90ft Trimaran
Sailed by: Francis Joyon
Dates: 10th to 22nd November 2004
Elapsed Time: 11 days 3 hours 17 minutes 20 seconds
Average speed: 14.53 kts

The outright - fully crewed - record for this route is held by Steve
Fossett, who in February 2003 took 9d 13h 30m 18s in PlayStation.

Quick College Comment

Texas A&M Galveston won the recent collegiate sloop championships. The team of Scott Stanton 07/Brad Winslett 08/Andrew McInnes 06 won 5 of 10 races to edge USC by 15 points. Stanton and McInnes sailed the sloop championships in 2003 and finished 6th.

It was good to see a non east coast/non traditional power win a national regatta. Maybe A&M will now earn a top 20 ranking.

This is the final fall national regatta. Women's single handed was won by ODU, Men's by Georgetown. No team qualified for all 3 events.

Team that have done well in the Fowle Trophy competition include: Harvard (2nd in both single handeds), Yale 3rd in women's single handeds and 3rd in sloops, & Tufts 3rd in men's singles and 4th in sloops.

Virbac leads the second pack

Two weeks into he race and Jean-Pierre Dick is hanging onto his 7th place, leading the pack snapping at the heels of the leaders. Virbac-Paprec�s has her sights set firmly on the horizon and is determined not to lose the slightest inch of ground to the fleet leaders. The weather systems ahead look very much as though the leaders will be able to make a breakaway, dangerously increasing the gap as the fleet approaches the Southern Ocean.

"I�ve picked up on a 20 knot wind and am making good speed at around 16 knots. But last night was hard going in light air. The weather outlook is complex and quite strange. Not that much to shout about in fact � the guys ahead are slipping away ! They are going to be difficult to catch up on, whereas me and the rest of the fleet are all going to wind up stuck in the mud, screwed to the spot by the Saint Helena High." Jean-Pierre Dick remains lucid and makes no secret of what lies ahead in the South Atlantic. The first fortnight has been raced at breakneck speed, and the weather looks very likely to favour the leaders once again and go against the chasers.
Latest rankings on Monday (11 o�clock French time) speak for themselves. Lying in 7th position, Virbac-Paprec watches as the gap between him and the leader increases to not far off 400 miles. And when you look at how fast and hard Virbac-Paprec is sailing� ! Leader Jean Le Cam, sporting the yellow jersey describes the situation with his legendary aplomb : "The greater your lead, the better it is. Things can always close up further down the field !" Logical when you think, about it !

Offensive strategy
Just who is going to have the door slammed in his face ? That is the question on everyone�s mind today as that will determine the hierarchy as the fleet enter the Roaring Forties.

Number one priority for Jean-Pierre is to remain level-headed, and not to lose hope. Over the last few days, he has had quite a few difficulties to overcome (repairs to be made to the gooseneck and a line to free form the boat�s keel) as he strives to hold onto his position as leader of the chasers.

Better still, Jean-Pierre is managing to keep his distance from his closest opponent, the Swiss Dominique Wavre, currently lying a little more than 60 miles astern of Virbac-Paprec.

"I�m working hard on a long term strategy and am focusing on what is happening upfront. All the better if that enables me to keep the others at bay. I much prefer being on the offensive than on the defensive ! Some of the guys in the leading group � by the likes of Alex Thomson and Mike Golding � solid contenders are still a long way off, but are not inaccessible. We are heading towards the Southern Ocean and I�m preparing for that. I�ve been spending the last couple of days getting the boat ready to face up to the first major low pressure system. I�m thinking ahead to avoid being overwhelmed by events. It may well be a fine opportunity to gain some ground. There is still a long way to go. Even if the rankings are sometimes hard to swallow, I have not had my last word � "

Virbac-Paprec�s situation at 15h30 (French time)
Position : 18 13.32' S 29 07.88' W
Distance to finish : 19836,3 (19836,3 Km)
Distance from leader : 408,5 miles
Speed : 13,4 knots
Heading : 165�

Rankings at 16h00 (French Time)
1. Bonduelle - Jean Le Cam
2. PRB - Vincent Rioux
3. Sill et Veolia - Roland Jourdain
7. Virbac-Paprec

Linky Sailing News

Racing Vendee Globe 23 November report. New Zealand Match Racing

News Next for Cayard

Great Lakes Drilling ban extended. Ferry update

College Sailing Yale 3rd at sloops

Vendee Globe Report 23 November

Whilst we go about our daily routines 20 lone sailors are racing around the world without a stop.

Each weekday ATWOS will present a report on the 2004-2005 Vendee Globe race. Who will join Lamazou, Desjoyeaux etc. as winners? Who will be a breakout young star like Ellen Macarthur? Which sailors will participate in dramas such as those of Pete Goss & Yves Parlier?

The report will cover the rhythm of the race, whether it's fast or slow, what's the degree of difficulty, is it iceberg territory?

Each day we'll check the standings to see who the leaders are and who else is on the move.

The fleet roundup will cover news of interest from any and all boats both the success's and the inevitable failures.

From the lone sailors will highlight the most interesting communications from the multi national group of sailors.

Rhythm of The Race "The average speeds are still fairly high across the fleet."

Standings 1. Bonduelle 2. PRB 3. Sill V�olia

Fleet Round Up "Alex Thomson�s option (Hugo Boss) is particularly interesting and characteristically daring. He is attempting a course 90� off the leaders, following a heading of 247�." "Mike Golding is the one that had the fastest speed average of the top six boats over the past four hours."

From the Lone Sailors Dominique Wavre, "In the short term a ridge of high pressure should block the route. Those up front should manage to glide under it and continue their course. Unfortunately I think the frontrunners will stretch out their lead again." Jean Le Cam "As for my strategy, I�ve chosen to be here and I don�t know if it�s the right choice. What is sure is that these are options we are going to have to live with for a few days."

Vendee Globe leader chart 1045 on 23 November.

Alex Thomson is the pink boat to the left, Ecover is the yellow boat, then VMI lighter blue, Sill darker blue, PRB grey and Bonduelle mustard yellow.

Ellen still in Red Mode

IN BRIEF

SINCE ARRIVING IN FALMOUTH (UK) ON MONDAY (15.11.04), ELLEN MACARTHUR PATIENTLY WAITS FOR THE RIGHT WEATHER WINDOW...

STANDBY MODE STILL RED...NO POTENTIAL WEATHER WINDOW ON THE HORIZON FOR <>

For latest information

IN DETAIL:

The 75-foot trimaran <> arrived in Falmouth (UK) on Monday, 15th November berthing at Port Pendennis Marina alongside Cornwall's National Maritime Museum. Public and media alike, only had one question for Ellen: "When are you leaving?" Ellen's response: "It could be 3 days, 3 weeks or longer..."

This is the reality of record attempts and finding the right weather window to start a non-stop, solo round the world record attempt is no easy feat: "We want the wind from behind <> or on her side but not in front..." said Ellen. "So we're looking for a High Pressure area over the Azores that basically means the Trade Winds will be strong further down the track after the start and if the Trade Winds are strong we can get across Equator quickly."

Looking for that 5-7 day weather pattern to get <> across the start line between Ushant (north coast of France) and the Lizard (south-west coast of UK) down to the Equator, can be an arduous task: "I liaise with Commanders' Weather - our weater routers in the States - every day and we are looking up to 10-14 days ahead but the weather predictions are not totally reliable this far ahead. But if there is something looking good out there, we can pick it up at this stage. But in reality the weather forecasts are only relatively accurate 5-6 days ahead not more and even then things can still change."

The majority of the <> shore team have remained in Falmouth to go through final checklists with Ellen and help with the final preparations. But for Ellen and the team it is really a waiting game: "Things are okay at the moment as we have only really just arrived and only been here a week. It is good to be with the team down here as we have been under a lot of pressure over the last year with a lot of moving around from Australia to America, France and now here. So it is nice to be here in one place and great for all of us to be together sharing this standby period. I expect I will get more impatient to get off and will start feeling the stress a bit more soon - half my mind is out there already..."

STANDBY MODES:
RED: No obvious weather window good enough to propel <> into the first stage of the course towards the Equator.
AMBER: 60 to 70% chance of departure in next 72 hours, Ellen with trimaran.
GREEN: Intention to depart within 36 hours.

Great South is Next

Elapsed Time: 15 days, 1 hours, 45 mins
Fleet Leader: Bonduelle (J. Le Cam FRA)
HELLOMOTO: 11th out of 20, off the Brazilian coastline

HELLOMOTO & Skandia still in sight of each other as they sail �the inside track� shaving the west side of the St Helena High � the door is shutting on the wind corridor so the fleet should �park up� and close ranks.

Conrad has now surpassed the number of days he has spent alone at sea � his record was 13 days, 20hrs in 2,800m Transat race. Conrad has covered approx. 3,760m in the same elapsed time.

Conrad in preparation mode for the Southern Ocean, checking off jobs list, getting in sleep and preserving man and material for the harsh, icy conditions of the south

Postcards from the South Atlantic: A new diary and set of �holiday� images from Conrad in the Southern Hemisphere online at www.conradhumphreys.com � including a visit from King Neptune!

Conrad Humphreys interview from onboard HELLOMOTO this morning courtesy of Geolink/Iridium:

�We�re sailing along at 13, 14 knots in 17 knots of wind. I wish we weren�t having to push our headsails so much on the breeze, the genoa sail is getting a lot of use, I�d prefer to be preserving these sails more, but I want to head due South and wind�s forward of the beam. Otherwise, it�s great �holiday sailing� out here, the temperature�s not too hot, I sleep like a baby in these conditions!

�Mr. Moloney and I have been swapping sides; he�s now up to north of us or up to the left of me, having spent all night down on the right hand side. We�ve been in sight of each other now for over 48hrs and for 24hrs Nick had bit more pace than me, this morning I seem to have come back a couple of miles, we�re 2.5m apart. Skandia should be away from us on this point of sail, HELLOMOTO prefers to be off the wind, but Nick has to do a lot more sail changes than me as he has a different sail inventory than me, so a lot more effort involved for him there, that could be why we�re still evenly matched. I don�t think we�re that worried about each other, we�re pushing our boats as fast as we can. We�re more concerned about Jean Le Cam getting through this High pressure ridge and getting into the south. This morning I ran the weather models for Jean Le Cam and Mike Golding, and Maxsea (routing software) has Le Cam going through, but Mike and everyone behind parking up. We�re going to get clobbered as well, but there�s a slight possibility we could close in to 100m or so of Mike.

�Every race you do you adjust quite quickly to the length and then it�s always the last few days before the finish of a race that you�re hanging out waiting for the finish. Because this race is very long, you can�t imagine the finish at this point in time, you pace yourself well and don�t think too much about it. For me, personally, it could be Day 5 or Day 35 right now, I�ve got into the routine and it�ll be like this for next 40 to 50 days. In the main, it�s about getting as much sleep as possible, going through my jobs list � I�ve got to go up the rig to check the lashing on that block as wind dies � other than that we�re in pretty good shape, I�m focused on preparing the boat properly before we get into the southern ocean.�

Note on Routing: Competitors in the Vend�e Globe are prohibited from getting personal weather routing advice from, say, meteorologists, or receiving private or specialised weather files. Before the race started, Conrad �walked the course� using a computer programme called �Maxsea� which overlays weather and positions of the boats on the electronic chart and calculates the routing options. Conrad explains, �You can run so many models but at the end of the day, I�m the one who ultimately decides where to point the boat.�

Weather Brief

The St Helena High is extending out to the west off the Brazilian coast, which will effectively �close the door� on the NE wind corridor between the low and high pressure system for the fleet, except maybe the leader Bonduelle. All the skippers are running their �Maxsea� routing software to see all the possible outcomes depending on the differing weather information they pick up. HELLOMOTO, Skandia and Pro-Form are shaving the corner of the high pressure system in order to sail less miles and get more south quickly, but will have to head west at some point as the wind dies off later on.

Fleet leaders & HELLOMOTO Ranking* polled at 0930 GMT

Ranking / Boat / Latitude / Longitude / Heading / Speed** / DTF*** / Miles from leader
1. BONDUELLE / 22 52.36' S / 25 39.84' W / 139 / 15.6 / 19500.3
2. PRB / 22 07.12' S / 25 47.24' W / 138 / 14.5 / 19537.2 / 36.9
3. SILL / 21 23.16' S / 26 14.68' W / 153 / 16.1 / 19586.4 / 86.2
11. HELLOMOTO 10 44.96' S 24 56.20' W / 178 / 12.5 / 20029.8 / 529.5

Linky Sailing News

Racing Baird wins in Japan. French breakaway

News NZL sailors of the year. Gipsy Moth sold. Ellen's ready

Great Lakes Sleeping Bear grows

College Sailing Texas A&M wins sloops

SAISA/MAISA

Saturday: Light, westerly breeze at 3-8 knots. Completed 8 races in A
Division and 6 races in B Division. The courses sailed were windward-leeward twice around and windward-leeward-windward, with a gate. No protests were filed.

Sunday: No wind. Racing was called off at 1:30.

SAISA/MAISA
College of Charleston
November 20-21
2:02 PM 11-21-04
A division = 6 Races
B division = 6 Races
A B TOT
1. Charleston 23 12 35
2. Washington College 23 13 36
3. U/ Penn 22 28 50
4. Charleston JV 31 21 52
5. Eckerd 26 27 53
6. Georgetown 23 51 74
7. Citadel 35 52 87
8. ODU 50 47 97
9. USF 51 67 118
10. Ocean County 68 60 128
11. CNU 79 52 131
12. Florida 72 78 150
13. UMBC 81 69 150
14. Rollins 86 75 161
15. Salisbury 80 88 168
16. Georgia Tech 87 82 169
17. NC State 81 97 178
A division = 6 Races
TOT
1. U/ Penn 22 Bryce LeFord, 07
Caroline Forier, 07
2. Georgetown 23 JB Turney, 07
Emily Siguler, 07
3. Charleston 23 Russ O'reilly, 07
Hunter Stunzi, 06
4. Washington College 23 Carl Horrocks, 06
Alex Starks, 08
5. Eckerd 26 Justin Van Deinse, 07
Courtney Kniss, 08
6. Charleston JV 31 Jesse Combs, 07
Joel Labuzetta, 07
7. Citadel 35 David O'reilly, 05, Josh Putnam, 05
Sean Eynon, 07
8. ODU 50 Michael Collins, 08
Tyler Obarn, 08
9. USF 51 Bryan Paine, 07
Alex Fehr, 07
10. Ocean County 68 Andrew Groff, 08
Dan Duffy, 06
11. Florida 72 Travis Wright, 07
Krista White, 08
12. CNU 79 Pete Foytik, 06
Paula Davis, 05
13. Salisbury 80 Jamel Keenev, 05
Rebecca Radcliff
14. NC State 81 Ryan Boyle, 07, Allison Jones, 07
Katie Lehning, 05
15. UMBC 81 Jessica Teunis, 06
Wes Ray, 06
16. Rollins 86 Cory duPont, 08
Mary Kate Dorow, 07
17. Georgia Tech 87 Jack Smith, 06
Jamie Klosh, 07
B division = 6 Races
TOT
1. Charleston 12 Brendan Healy, 07
Savannah Morton, 05
2. Washington College 13 Colin Robertson, 05
Nicole Luckett, 08
3. Charleston JV 21 Anne Bowen, 05
Liz McCarthy, 05
4. Eckerd 27 Rob Simmons, 07
Peter Whicker, 08
5. U/ Penn 28 Patrick Curran, 08
Brianna, Morgan, 08
6. ODU 47 Cara DiSanti, 07
Brittany Bowen, 08
7. Georgetown 51 Seamus Kraft, 07
Leigh Fogwell, 08
8. CNU 52 Mark Newman, 05
Sara Hattorf, 08
9. Citadel 52 Stanton Bost, 07
10. Ocean County 60 Cori Erb, 08
Patrice Owzewski, 08
11. USF 67 Grant Lockhart, 08 (1-2, 5-6), Cody Barnes,
08
Katie Beiser (3-4), Katy Campbell, Nicki
Beckett
12. UMBC 69 Will Rhodes, 06
Medora Zimmerman-Crumbaugh, 08
13. Rollins 75 Joe Aquilla, 07
Natalie Powers, 08, Ryan Kearney, 08
14. Florida 78 Jon Finegold,
Erika Dykes, 07
15. Georgia Tech 82 Darin Yawn, 07
Mark Wiles, 08
16. Salisbury 88
Jessica Geesamen, 06
17. NC State 97 Don Lenfestey, 08
Trey Brown, 08

Texas A&M Wins Sloops

ICSA Sloop North American's
PCIYRA - UC Irvine - Balboa YC
November 19-21, 2004

Friday: Light to moderate breezes, W-L courses. 4 races completed in the Pacific Ocean north of the Newport Pier. 1 protest lodged; disallowed.

Saturday: Moderate winds 10-12, W-L courses. 6 races south of the Newport Pier. No protests.

10 races
1. Texas A&M Galveston 20 Scott Stanton 07/
Brad Winslett 08; Andrew McInnes 06
2. Univ/So California 35 Mikee Anderson 06/
Harrison Turner 05; Greg Helias 07
3. Yale University 39 Stuart McNay 05/
Phil Stemler 07; Sarah Himmelfarb 06
4. Tufts University 48 David Siegal 06/
Tommy Leach 06; Zander Kirkland 06
5. South Florida 49 Kevin Reali 06/
Ryan Rey 07; Phil Tanner 07
6. USMMA-Kings Point 55 Austin Howell 05/
Dan Ramsay 05; Todd Kutkiewicz 06
7. US Naval Academy 62 John Keith 06/
Gary Grimes 07; Jameson Adler 06
8. U/Washington 66 Brendan Fahey 06 1,4-10; Brian Irish 05 2-3/
Alex Jones 06; Brian Irish 05 1,4-10;
Brendan Fahey 06 2-3
9. Ohio University 87 Karl Felger 06/
Eric Milliman 06; Mark Paisley 05
10. U/Michigan 89 Chris Granger 07/
Jeff Spearin 05; Tom Martin 05

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1
Texas A&M Galveston 1 4 1 1 2 1 5 2 1 2
Galveston, TX 5 6 7 9 10 15 17 18 20

2
Univ of Southern Cal 3 1 7 3 1 3 1 4 3 9
Los Angeles, CA 4 11 14 15 18 19 23 26 35

3
Yale University 6 3 4 4 3 8 3 1 6 1
Branford, CT 9 13 17 20 28 31 32 38 39

4
Tufts University 5 6 2 5 6 5 2 9 4 4
Medford, MA 11 13 18 24 29 31 40 44 48

5
Univ South Florida 2 7 5 7 8 2 7 3 5 3
St. Petersburg, FL 9 14 21 29 31 38 41 46 49

6
Merchant Marine Acad 4 2 6 2 7 7 6 7 9 5
King Point, NY 6 12 14 21 28 34 41 50 55

7
US Naval Academy 8 8 3 8 4 6 4 6 7 8
Annapolis, MD 16 19 27 31 37 41 47 54 62

8
Univ of Washington 10 5 8 6 9 4 8 8 2 6
Seattle, WA 15 23 29 38 42 50 58 60 66

9
Ohio University 9 9 10 10 10 9 10 5 8 7
Athens, OH 18 28 38 48 57 67 72 80 87

10
Univ. of Michigan 7 10 9 9 5 10 9 10 10 10
Ann Arbor, MI 17 26 35 40 50 59 69 79 89

A Nite Sans Sail Change

KEY DATA AT 0930GMT: Skandia and Hellomoto sail side by side in 12th and 11th place...hoping for the �weather mess� ahead to cause more stress for the leaders than them...Bonduelle retains a slim 15 mile lead over PRB and then VMI. �Less than� 20,000 miles to go for the front runners...

QUOTE OF THE DAY FROM NICK: �Am very conscious that this is the opportunity to rest, got another 6 hours last night, accumulated in last two nights what I had in total up until then! Last night was the first night I didn�t have to change sails.�

BOATS ARE LIKE MAGNETS! All that ocean, and Nick and Conrad are just 200 metres apart...so close in fact that they agreed between them to try and move apart a bit so that they could sleep better without the worry of hitting each other! Not so easy according to Nick this morning....�but each time I woke up we were converging again....� reported a nonetheless well slept Nick...

WEBCAM SHOTS Check out the WEBCAM button at for a view of what sailing in the Trade Winds is like...it doesn�t look too bad! Indeed the last 48 hours have been a time of recovery for Nick...�I�ve accumulated more sleep in the past two nights, than in the entire race until then!�. Although its still only 5 or 6 hours...

ALL EYES TO THE SOUTH as conflicting weather data and information makes the decision making process a very challenging and stressful one for the skippers as they pore over charts, grib files, Maxsea routing [JARGON BUSTER below] scenarios, trying to find the best way across to the other side of the high pressure system. Check out the weather map at http://www.nickmoloney.com and lets hear your own suggestions for how to get past the St.Helena High!!!

AUDIO CONFERENCE WITH NICK: courtesy of Geolink/Iridium
For the full audio click to
�Wind starting to shift a little, a bit more easterly. Got Conrad just 200 metres on the windward bow. We spoke a bit together last night. So that we could sleep, we made some separation...but each time I woke up we were converging again.

We are very matched for speed...even with different sail combinations, me on full main/solent, and him on one reef and genoa.

Welcoming a bit of stress for the front boats, but I can see a door shutting in front of us, such that we could seriously lose out. Bit concerned about what lies ahead, if we fell in line of the others we would sail extra miles. Something we really can�t do now.

Am very conscious that this is the opportunity to rest, got another 6 hours last night, accumulated in last two nights what I had in total up until then! Last night was the first night I didn�t have to change sails.

Very conscious of eating properly, during Doldrums I forced myself to eat a lot, I knew I needed the strength. I didn�t want to eat, and could have sat in the corner and not done anything

JARGON BUSTER: MAXSEA AND ROUTING? Each day the skippers log on to the internet and pick up a variety of sources of weather information �charts, wind analysis, and grib files. Grib files are numerical data files that have current and future predictions of wind and atmospheric pressure data in for a defined area in front of them, out to 10 days in some cases. The skippers feed these files in to Maxsea software, which combines this data with the route plan (Skipper inputs where he wants to get to), and with Polars (theoretical speed of the boat for each 5 degrees of wind angle, and each knot of wind strength)...and bingo, through a process of iteration the programme outputs an advised route. Of course, the output has so many assumptions in it (is boat at more or less than theoretical speed, will the wind go as predicted, do you actually want to get to the point you inputed, or would a different position be better for the next weather system...), and so its an aid not a �solution�...so the skippers� heads keep on churning, trying to make these decisions...filtering the mass of information they have...

SKANDIA DATA LOG 0930 GMT: data communicated to on Thrane MiniC via BT Business Broadband
LAT / LONG: 6 06 S / 25 37W
WIND: steady 14 to 16 knots from the south east
SEA TEMP AND PRESSURE: 23 degrees / 1016 Mb.

POSITIONS 1000 GMT 21TH NOVEMBER 2004

BOAT / LAT / LONG / distance to finish

1. BONDUELLE, 18 09.28' S / 29 34.40' W, 19856.4 distance to finish
2. PRB, 11 17 21.88' S / 29 04.32' W, 19871.9 distance to finish
3. VMI, 16 12.04' S / 28 34.76' W, 19905.4 distance to finish

12. Skandia, 6 06.72' S / 25 37.88' W, 20277.7 distance to finish

Flukey

THOMSON suffers in flukey conditions overnight � but back on track this morning

Vend�e Globe : DAY 16
22nd November 2004
Leader : Bonduelle (Le Cam FRA)
HUGO BOSS Ranking : 6th
Distance to leader : 183.3nm
03:30 GMT Position of HUGO BOSS : 18 58.20' S 28 28.56' W
Wind direction & speed : NE 20 knots
Heading : 156o
Boat speed : 14 knots
Location : 672m off the coast of Brazil

Alex was in good spirits when we spoke to him this morning. He had managed to escape from a wind hole that he had somehow entered yesterday evening, slowing his progress overnight. He is now back on track, in 20knots of wind from the NE, and is sailing along at good speeds with full main and the A2 spinnaker which has been flying since yesterday lunchtime.

Alex explained how his night had passed on HUGO BOSS, �Straight after the 19h00 sched, the wind dropped down to less than 10 knots, and stayed this way for a few hours. It was then variable throughout the night. I would set the sails for a certain level of wind, and then try to get some kip. The wind would then pick up, and I�d be woken up by the boat heeling over, and have to go back up on deck and re-set the sails. Inevitably, as soon as I�d settled down below again, the wind would drop, the boat speed would slow, and I�d have to go back up and trim the sails for speed again.�

Alex�s opinion, and the newsletters from all the other skippers, seem to agree that they are now entering a difficult period tactically. The game will once again be wide open, as they deal with crossing the St. Helena high - the positions as they start to enter a zone of light winds, may well shake up the rankings a little. The group at the front is at a more favourable angle, while those coming up behind are still advancing with the wind on the beam. For the frontrunners, the trade winds have gradually backed from the south-east towards the east and now the north-east, which offers a more favourable sailing wind angle and allows the skippers to achieve some good speeds, but requiring a lot of work out on deck.

Nick Day 16

KEY DATA AT 0930GMT: Skandia and Hellomoto still sailing within a few miles of each other officially in 9th and 10th...but with Arecelor and UUDS 150 miles south of them. BONDUELLE extends lead to 36.9 miles over PRB, and SILL wrestles 3rd place from VMI. BOSS slips to 200 miles astern of Le Cam.

QUOTE OF THE DAY FROM NICK: � To be side by side with that bloke! Yeah its a drag race. Keeping each other honest...pushing harder than we might be doing if we were on our own. But knocking off that lonely pill! �

WILL THEY, WON�T THEY? Will the leaders manage to carry the wind of the low pressure system the�ve been hanging on to, to the other side of the St.Helena High? Or will the two high pressure cells either side squash and eliminate the low, leaving a vast area of calms. Could BONDUELLE, currently sailing in northerly downwind conditions, escape and shut the door behind to the rest of the fleet? Certainly for the second pack following several hundred miles behind there is no obvious way across. For the leaders, the next 24 hours could be highly significant for the race...first to pass and hook on to a Southern Ocean depression will be off...

CHECK, CHECK, CHECK: each skipper has been working through checklists on their boats, as they prepare mentally, physically and technically for the Southern Ocean. More than half the Vendee Globe is raced in the south...the conditions are harsh, cold, and very difficult to work on deck in for much of the time. Now, with temperatures still very pleasant, is the time to check every nut, bolt, cable, fastener...as well as recuperate physically and mentally, ready for the enormous challenge ahead.

MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE: video footage just back from Nick shows him throwing a bottle over the side...one with messages inside, all written by the kids of the primary school of Henin Beaumont, near Lille...Nick visited the kids back in June and they�ve been following Nick every day since...

4000 MILES SAILED, �6500 RAISED (Another � 6500 TBC): HAVE YOU CONTRIBUTED TO THE Sail4Cancer campaign? Through Nick�s own personal challenge on the Vend�e Globe, he is hoping to raise through your efforts �1 for every 1km sailed � 42,000 in total! Currently the funding is leading Nick�s own miles by 2,500...but Nick should speed up in the Southern Ocean, so please help us keep the fundraiser ahead!

AUDIO CONFERENCE WITH NICK: courtesy of Geolink/Iridium

Got Conrad about a mile to leeward to, just lost a mile and a half with a bad sail change. Fast upwind in 18 knots of wind, doing 13 knots...starting to get a bit bumpy...hoping to get up the rig today...just for a check...the Doldrums was really hard on the boat, just want to check everything is ok and have a bit more confidence and be comfortable about the situation.

RIGHT NEXT TO CONRAD? Unbelievable. Close. To be side by side with that bloke! Yeah its a drag race. Keeping each other honest...pushing harder than we might be doing if we were on our own. Knocking off that lonely pill! I saw Patrice after Cape Verde�s and thought that will be the last boat I�ll see this trip...wrong!

WEATHER? Looks better for the front guys....starting to give up on the easterly option...there is a threat at 24 degrees West, where I am, that high grows and we end up with no breeze. Might have to slide off to the west.

Wind is going to drop this afternoon, then we have a day and half transition [across light winds of the high pressure system] if we are lucky, or if we�re not lucky then 3 days.

LEADERS? I think it looks ok for them, they have a nice little funnel...its a long way to go, I�m not going to say this is going to be a race winning move for BONDUELLE! Everyone sends me messages saying its a long way to go...I�ve got to believe I can still win! Think of de Kersauson when he was 5 days ahead of the record [Jules Verne] and got stopped going back up the Atlantic...

JARGON BUSTER: DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SPINNAKER AND A GENNAKER? When the wind is coming from between 100 degrees true (ie 100 degrees back from the bow, direction of travel) and dead behind, the Open 60s deploy sails known as either Spinnakers or Gennakers. The difference has become less obvious with developments in recent years of a number of different designs � but a spinnaker tends to be made from a nylon type material and is very full, used for when the wind is aft of 140 degrees, and a set of different sized and shaped (flatter and smaller area) gennakers for a wind further forward. Gennakers are usually made from stronger materials, and furl around their headstay (the cable that supports the front edge, known as the luff), rather than the spinnakers which are �snuffed� with a sock that pulls down over them. Changing between these sails is a technical and often exhausting operation...with plenty of margin for error, as the skipper balances on the foredeck of his boat as it continues to surf down the waves...

The French Lead the Way

Trouble ahead!

The weather forecast has changed considerably for the next two days. The bolt hole has moved off leaving the solo yachtsmen behind, and they will now certainly run into the barrier of the St. Helena high from Sunday evening
In the lead for 8 days! Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) is still the frontrunner and has increased his lead over those challenging him
Four Frenchmen in the lead. Four Figaro yachtsmen from the same training ground in Port-La For�t
Five competitors still left in the Northern Hemisphere

Not as fast as expected
The St. Helena high is reserving some surprises for the competitors. By moving out to the middle of the South Atlantic, it has pushed back the little South American low and has shut off the little bolt-hole through which the leaders wanted to pass to reach the forties. This change in the weather forecast for Monday means things will be thrown wide open again. �The weather pattern has changed. It�s a good thing for the race. Things are going to get interesting again � admitted a deadpan Jean Le Cam. �It was too beautiful to last. We got here 24 hours too late� added S�bastien Josse. The leaders will be slowing down and are going to have to solve the puzzle of finding the right course, which won�t necessarily be a straight line. It may well help Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec) and Dominique Wavre (Temenos), who see a possibility of catching up with the leaders.

Fearless Jean
For eight days now, Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) has been in the lead position and has remained quite calm. Deliberately pushing ahead and always well positioned, until now he has had a perfect race and has managed to extend his lead when he has felt the need. On Friday, during his radio report, he put things straight about his rivals. �I was rather annoyed, because I slept too long, and they had managed to claw back a little distance. So I told myself that for the next check-in, things would be different. There�s no reason why they shouldn�t be. I�ve got the right conditions to go faster than them� � Psychological warfare is a weapon that Bonduelle�s skipper has mastered. When he doesn�t want to talk about something, he easily turns the conversation to something else, like the videos and thus, once again, shows he is in total control of the situation.

Frenchmen in the lead
At the finish of the English Transat last June, some people started to get worried. With only a few months to go before the Vend�e Globe, there were no Frenchmen up among the first five to finish in Boston. Today, on the thirteenth day of the Vend�e Globe race, it is interesting to see that not only are the four leaders French, but they also come from the same Figaro training ground in Port-La For�t. This is something Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle), the frontrunner, was happy to point out, by posing a riddle during his radio report: �What do the four current leaders have in common?� asked Jean. Answer: Port-La For�t, its training centre and a great bar, which the local sailors know very well� Trained in every aspect of ocean racing, the four leaders learnt particularly, thanks to the Figaro single-handed event, how to manage pressure, in whatever shape or form it comes. The pressure of being in the lead for Jean Le Cam, or how to correct the mistake he made for Roland Jourdain (Sill & Veolia).

Reason wins over Alex Thomson
Having headed off far to the west (to within 150 miles of the Brazilian coast), the British yachtsman, Alex Thomson feared for a while that he would be stopped in his tracks. The east-north-easterly wind started to pick up as expected, and since yesterday, Hugo Boss has been making good progress with the mainsail and gennaker hoisted, and is now 160 miles from the leader, Jean Le Cam. Alex has spent a lot of time repairing the little bits of damage due to his lightning start. Keeping a clear mind, he has drawn some conclusions about himself and his way of sailing: �I�ve already learnt a lot about myself in this race� he explained. �Since the start, I�ve been on the offensive to keep up there with the leaders. Then, the problems started to arrive, and I had to spend a lot of time fixing things. Now I can get back in the race.�

The Famous Five
There are still five competitors, the five tail-enders, sailing in the Northern Hemisphere. Rapha�l Dinelli (Akena V�randas) is leading the way, just in front of three other solo sailors, who are following less than 40 miles behind. A long, long way behind them, the Austrian, Norbert Sedlacek (Brother) is bringing up the rear, more than 1000 miles behind the leader. Rapha�l and his little band should cross the Equator sometime on Monday, while Norbert isn�t expected in the other hemisphere before Wednesday, in other words about a week after Jean Le Cam!

Quotes :
Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle): �The weather situation is changing. That�s a good thing for the race. It�s going to make things a little more interesting (laughter). OK, so we�re not going to make it through with this option, but behind, it�s going to cause them real problems.�

Vincent Riou (PRB): �Jean took off this morning. He is extending his lead a little, but it�s nothing to worry about. We�re heading down towards a very difficult weather pattern. Things are going to open up. There will be a few opportunities for us. Of course, my mates will also be trying to take advantage of the situation. I�m going to have to keep an eye out. The next 36 hours are clear and speed is on the agenda. After, I�ll be a little less experienced than the others dealing with the various weather patterns we�ll be coming across. Having said that, we all know each other well from all the Figaro events we�ve been in together. I don�t trust anyone, but I do know what the Figaro lot gets up to.

S�bastien Josse (VMI): �It was too beautiful to last. The high is moving across in our tracks. We�re getting here 24 hours too late. One more quiet day, before it�s time to deal with things. I�ve been spending five or six hours in front of the charts each day to see how the weather patterns are evolving. It certainly requires a lot of thought. But I don�t feel stressed about it, as we�ll all be in the same boat. For the time being, I�m trying to keep up with Bilou and Jean (Le Cam).

Roland Jourdain: (Sill & Veolia): �Everyone is putting on a spurt. The sea is calming down and looking good. We�re having some fabulous weather for sailing. Last night was exceptional, with a little moonlight and sliding along in 20-knot winds, just like on the cinema screen. The boat slides along all by itself with the automatic pilot. I do my little tour of the deck to make one or two adjustments and to check on the wear. The rounded deck on Sill & Veolia means I don�t have to do any housework. The flying fish fall back overboard by themselves. I�ve been busy setting up my route programmes to see if we�re going to get stuck ahead. It would be a pity if Jean was the only one to make it through� �

Dominique Wavre (Temenos): �It�s hot, and sailing with the wind on the beam is very easy, with a wind around 20 knots. I�m enjoying sailing, but I�m not so keen on my present position, a bit isolated from the leaders and cut off from the other challengers too. My boat isn�t as strong in some points as the more recent boats, but for the moment, leaning over into the sunshine, she is making exceptional headway. I think the leaders will end up running into the St. Helena high. I�m going to have to stay within reach.�

Karen Leibovici (Benefic): � For a long time I was sailing alongside Anne (Liardet). But I lost her during the night. It�s nice to be so close to one another, especially seeing she is the other woman in the race. Conditions are quiet. The Doldrums aren�t being too mischievous with us. The wind keeps changing direction, but we haven�t had any violent thunderstorms. Just a little rain. My boat is perfect and I�m taking advantage of this to look around and draw some wonderful seascapes� �

Mike Golding (Ecover): �I�ve got an 18-knot north-easterly. It�s hot, and there are few clouds in the sky. I�m sailing along nicely. Our little group is sticking together, and I hope it will be like this until we get in the south. There aren�t any important choices to make for the moment. We have to maintain a steady speed, pay attention to the sails, and keep an eye on the boat itself. I�m now getting my weather info again. For several days, I had a problem with the satellite link, because of my position on the Equator. Everything has returned to normal, and I didn�t suffer from the loss, as there weren�t any other routes I could have taken.�

Bruce Schwab (Ocean Planet): �I celebrated crossing the Equator this morning by opening one of my bottles of Austrian wine, which Norbert (Sedlacek) gave me. I�m really proud to be with a group of great guys like Nick Moloney, Conrad Humphreys and especially Marc Thiercelin, whom I admire greatly. I hope to stay as long as possible with this group. I�ve still got a lot of work to do on board, especially on my boom. I need to do it now, before reaching the South.�

Vendee Globe Report 22 November

Whilst we go about our daily routines 20 lone sailors are racing around the world without a stop.

Each weekday ATWOS will present a report on the 2004-2005 Vendee Globe race. Who will join Lamazou, Desjoyeaux etc. as winners? Who will be a breakout young star like Ellen Macarthur? Which sailors will participate in dramas such as those of Pete Goss & Yves Parlier?

The report will cover the rhythm of the race, whether it's fast or slow, what's the degree of difficulty, is it iceberg territory?

Each day we'll check the standings to see who the leaders are and who else is on the move.

The fleet roundup will cover news of interest from any and all boats both the success's and the inevitable failures.

From the lone sailors will highlight the most interesting communications from the multi national group of sailors.

Rhythm of the Race "the two English sailors are doing everything they can to try and hang onto the top four Frenchies who, with each ranking, seem to be slipping from their clutches."

Standings 1. Bonduelle 2. PRB 3. Sill V�olia

Fleet Round Up Places 1-4 are held by French sailors with Brits 5th and 6th. However, 5th place is 170+ miles back of 1st. Meanwhile, Norbert Sedlacek, is 290 miles from the equator the only boat left in the Northern Hemisphere.

From the Lone Sailors Le Cam, "�The boat is a great joy, a great success� �I�m less happy about my own performance� he �When you look back on things, you realise how stupid you have been� �We all make mistakes. It�s the one, who makes the least, who wins.� Bruce Schwab: "I celebrated crossing the Equator this morning by opening one of my bottles of Austrian wine, which Norbert (Sedlacek) gave me." "My boat is perfect and I�m taking advantage of this to look around and draw some wonderful seascapes�Karen Leibovici" J.P. dives

High Rhythm heading South

The long awaited header has kicked in and Bonduelle, PRB, VMI and Sill et V�olia, Ecover and Hugo Boss are now feeling the effects on their sails as the sheets are increasingly eased for reaching. The wind has been progressively turning to the east then the north-east. Jean Le Cam has clearly rounded up and is now dropping south at a rate of knots down a wind tunnel created by a depression centred off Argentina and the expansion of the Saint Helena high. At the end of this lies a bolt hole to a direct express ride down to the southern ocean, but the leaders have gone into turbo drive to get there before it heads across to the south-east. Bonduelle has been making 15 knots in the past 4 hours and the race is on behind him to �cut the corner� so as to gain on the leader. The second group of nine has been thrown apart after a dog of a 24 hours in horrendous doldrums� squalls, those in the east including Conrad Humphreys and Nick Moloney seemingly taking the brunt with a massive deficit in real terms. Jean Pierre Dick and Dominic Wavre seem to be the only survivors with Jo� Seeten and Herv� Laurent managing to limit the damage, Seeten having just crossed the equator. The backrunners meantime are now taking their turn at the doldrums. The temperatures onboard are beginning to cool off pleasantly for the leaders, and getting out of the heat cannot come soon enough.

With a 24.8 mile lead at 1500 GMT Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) is clearly on a roll, and though his words smart of propaganda, both his performance and his video footage would beg to differ. � I had a marvellous sleep: 8 hours! But I needed to a bit as the ranking didn�t come up to my expectations. We have the perfect conditions to go rapidly south. It really is a pleasant part of the race. The weather is good, we�ve opened our sails and above all else we�ve got pace. What joy it is to be on the water. I think I like my boat a lot. �

A similar picture for second placed Vincent Riou (PRB): � We�ve opened our sails and the boat is accelerating. The wind is continuing to head and the pleasure in sailing is back after 36 hours of upwind. I�m beginning to prepare myself for the big south. I�m going into the unknown, unstressed. �

S�bastien Josse (VMI) in third also admits that his � position upwind of the fleet doesn�t displease. You have to hang a left one of these days and knowing that my boat is less at ease upwind than boats from the latest generation, I opted to stay inside. We�ve all got our eye on a little bolt hole between a depression in the south and the western edge of the Saint Helena high. It�s very risky and if we miss it, I wouldn�t be too badly placed in the east. In the meantime I�m hanging on in there. �

Roland Jourdain (Sill et V�olia) has dropped to 67.9 miles from the top trio after having a fishing net caught under his keel for a couple of days. Mike Golding on Ecover is right back with the leaders now in 5th on a cracking pace 22.5 miles in his wake, despite not having access to large grib files for the weather for a couple of days. Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) is just about hanging onto this escape posse after suffering numerous trying technical problems, and has finally given up his �interesting� westing to head dead south...at last.

The doldrums have thrown apart our second group overnight with Dominic Wavre (Temenos) and Jean Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec) seemingly the only � survivors � even though both have suffered their share of problems since the start. This morning Dick had to perform one of the most stressful exercises of sailing single-handed when he had to dive underneath the boat. In the middle of the night he spotted a worrying drop in speed and quickly established that he would have to examine the keel. At dawn he noticed a blue line enveloping his keel. He then made various vain attempts to free the net by means of contradictory movements of the boat. Unsuccessful he tied himself to a spinnaker sheet, donned his flippers and snorkel and threw himself into the water. � Going a few metres from your boat is rather stressful. Fortunately the ten metre nylon line came free fairly quickly and I managed to climb back aboard the boat quite easily. � He estimates that the mission cost him around 30 miles overall along with a big dose of stress, but he is now making up for lost time with 15.4 knots of boat speed in the past 30 minutes.

To the east of these survivors the Anglo-Saxon contingent of Nick Moloney (Skandia) and Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto) have really been in the wars in violent overnight squalls. "My arms, upper back, shoulders are in absolute tatters, says Humphreys. I couldn�t grind another winch! I couldn�t go through another night of it again, which is why I feel for Nick as he has really had it worse..time to eat the last slice of fruit cake!" With a massive deficit on the leaders in real time, they are certainly going to have their work cut out. They are set to cross the equator over 48 hours after the leaders...but the course is still a long one...

Quotes from the Boats:

Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss): �I haven�t had much time on the deck sailing the boat, but I have things to do before I reach the southern ocean. I�m having some problems with my skin because it�s a very wet boat and either you wear your oilskins and sweat or you get cold and wet which isn�t ideal. I have a sore on my foot. With all the problems I�ve had I am very happy at where I am. I�m preparing now the southern ocean and have been there in my head for a while but my boat is holding me up. Mentally I can�t wait to get there, physically I can�t wait for it to get colder. I�m going upwind on a tight reach with not too many squalls. I get frustrated when things don�t work when they should but that doesn�t last long and I�ve got a reasonable position in the top group.�

Thomas Coville :Studio Guest (former skipper of VMI, then Sodebo) � I am very impressed by the rhythm maintained by the racers this year. It�s like a transat or Figaro pace. Jojo (S�bastien Josse) is having a great race. I feel very emotional talking to him today (VMI is his ex-Sodebo from the last edition). �

Jo� Seeten (Arcelor Dunkerque) : � Today I am where I chose to be three days ago when I was off Cape Verde. I knew I�d have to round to the west of the doldrums. I haven�t come off too badly compared with those who remained in the east. As for the rest of the race, I think that you have to be realistic and say that it will be very difficult to get back with the leaders. The distance between us today are the equivalent of two days of sailing� �

Marc Thiercelin (Pro Form) : � For the past three days and nights I have been battling in the doldrums. I�ve lost any notion of time. I thought I was clear of it yesterday but then I fell onto calms again before taking a terrible squall. For four hours I was stuck on the helm under a downpour. I thought I was going to break everything. I don�t think I�ve slept in my hammock since the start. I sleep at the chart table. The rhythm of this Vend�e Globe is very high. The frontrunners headed off like madmen (laughs). If they catch the front in the south, we won�t see them again. �

Conrad on No Sleep

SLEEP 0 � THE DOLDRUMS 1

Elapsed Time: 12 days, 0 hours, 25 mins
Fleet Leader: Bonduelle (J. Le Cam FRA)
HELLOMOTO: 11th out of 20, crossing the Equator tonight!

HELLOMOTO is back up to 11th and only a handful of miles from being inside the Top Ten again!

Conrad has had his toughest night sailing ever last night, no more than 20 mins sleep in total over 24hrs, and despite exhaustion and weakness, he can�t take the weekend off�

A rare occurrence mid ocean: HELLOMOTO and Skandia sail through the same squall together in sight, and Conrad finds out at last how sailors do it differently�

HELLOMOTO will be crossing the Equator in about 15hrs from now, and this boat, when raced by Golding in the 2000 Vend�e Globe, reached the Equator after 15 days at sea, so Conrad has bettered this by at least 2 days.

Weather: the low pressure off the Brazilian coast is now pushing the St Helena High eastwards and opening up a N-NE wind corridor for a fast passage to the Roaring Forties�

Conrad Humphreys interview from onboard HELLOMOTO this morning courtesy of Geolink/Iridium:

�I�m in the groove and on top of things today, there are Trade-like clouds ahead of me and there�s a stable breeze from the south east. I pulled back the 100 mile deficit to this group, but I�ve never had so tough a night as last night in my entire sailing career. It�s interesting with the sleep as I must have slept in cat naps of 5 to 10 minutes and had about 20 minutes sleep in all over the last 24hrs. I literally had to sleep straight away after finishing a manoeuvre on deck, not knowing if it would last for 5 or 30 minutes, and sure enough the alarm went off and the wind changed.

I was sailing alongside Nick yesterday morning, and it was the funniest thing in my sailing career; we were going into a squall, Nick was 2m to windward of me and this cloud is as black as can be. I thought I better put a reef in the mainsail, and I look over to see Nick has furled away his headsails, and I�m looking at him thinking does he really think it�s that bad? Maybe I should put my staysail up? I look back again and see Nick has put 2 reefs in mainsail, and I�m thinking, no, it can�t be that bad, surely, and so we sail into the squall and there�s no wind in it at all! I took a few miles out of him then, but I found the whole thing quite extraordinary as I�ve always wondered how other sailors prepare for squalls, and find it amazing how differently we do it.

Typically, I�m sailing along under full main and genoa, the black rain cloud hits violently and you�re on edge the whole time, then change sails from genoa to staysail, put 2 reefs in the mainsail, then finish tidying up the boat and go down to check the chart and promptly sail into a wind hole! So you shake it all out again, put all the sails back up, and in the meantime the boat has done a pirouette, there�s not a breath of wind�if you�re unlucky you have to do this 2or 3 times, but last night I must have done this at least a dozen times�

Physically, my upper back, shoulders and arms are absolutely in tatters � I couldn�t wind another winch right now! It takes 24hrs for your body to recover normally and you need to rest, but we don�t get the opportunity. I seem to have a whole rogues� gallery of people�s voices, which keep popping into my head. Like when I�m thinking about technical problems, I answer my questions but hear Marco�s voice each time! [Ed: Marco is the French boatyard manager]. I couldn�t face another night like that and I feel for Nick as he has endured an extra night of it unlike me�right now the last quarter of Vikki�s fruit cake is in my sight and so I�m going to eat it as soon as I get off the phone!�

And finally�HELLOMOTO will be crossing the Equator in about 15 hours from now, Conrad reckons, which would mean that he has bettered the boat�s performance by at least two days compared to when Golding raced her in the Vend�e Globe 2000: �Looking at my course and speed, I expect to cross the Equator overnight and I shall be doing something to celebrate, that�s for sure, it�s my 7th or 8th crossing but I can�t remember if I�ve ever crossed at night time � oh, is it Friday today? Brilliant, it�s Friday night! Well, you guys must go out and have a beer for me too!�

Weather Brief

Ahead of the whole fleet the St Helena High is being pushed eastwards by a low pressure system off the Brazilian coastline. This depression will open up a fast passage to the Roaring Forties as the boats can speed South in a corridor of N-NE winds generated by the low on its east side. Amazingly, the fleet could be reaching the Roaring Forties at the latitude of Cape Town within the next week! HELLOMOTO is touching the SE Trades and Conrad is starting to see different cloud formations, and reach more stable wind conditions. He�ll be cracking off the sheets and sailing at a faster angle in his more easterly position at 25 West. With only a handful of miles between HELLOMOTO and the next two boats Arcelor-Dunkerque & UUDS, which are older boats too, Conrad is gunning to be back inside the Top Ten by the end of the weekend!

Fleet leaders & HELLOMOTO Ranking* polled at 0930 GMT

Ranking / Boat / Latitude / Longitude / Heading / Speed** / DTF*** / Miles from leader
1. BONDUELLE / 7 16.08' S / 31 42.92' W / 183 / 15.9 / 20437.4
2. PRB / 6 18.76' S / 31 01.24' W / 190 / 14.1 / 20458.3 / 20.9
3. VMI / 5 08.96' S / 29 52.64' W / 189 / 13.5 / 20469.6 / 32.2
11. HELLOMOTO 2 38.44' N / 25 13.40' W / 216 / 9.6 / 20734.3 / 296.9

Water Level Update

Below you'll find water level info that pertains to Lakes Michigan and Huron.

Reference Point- Measurements in Inches

Difference from Chart Datum +2
Difference from last month -2
Difference from last year +7
Difference from long term average for November -13
Difference from Record High -51
Difference from Record Low +17
Forecast for 19 December 2004 -2

Click for information on other lakes.

Linky Sailing News

Racing Nippon Cup Semis. Vendee Globe Report

News Goss reunion

Great Lakes Rochester wants to buy ferry.

College Sailing Rankings

Vendee Globe Report 19 November

Whilst we go about our respective daily routines 20 lone sailors are racing around the world without a stop.

Each weekday ATWOS will present a report on the 2004-2005 Vendee Globe race. Who will join Lamazou, Desjoyeaux etc. as winners? Who will be a breakout young star like Ellen Macarthur? Which sailors will participate in dramas such as those of Pete Goss & Yves Parlier?

The report will cover the rhythm of the race, whether it's fast or slow, what's the degree of difficulty, is it iceberg territory?

Each day we'll check the standings to see who the leaders are and who else is on the move.

The fleet roundup will cover news of interest from any and all boats both the success's and the inevitable failures.

From the lone sailors will highlight the most interesting communications from the multi national group of sailors.

Rhthym of the Race "The long awaited header has kicked in. Bonduelle, PRB, VMI and Sill et V�olia must now be feeling the effects on their sails as the sheets are increasingly eased."

Standings 1. Bonduelle 2. PRB 3. VMI

Fleet Roundup Best 24 hour run Ecover 220 Miles. Fish Net hinders Sill. Sail issues for VMI Materiaux

From the Lone Sailors Conrad Humphries, ".�I�ve never been so tired in my sailing career! I�ve never had such a tough night ever...maybe 20 minutes sleep in the last 24 hours...wind going round in circles, squalls, calms...� Nick Moloney "This has been the toughest passage of the doldrums that i have ever known. I am absolutely fried." Sebastien Josse "I�ve discovered something quite good ! I�ve fixed my bunk at 30 degrees so as I can sleep. When the boat heels, I fall out and that wakes me up to go and carry out some manoeuvres."

Alex Thomson on Hugo Boss. Shoulnd't he be more tan?

Northwestern Blow Harder Regatta

Blow Harder Regatta 2004
Northwestern University
11/12/04-11/14/04

REGATTA HIGHLIGHTS:

Saturday, 11/13
Wind: 5-15 knots from the North-Northeast
Waves: 1-3 feet
Courses: Modified Olympic, WLWL

Sunday 11/14
Wind: 5-10 knots from the South
Waves: None
Courses: WLWL

A division =8 Races
B division = 8 Races
A B TOT

1. Wisconsin 2 26 24 50
2. Northwestern 2 30 21 51
3. Michigan 2 32 21 53
4. Michigan State 39 21 60
5. Northwestern 1 20 51 71
6. Miami 36 35 71
7. Michigan 1 43 56 99
8. U. Chicago 63 61 124

A division =3D 8 Races
TOT
1. Northwestern 1 20
Don Thinschmidt =1207 1-2,7-8/Kathleen Wark =1208 1-2,7-8
Brian Sabina =1205 3-6/Jali Becker =1207 3-6
2. Wisconsin 2 26
Scott Eisenhardt =1106/Leslie Kopatz =1108
3. Northwestern 2 30
Aaron Lasher =1105/Ashley Metz =1105
4. Michigan 2 32
Ben Seppala =1107/Caitlin Fortune =1108
5. Miami 36
Jocelyn Pollak =1107/Doug Baker =1108
6. Michigan State 39
Casey Ray =1208 1-2/Michael Fong =1107 3-8/Carolyn Somes =1108
7. Michigan 1 43
Caitlin Delphin =1106/Gabe Scherzer =1107
8. U. Chicago 63
Adrian Cook =1106/Lia Bosma =1106

B division =3D 8 Races
TOT
1. Michigan State 21
Mills Forni =1108/Steve Griffith =1108
2. Northwestern 2 21
Brandon Keao =1207 1-4/Brooke Thurman =1208 1-4
Jack McCallum =1207 5-8/Erin Miller =1208 5-8
3. Michigan 2 21
Mike Ruiz =1106/Lisa Carry =1108
4. Wisconsin 2 24
Robert Pickens =1108/Tristan Sather =1107
5. Miami 35
Drew Polminski =1208 (all)/Niki Anderson =1206 1-4/Hui Sin Teo =1208 5-8
6. Northwestern 1 51
Dan Bohl =1208 1-6/Christine Heckman =1208 1-6
Josh Schecter =1208 7-8/Jali Becker =1207 7-8
7. Michigan 1 56
Matt Bergin =1208/Pat Burke =1208
8. U. Chicago 61
Wojciech Fedorko =1207 1-6/April Morton =1208 1-6
David Strabbe =1205 7-8/Abe Winter =1206 7-8

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 TOT
1
Wisconsin 2 A 4 2 2 3 2 5 6 2 26
B 3 5 1 3 5 4 2 1 24
7 14 17 23 30 39 47 50 50

2
Northwestern 2 A 3 6 6 4 3 2 3 3 30
B 1 1 3 5 2 2 4 3 21
4 11 20 29 34 38 45 51 51

3
Michigan 2 A 6 1 4 1 7 7 2 4 32
B 4 2 4 1 3 1 1 5 21
10 13 21 23 33 41 44 53 53

4
Michigan State A 2 3 7 6 6 4 4 7 39
B 2 4 2 4 1 3 3 2 21
4 11 20 30 37 44 51 60 60

5
Northwestern 1 A OCS 4 1 2 1 1 1 1 20
B 6 6 7 7 6 7 8 4 51
15 25 33 42 49 57 66 71 71

6
Miami A 1 5 3 7 5 3 7 5 36
B 5 3 5 2 4 5 5 6 35
6 14 22 31 40 48 60 71 71

7
Michigan 1 A 5 7 5 5 4 6 5 6 43
B DNS 7 6 6 7 6 7 8 56
14 28 39 50 61 73 85 99 99

8
U. Chicago A 7 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 63
B 7 8 8 8 DNS 8 6 7 61
14 30 46 62 79 95 109 124 124

WINNING TEAM : Wisconsin 2

2008 Olympic Classes

The biggest debate at the recent ISAF Conference was the selection of equipment to fill the eleven Olympic event slots, with the Windsurfer Women and Windsurfer Men, and Single-handed Dinghy Women the key events in contention from new classes. The process of recommendation and decision making saw the Women’s Sailing Committee consider the proposals and make recommendations to the Events Committee, who in turn made the final recommendation to Council. Whilst five classes had put themselves forward for consideration, there were really only two classes with any likelihood of selection for the slot � the Europe or the Laser Radial. The debate was battted around the meeting table, with the benefits of the “out of the box” Laser Radial which would spread and increase women’s participation being extolled, whilst the supporters for the Europe Class favoured the technical specification of the boat, ability for the sailors to have a rig ideal to their weight and the investment many nations had already made in the boat. However, when it came to the vote, it was conclusive, with 24 votes in favour of the Laser Radial, and 12 supporting the Europe.

For the Windsurfer Women and Windsurfer Men’s events, Council had previously made a decision in June 2004, that the equipment for these two events had to change for the 2008 Olympics. Prior to that, the windsurfing industry had been on notice for several years to put forward new equipment, the result of which was the Olympic Windsurfing Equipment Evaluation Events. The working party responsible had made a clear recommendation to Council for the new Neil Pryde RS:X, and after reassurances on equipment availability and distribution, price controls and other technical issues, Council voted 26:12 in favour of the Neil Pryde RS:X. The complete slate of equipment for the eleven events at the 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition was therefore confirmed as:

Event Equipment (Class)
Windsurfer Men Neil Pryde RS:X
Windsurfer Women Neil Pryde RS:X
Multihull Open Tornado
Keelboat Women Yngling
Keelboat Men Star
Double-handed Dinghy Open 49er
Double-handed Dinghy Women 470
Double-handed Dinghy Men 470
Single-handed Dinghy Women Laser Radial
Single-handed Dinghy Open Finn
Single-handed Dinghy Men Laser

With the success of the 2003 ISAF Sailing World Championship, ISAF took the decision to focus Olympic qualification for the 2008 Olympic Games on two major Championships. The 2007 ISAF Sailing World Championship will host 75% of the Olympic qualification, and the remaining 25% will take place at the respective 2008 World Championship for each of the classes, which shall be held before 1 June 2008.

Many proposals were considered regarding the Olympic format and scoring systems, and it was agreed that experimentation should take place during 2005. The Events Committee Format Working party, chaired by Kim ANDERSEN (DEN) will identify the experimentation permitted. ISAF will encourage experimentation by all event organisers with feedback to ISAF, but will not be permitted at ISAF Grade 1 events.

The submissions to re-introduce match racing back onto the Olympic Programme could not be considered in respect of 2008, as the events had already been determined in November 2003, but will no doubt return for debate over the coming years.

The new Equipment Committee of ISAF has been charged to work with the Olympic Classes to reduce the costs of development of equipment, to make the playing field fairer for all, and reduce the investment necessary to compete.

13th Day for Moloney

RACE UPDATE:

KEY DATA AT 0930GMT: Skandia in 13th, sailing most of yesterday in sight of HELLOMOTO as the leaders charge towards the Brazilian coast on their way south.

QUOTE OF THE DAY FROM NICK: �I have NEVER done as many sail changes in one day in my life...15 one after another, every combination of sail that I have from a reefed mainsail with staysail up to full main and spinnaker...and back again...�

LAST DAY IN THE DOLDRUMS?!: Nick and Conrad (HELLOMOTO) sailing very close to each other for the past 24 hours...�I�ve never been so tired in my sailing career! I�ve never had such a tough night ever...maybe 20 minutes sleep in the last 24 hours...wind going round in circles, squalls, calms...� were Conrad�s first words this morning on the UK Media Conference line.

SOUTH OR BRAZIL? THE QUESTION FOR THE LEADERS: the big tactical decision for the leading bunch as they power south, is whether to �cut the corner� [on the St.Helena high pressure system] and head directly south, or stay further west, possibly in better breeze down the Brazilian coast.

BONDUELLE MAINTAINS HIS LEAD despite attacks from PRB...Bonduelle is the furthest west of the leading pack...VMI the furthest east.

FISHING: Bilou (Roland Jourdain, SILL), currently up to 4th place, finally rids himself of a fishing net that had been trapped around his keel for the last two days...a particularly difficult task...stop the boat, reverse it (no engine don�t forget!), forward, backwards...shake it off! Its particular slow of course to have a net hanging off the keel!

THANKS FROM NICK FOR ALL THE EMAIL MESSAGES! : �I�m blown away by the all the emails...my team send me through a selection each day. Its a big deal, thanks!�. We have already received over a thousand emails for Nick since the start...

AUDIO CONFERENCE WITH NICK: courtesy of Geolink/Iridium

�I�m very very tired...but I�m through the other side...two and a half hours ago...just trying to make my way south. Couple of really bad hours yesterday...breeze went...lot of flapping last night...few more sail problems...making south 2 knots...hand steering all night. When the sun came up, I could see there was only a few squalls left, and then I got in to a more steady southerly breeze.

Delighted, but absolutely exhausted.

Just waiting for breeze to established, tidy the boat, and plan to try and rest.

THIS HAS BEEN THE TOUGHEST PASSAGE OF THE DOLDRUMS THAT I HAVE EVER KNOWN. I AM ABSOLUTELY FRIED. IN THE LAST THREE DAYS I THINK I�VE HAD THREE HOURS SLEEP. MY HANDS ARE TRASHED, JUST FROM CHANGING SAILS.

I enjoyed going through it on my own though. I didn�t have to listen to anyone else moaning! But I could have done with a hand sometimes!

Had a big drama yesterday trying to get the Code 5 down, heading north west (the wrong way) at 20 knots...been really working hard, not been too hard on myself, haven�t blown up...I know if I let it go I might never come back.

Biggest effect [of sleep deprivation] is that I can only do small jobs...I went to the mast yesterday and forgot what I went to the mast for!�

JARGON BUSTER: SAIL COMBINATIONS? Most Open 60s carry 6 or 7 different options for headsail's and a mainsail that can be reefed (sail area reduced) to between 1 and 4 reefs...these give up to 30 total sail combinations! Each of these suits a particular wind angle, wind strength and sea state. And each change burns a lot of energy, physically and mentally! Do 15 of these in one day on your own and your body will know...

SKANDIA DATA LOG 0930 GMT: data communicated to you via BT Business Broadband
LAT / LONG: 3 12 N / 25 9W � less than 200 miles from the Equator...
WIND: All over the place...STILL!!
SEA TEMP AND PRESSURE: 19.5 degrees / 1019 Mb.

POSITIONS 1000 GMT 19TH NOVEMBER 2004

BOAT / LAT / LONG / distance to finish
1. BONDUELLE, 7 16.08' S / 31 42.92' W, 20437.4 distance to finish
2. PRB, 1 6 18.76' S / 31 01.24' W, 20458.3 distance to finish
3. VMI , 5 08.96' S / 29 52.64' W, 20469.6 distance to finish

13. Skandia, 2 44.84' N / 25 21.28' W, 20738.6 distance to finish

Thompson of the West

Thomson on HUGO BOSS looks like he�s taking westabout route around the globe !

Vend�e Globe : DAY 13
19th November 2004
Leader : Bonduelle (Le Cam FRA)
HUGO BOSS Ranking : 6th
Distance to leader : 128.5 nm
10:00 GMT Position of HUGO BOSS : 04 41.76' S 31 51.24' W
Wind direction & speed : Easterly 17 � 22 knots
Heading : 195o
Boat speed : 14 knots
Location : 250nm away from the coast of Brazil

Someone needs to tell Alex that he has to leave the capes to port, not starboard. HUGO BOSS is now the most westerly boat, but it�s all part of a cunning plan, or so he insists. He is hoping that his westerly position will give him a better angle and more wind than the boats in the east when the stronger northerly airflow arrives in the next 24 hours. Alex reports that the breeze has already begun to back a bit, and is now coming from the east at about 20 knots.

Yesterday, Alex solved a number of problems on board, and the work list has really shrunk. It�s incredibly hot down below on HUGO BOSS at the moment. Alex estimates it reaches 40 degrees during the day, so doing even the smallest of jobs is pretty uncomfortable, never mind working on your fuel system. Once it cooled down a bit last night, he was finally able to find time to send through his first onboard pictures. You can see the first picture at http://www.alexthomsonracing.com/atr-article.jsp

Alex is in good spirits, his hand is completely back to normal, and his foot is healing well. He had a good amount of sleep last night, but is finding it too hot to sleep during the day at the moment.

6 are into the South

The first six passed into the southern hemisphere today within hours of each other with a 3 to 3.5 day lead over Yves Parlier�s record set in the 2000/01 edition of the Vend�e Globe. All the competitors have crossed the invisible line of the equator at some point in their sailing history. Strategic secrecy from the leading group pushing upwind to the south west in south easterly trade winds, frustration and technical problems amongst the second group still battling through the tempestuous opulence of the doldrums, apprehension for the backrunners as they enter the latter zone; each group sailing in a different weather system. The Saint Helena High is re-positioning itself to the east in a more traditional pattern. The wind corridor which is generated to the west of the Brazilian coast is synonymous with speed made towards the southern latitudes. The 6 leaders must be greedily observing the establishing of these strengthening north-westerlies and look set to stretch out their lead. For the time being, upwind in the trades, the priority is on speed as they wait for the freer wind to kick in so as they can make better distance towards the goal. The rewards will be reaped later.

The fleet in this 5th Vend�e Globe is distinctly cut into three groups. The leaders are in an established trade wind, extending their lead in the southern hemisphere, while the large group of 9 boats led by Jean Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec) and including American Bruce Schwab, experiencing a remarkable race, as well as English sailor Conrad Humphreys within sight of the Australian Nick Moloney, struggle out of the doldrums in the northern hemisphere. Other than Dick and Wavre, the latter group are still in the clutches of the doldrums, and the re-establishing of the Saint Helena High means that their hopes of � cutting the corner � via the east are looking slim. Rapha�l Dinelli is leading the third group and for the first time since the start the three groups are now sailing in completely different systems.

Having passed close to the uninhabited islands of St. Peter and St. Paul just before the crossing the mythical line, leader Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) was being particularly guarded about his future strategy. According to second placed Vincent Riou (PRB) the frontrunners are sailing in a mixture of sun and squalls, a slight swell, short choppy seas, baking heat below and wet on deck; likely to open their sails in around two days time. Optimistic about his position he believes that the top six have a big advantage and that they are set to open up their lead further. There was around 4 hours difference between the passage of the top duo, S�bastien Josse nearly 3 hours behind and a further 3 for Roland Jourdain. Alex Thomson was the first English sailor to cross into another hemisphere today, though Mike Golding is positioned above him as he has a better VMG than the latter. The distance to go is calculated using a waypoint to the south of the Saint Helena High off South Africa, resulting in boats pushing further to the west being forced to go around her and thus penalised in the rankings, even if they are on the fastest track to the Southern Ocean. Mike is not suffering any significant worries aboard Ecover today and Alex is in good spirits. His burnt hand is recovering very well and he now has a sore cut on his foot instead, but is trying his best to keep it dry (!) �If I was a shepherd, I would have kicked my dog� he said of yesterday after automatic pilot and fuel transfer problems that he would �solve mouthful by mouthful if I have to...�

Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec) is leading the next battalion of 9 boats in 7th and may well be free of the doldrums like Dominic Wavre (Temenos) which is sadly not the case for Nick Moloney (Skandia) or Patrice Carpentier (VM Mat�riaux). �I�ve run out of expletives, I couldn�t really see the end yesterday...thought I was going to be here until February...� said an exhausted Moloney after suffering power failure in a squall �whilst 500 square metres of sail powered the boat off into an unwanted gybe...� All ended up alright in the end whereas Carpentier has had three hellish days after his foresail wrapped itself around its stay. After struggling for a long period he was forced to undertake an arduous climb up the mast. Worse still, he was forced to slice his halyard and let the sail drop, as sickening action for any round the world sailor. Without a spinnaker and deprived of a gennaker, Patrice is really suffering the effects of the elements and cannot glide west as he wishes in order to escape the doldrums. Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto) and Moloney are in a similar situation, stuck with their easting. At the rear of this group, American Bruce Schwab spoke of 2 days with �up to 40 knots of downwind and up to 30 knots of upwind or nothing at all. I�ve made a few mistakes since the start and would have liked to have got in more westing but I think the boat is up to speed.�

In the rear group there is a certain apprehension as the risk of dropping down not one but two weather systems is looking increasingly likely. On top of this Anne Liardet (Roxy) was delighted to have recuperated her gennaker from the water but is not looking forward to having to climb back up the mast to get her halyard back. She is not at risk of losing a place however, 319.8 miles ahead of 20th placed Norbert Sedlacek.

Quotes from the Boats:

Bruce Schwab (Ocean Planet): �The Open 60 class is great and what has been interesting is its now international development. My boat was planned, designed and built entirely in America and it was great to be up level with Skandia recently (Ellen MacArthur�s former boat) which is a very good boat. The expertise of certain skippers is really starting to show now..."

Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto): "I�ve been through 7 or 8 times, this was tough, the squalls were more viscious but if you can power the boat through and manage the stress then it�s worth it - I�ve only been parked up seriously 1 time. Skandia is 2 miles to leeward - I�ll send a photo when I pass Nick!"

To the Equator & other record items

"At the moment that Jean Le Cam passed into the southern hemisphere, he had covered 3 360 miles at an average of 13.39 knots since Les Sables d�Olonne in a time of 10 days and 12 hours, that is around 3.5 days faster than the current �record� set by Yves Parlier."

No question this is quite fast for a lone sailor on a 60 foot monohull.

It is faster than the maxi cat Sport Elec that set the Jules Verne record in 1997 fully crewed, when the French tri took 11 days 2 hours.

The same boat, then known as IDEC and sailed solo by Francis Joyon made the equator from France in a time of 9 days 8 hours.

Cheyenne which is currently the outright around the world record holder made the equator in 8 days 6 hours.

Coincidentally Francis Joyon who is leading the Torresen Sailor of the Year voting is currently trying to break the record that Cheyenne (then Playstation)set on the Spain to San Salvador Route of Discovery. Of course Playstation carried a full crew and Joyon is sailing solo! Joyon is still in with a chance. He needs to finish by Sunday, and to do so must average 442.6 miles per day. Not probable, but possible.

As soon as a suitable weather window appears Ellen Macarthur will be off on her trimaran looking to bag Joyon's solo around the world record.

Also Bruno Peyron and his Orange II team will be making an attempt on the Jules Verene record.

This winter the Vendee Globe will continue and there will be plenty of other sailing records to keep an eye on.

Fedor & Ellen Wait in Falmouth

In Falmouth (Cornwall) currently two unique boats are moored at Port Pendennis Marina.

� 85 ft maxi boat �Trading Network Alye Parusa� � skipper Fedor Konyukhov
� 75 ft trimaran �B&Q-Castorama� � skipper Ellen MacArthur

Both skipper will be sailing single-handed non stop round the world this year. Fedor and Ellen are currently studying the weather forecast and consulting with their weather routers. Fedor is working with American meteorologist � Lee Bruce (www.tacticalweather.com)

Taking into account that both boats are at �ready to go conditions� and both need downwind conditions � boats will be leaving Falmouth the same day, as soon as the appropriate weather pattern will be formed.

Although, the boats going the same route, but the objectives are different � Ellen wants to set new world record for multihulls (current record is 72 days, set by French sailor Francis Joyon in 2003-2004 season). Fedor wants to set a performance record at category �Round the world non stop from W to E on a maxi boat� (LWL over 80 ft).

It is likely that unfavorable weather with strong S-E winds will dominate till middle of next week. Long-range forecast is showing that after 26th of November the wind may shift to N-E which will be perfect conditions to go south. We hope that Lee Bruce will bring us good news in the next 2-3 days.

Linky Sailing News

Racing Le Cam at the line. Gilmour is tops

News Gipsy Moth progress. 23 blown kites

Great Lakes Cheboygan changes

College Sailing Dartmouth at ACC's

Conrad quite bullish

CONRAD HAS SKANDIA IN HIS SIGHTS!
Elapsed Time: 11 days, 0 hours, 24 mins
Fleet Leader: Bonduelle (J. Le Cam FRA)
HELLOMOTO: 13th out of 20

HELLOMOTO has had a good Doldrums crossing so far with constant but vicious squalls powering the boat through the zone, less than 100 miles to go until the exit sign appears!

Conrad woke up this morning to see Skandia 2m to leeward � time to get the camera out!

Conrad focusing on picking off the group of 5 boats within 50m as HELLOMOTO scores 2nd best 24hr run at 1000GMT positions after Pro-Form (Thiercelin).

Sleep strategy has changed as Conrad started taking naps during the day before the Doldrums as the temperatures get tropical and he settles into his rhythm

Conrad Humphreys interview from onboard HELLOMOTO this morning courtesy of Geolink/Iridium:

�Half an hour ago I woke up and HELLOMOTO was going 90 degrees from where I wanted to go, but it was only for half hour, the wind shifted and now I can see Skandia 2 miles down on my leeward side � a welcome sight! This must be a re-run from the Transat! I�ll send through a picture of Skandia as I pass by!

It�s very light here, I just parked up a short while ago but an 8 knot breeze is just filling in. As far as Doldrums crossings go, it was pretty tough on average, it�s my 7th or 8th crossing, the squalls were a bit more vicious, but I only had one park up for any significant length of time. These boats are designed to cope in these conditions, and even if you get overpowered quickly you can dump sheets and run off. That just powers the boat through quickly, which is better than being sat becalmed. I literally just came on deck, and I thought that it was almost code zero weather when I shut my eyes, and there you go, half an hour later it�s all change and we�re back on the breeze � that�s the Doldrums for you!

Personally, I�m pretty good actually, I switched tactics just ahead of the Doldrums and started sleeping through the day more, the first 7 days of the race I had so many jobs to do on the boat that I�ve was sleeping at night a lot, but about 3 days before the Doldrums I started sleeping more hours during the daytime. I�ve had quite a few setbacks in last 10 days, it�s the nature of this race, and you can�t beat yourself up about them. It�s frustrating look at the leaders stretching their legs, but there�s really nothing I can do to change that right now, so all I can do is focus on these 5 boats around us and because I�ve made good miles on them in last 72hrs I�m feeling quite bullish at the moment.

We had an absolute dream forecast, we all knew this before the start, and you have to stop occasionally and remind yourself that we�ve had some of the most electrifying sailing. If I�d performed half as well tactically as the boat has been performing we�d be giving the front runners much more trouble�but there�s so much of the race still to go.

Weather Brief

It�s taken 10 days for the leaders to reach the Equator. Four years ago on the same day leader Yves Parlier in Aquitaine Innovations was at 14 degrees North preparing to tackle the Doldrums � so the current leaders have shaved over 4 days off the previous Vend�e Globe 2000 record run by Parlier � unbelievable!

HELLOMOTO still has to endure this day in the Doldrums before getting out the other side hopefully in the next 100 miles. Thankfully Conrad has had continuous squalls to power the boat through this zone and reports only to have been becalmed for a considerable length of time only once. As soon as he exits the Doldrums he�ll be heading more south west in order to pick up stronger SE trades of 15 � 20 knots which have established themselves just below the Equator off the Brazilian coast. With his more easterly position still in the fleet Conrad will be able to sail at a faster angle and cover less miles to the Equator than the boats to his west � catch up time!

The St Helena High is starting to move back eastwards to assume a more normal position mid-Atlantic so the front boats will be extending their already considerable lead as they career down South in a strong flux of NW winds on the westerly side of the system.

Fleet leaders & HELLOMOTO Ranking* polled at 0930 GMT
Ranking / Boat / Latitude / Longitude / Heading / Speed** / DTF*** / Miles from leader
1. BONDUELLE / 1 55.36' S / 30 23.72' W / 196 / 12.8 / 20651.3
2. PRB / 1 09.96' S / 29 50.28' W / 197 / 12 / 20670.2 / 18.9
3. VMI / 0 36.04' S / 29 06.48' W / 188 / 10.6 / 20674.4 / 23.1
13. HELLOMOTO 5 23.56' N / 24 31.60' W / 248 / 6.4 / 20898.7 / 247.4

Skandia Suffers

RACE UPDATE:

KEY DATA AT 0930GMT: Skandia drops to 12th as fleet sails by to the west...leaders cross the Equator and power towards Brazil, Bonduelle holding off PRB by 19 miles with VMI now close behind in 3rd.

QUOTE OF THE DAY FROM NICK: �...run out of expletives I couldn�t really see the end yesterday...thought I was going to be here until February...�

CONTINUED DOLDRUMS: A real test of character for Nick as he enters his third day of �pulling hair out�. Three days in which he has seen 7 boats sail past him just to his west...enough to his west to make the difference unfortunately. But there is a long long way to go...just under 21,000 miles to be precise...

MOMENT OF DRAMA ONBOARD SKANDIA LAST NIGHT: A power failure onboard just as Nick was helming his way in to a rain cloud/squall, led to a furious few minutes of action for Nick last night. With no pilot to engage, he had to make a dash below to get the engine going, whilst 500 square metres of sail powered the boat off in to an unwanted gybe...�had this crazy moment when I was at the helm thinking I�m stuck here forever...unable to put pilot on and sailing full pressured in to a rain cloud!�...luckily the recovery was quick this time!

BONDUELLE FIRST TO ENTER SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE (about 0030), BUT LEAD SHRINKS TO 19 MILES, as the leading boats push south west in the South East Trade Winds...Le Cam passed the small, bird (only) inhabited islands of St.Peter and St.Paul just before crossing the mythical line. No �Crossing the Line� ceremony for the leading boats, these guys have all done this one before...but maybe some small offerings to King Neptune to thank him for safe passage....

RECORD TIME TO THE EQUATOR : 3,330 miles in 10 and a half days at a staggering average speed of 13.4 knots...this is no cruise! Most leisure boats would have been happy to make Madeira in that time...and by way of comparison in 2003 Ellen MacArthur�s fully crewed 110 foot catamaran Kingfisher2 took just under 8 days...only 2 days quicker!

ALL EYES ON �HELENA� : the leaders are now pushing south west towards the eastern tip of Brazil, Recife, as they concentrate on deciding the best way to get round the giant St.Helena anticyclone currently extending its windless zone far to the west. An effect to notice is that as the distance to go is calculated using a waypoint to the south of �Helena�, boats pushing further to the west to go around her will be penalised in the rankings � but of course they might be on the fastest track to the Southern Ocean. The direct route is rarely the fastest one in ocean racing!

TEMPERATURES ON THEIR WAY DOWN SOON : after 10 days of rising temperatures between Les Sables and the Equator, the curve will now descend progressively...before they know it, the thermals will be back on and the Southern Ocean will beckon...

AUDIO CONFERENCE WITH NICK: courtesy of Geolink/Iridium

Nick�s analysis of his nightmare three days in the Doldrums...so far...

Not bad...I�m moving...been a bit of tough night...not as tough as the two previous nights though...haven�t slept much, got becalmed in a rain squall...ended up trying to get some rest, and whilst I was tring to rest the breeze came in, and I went straight in to a chinese gybe [see JARGON BUSTER] when the breeze came in....its cloud after cloud at the moment.

...its quite characteristic for the doldrums...guys in front went through in very uncharacteristic conditions...

...right now...becalmed...

Its not like my previous passages...before the start I was saying I hope I didn�t have a bad transition. When you sail a bad day in normal yacht racing you go home and have another go the next day...in the Vendee a bad day can last 90 days.

No doubt I went too fast east...ended up being swallowed by the cloud mass south of Cape Verdes...but once I got further south, compared with Jean�s track the wind shifted and I got stuck. I gybed twice...with hindsight I should have kept going [to the west]...hopefully there will be some benefit in the east when we get out the other side...IF WE EVER GET OUT THE OTHER SIDE!!

I am really tired...didn�t sleep at all [last night]...yesterday was tough day...I couldn�t really see the end yesterday...thought I was going to be here until February...

The guys in front had a good run...but they had been pushing harder, and they got the rewards of it...

JARGON BUSTER: A CHINESE GYBE is the description sailors give to a particular spectacular, and potentially dangerous wipeout when the boat careers out of control and gybes by accident...the mainsail smacks across, but with the top part of the sail still on the previous gybe...complicated to show without a picture, but even more complicated to get out of! As the french say...bordelle...total mess!

SKANDIA DATA LOG 0930 GMT: data communicated to you via BT Business Broadband
LAT / LONG: 5 19 N / 24 34W � 300 miles from the Equator...
WIND: All over the place...STILL...
SEA TEMP AND PRESSURE: 19 degrees / 1019 Mb.

POSITIONS 1000 GMT 18TH NOVEMBER 2004

BOAT / LAT / LONG / distance to finish

1. BONDUELLE, 1 55.36' S / 30 23.72' W, 20651.3 distance to finish
2. PRB, 1 09.96' S / 29 50.28' W, 20670.2 distance to finish
3. VMI , 0 36.04' S / 29 06.48' W, 20674.4 distance to finish
12. Skandia, 5 19.04' N / 24 34.88' W, 20895.4 distance to finish

Thomson the Shepherd

Vend�e Globe : DAY 12

17th November 2004
Leader : Bonduelle (Le Cam FRA)
HUGO BOSS Ranking : 6th
Distance to leader : 83.7 nm
04:00 GMT Position of HUGO BOSS : 01 03.92' N 29 43.56' W
Wind direction & speed : SSE, 12 � 15 knots, but up to 25 knots in squalls
Heading : 200o
Boat speed : 11 knots
Location : Inches away from the equator

When we spoke to Alex this morning, he was in good spirits. His burnt hand is recovering very well (thanks for the advice, Phil), and he now has a sore cut on his foot instead, but is trying his best to keep it dry. This is not very easy on an Open 60 !

Yesterday had been a bit frustrating, to quote Alex �If I was a shepherd, I would have kicked my dog�, as he spent a lot of time checking the autopilots again, and was up until midnight last night �with my head behind the nav station doors, fiddling with the electronics�. The main autopilot is now recording its actions, and this data will help Alex understand why it is misbehaving on occasions !

Another problem (sorry, �challenge�) is Alex�s fuel transfer system. Basically, he moves diesel everyday from the main tanks, aft, into a day tank, nearer the engine. The pump system to do this isn�t working very well, but we�ve come to realise by now that Alex is quite capable of being inventive, and his determination this morning was illustrated by the fact that he is pledging to do it mouthful by mouthful if he has to !

HUGO BOSS is currently sailing with full main and solent. The important thing through the squalls is to take the boat off the wind, so it is not overpowered, as the alternative is to put a reef in, which is time consuming and tiring. The squalls are still appearing, but aren�t as frequent or violent as a couple of days ago.

The leading pack are now far to the west of the followers, but look like they are heading for favourable winds in a system that is brewing in the South Atlantic, just off Brazil. HUGO BOSS and Ecover are fighting it out at the back of the pack; an interesting battle to watch today ! The position reports are deceptive, so keep an eye on the chart on www.hugoboss-sailing.com.

Vendee Globe Report 18 November

Whilst we go about our respective daily routines 20 lone sailors are racing around the world without a stop.

Each weekday ATWOS will present a report on the 2004-2005 Vendee Globe race. Who will join Lamazou, Desjoyeaux etc. as winners? Who will be a breakout young star like Ellen Macarthur? Which sailors will participate in dramas such as those of Pete Goss & Yves Parlier?

The report will cover the rhythm of the race, whether it's fast or slow, what's the degree of difficulty, is it iceberg territory?

Each day we'll check the standings to see who the leaders are and who else is on the move.

The fleet roundup will cover news of interest from any and all boats both the success's and the inevitable failures.

From the lone sailors will highlight the most interesting communications from the multi national group of sailors.

Rhythm of the Race Fast! "At the moment that Jean Le Cam passed into the southern hemisphere, he had covered 3 360 miles at an average of 13.39 knots since Les Sables d�Olonne in a time of 10 days and 12 hours, that is around 3.5 days faster than the current �record� set by Yves Parlier."

Standings 1. Bonduelle 2. PRB 3. VMI Same as it ever was.

Fleet Roundup "The fleet in this 5th Vend�e Globe is distinctly cut into three groups." Led respecitvely by Le Cam, J.P. Dick and Raphael Dinelli

From the Lone Sailors Marc Thiercelin (Pro Form) : � This morning, a squall rapidly appeared above me, everything becoming very dark. I just had the time to roll in the sails otherwise it would have been a definite dismasting."...Frustrated Alex Thomson "If I was a shepherd, I would have kicked my dog."...American Bruce Schwab "Mentally I�ve learnt that I can fix things and keep on going which is obviously a good thing. If it was easy, everyone would do it!" Le Cam equator crossing video

Premier Challenge Building

John Brumby, the Minister for Innovation, for the Victorian State Government in Australia, today welcomed plans to design and build Premier Challenge's Volvo Open 70 in Victoria. The construction of the race boat began last week and it will be launched at the beginning of June next year.

Premier Challenge's Volvo Open 70 is being built at Mornington and the Docklands Central Pier and it is currently the only Australian entry in the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06.

Mr Brumby said that Premier Challenge would promote Victoria's advanced design capabilities across the globe and that the Victorian Government would provide $500,000 towards the $15 million project.

"Our funding from the Science, Technology and Innovation Initiative will be used to optimise the design of the yacht and support the showcasing of innovation in marine design, materials and construction," Mr Brumby said.

Premier Challenge's Volvo Open 70 will build on the success of the Victorian designed and manufactured Skandia Wild Thing, which is Australia's most successful super-maxi yacht.

Facilities at Central Pier will enable the public to follow progress of the yacht's construction and to learn more about the Volvo Ocean Race and the Melbourne stopover which the Premier announced in July last year.

At a later stage, the completed yacht will be on display with multi-media resources showing the yacht's progress through the race.

Mr Brumby said that the Premier Challenge project reflects the Victorian Government's commitment to the marine industry, which pumps over $2 billion annually into the State economy.

Crossing the Line

A highly symbolic moment for any sailor is the crossing of the equator which should take place in record time at around 2300 hours GMT for the leaders of this Vend�e Globe, the top four ex-Figaro sailors. With 88 miles to the entrance into the southern hemisphere at 1500 GMT today, Jean Le Cam continues to truck along up front, tailed by Vincent Riou and S�bastien Josse, who pulled off a blinder in the wake of the leader, while Roland Jourdain and Alex Thomson are suffering a more westerly option in 4th and 5th. The top six are now free of the erratic doldrums and a gentle south-easterly wind has kicked in gently enabling them to make for Brazil and begin to envisage the new dilemma offered by the Saint Helena High stretched out lazily across the southern Atlantic. As a result they are now sailing close to an east south-easterly wind for the first time since the start 10 days ago, with a tacking battle on the programme. French sailing legend Bruno Peyron is following their progress closely...

Since being positioned in third at 1500 GMT yesterday, Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) has lost 35.9 miles on the leader, slipped down 2 places and seems to be on a rather odd westerly course in relation to those around him, a situation which will doubtless make the English skipper knuckle down even more to make up the ground on the leaders. Having fixed yesterday�s pilot problems Alex feels that he has been unlucky of late after falling into a number of wind holes, and being on the wrong side of a couple of squalls. He was up all night monitoring the conditions, snatching only a couple of short sleeps, but believes �through this area (doldrums) it�s more luck than judgement that dictates your fate�.

S�bastien Josse (VMI) was �pleasantly surprised by this third place. There was a small area of wind last night, a cloud up front from which I got wind. I think Alex (Thomson) must have stayed below it for too long. I have helmed a lot, as Alex must have since he has the makings of a Figaro sailor. The boat is not really comfortable upwind. I�m going to try to preserve the material while I�m waiting to sail on a more even keel.�

The doldrums have indeed proven particularly feisty overnight with those in the west really getting thrown around. Mike Golding (Ecover) looks set to achieve his goal of a 100 mile deficit behind the leader (102.7 miles) but has also been suffering �enduring violent wind changes between 5 and 25 knots and an infinite number of sail changes�. Roland Jourdain (Sill et V�olia) reported being �fairly spoilt with squalls from 5 to 38 knots�, and Conrad
Humphreys (Hellomoto) hit his first squall of 40 knots at 0600 GMT, and was making 22 knots as he tries to �cut the corner� at 24 degrees west. Those right up front have been lucky enough to escape the zone rather quickly though Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) reported �how rare it is to be making under 10 knots in this race�. Meantime the trailing group are likely to continue suffering the effects for most of the day � reactivity being the key word with numerous sail changes. The five backrunners, all clear of the Cape Verde islands now apart from Austrian Norbert Sedlacek, will not reach the zone until tomorrow.

Gradually though the whole, largely repaired and undamaged fleet will escape its apocalyptic conditions described by Thomson yesterday and enter into the relief of a system of south-easterly trade winds. The speed of the boats will stabilise, increasing the further south they go. 10 knots of wind are forecast for the exit of the doldrums with 15 to 20 knots (25 to 35 km/hr) forecast for the north of Recife, Brazil. This progressive freshening of the wind may well see the leaders get some distance on their pursuers. On entering the southern hemisphere, the game remains wide open. The Saint Helena high is stretching across their course and the skippers are going to have to choose how to round this zone of calms over the long term, either by closing in on South America a little more to get the benefit of some north north-easterly winds or hoping to find a favourable passage in the west if the high pressure zone continues its shift to the mid-Atlantic. The second shorter option, which not one single racer referred to today, targets an easterly rounding of this zone but the sailors would then have to sail against a south-easterly wind for some days. The latter option would only be possible if the high pressure zone doesn�t re-centre itself too quickly, trapping the skippers in �mortal� calms.

French sailing legend Bruno Peyron was the special guest at today�s radio chat session, fascinated by the adventure that lies ahead the skippers as they head into the southern hemisphere late tonight. �One of these days, I�d like a go at the Vendee Globe too - I love racing, I love solitude and I love a good fight. With this kind of race, you have to pay for mistakes in cash.� In the meantime he is concentrating on his own crewed round the world record attempt, the Jules Verne Trophy. Orange II will be on stand-by in three weeks time.

Quotes from the Boats:

Nick�s (Moloney - Skandia) "Had a shocker, he [the motor vessel of the marine type] got right close to me...couldn�t work out what he was doing...I was hoping to get some breeze to move away.... Even when I altered course with the windshifts, they came at me...kept converging....then the next minute I�ve got 35 knots of wind, code E [large gennaker] and full mainsail up and I�m doing 23 knots, stuck on the helm in driving cold rain...heading west unfortunately, but got away from the boat anyway...sure it was Coastguard or something, but I couldn�t reach him on VHF...when I saw him preparing to put a smaller boat in the water I got quite concerned. Think I�ve lost them now in this rain squall, as even on the radar you can�t make any objects out at all."

Jean Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec): Fixed! �I�m relieved about my repairs. It was a real sword of Damocles hanging over my head. I started preparing the piece yesterday and without laying down the boom or dropping the sails, I was able to replace the broken element of the gooseneck.�

Vincent Riou (PRB) : � For the fourth time in my career, I have got out of the doldrums without problem and without stopping too much. For the moment we�re in the south-easterly trade winds and going along calmly upwind. Of course it�s slamming a bit and it�s very hot. I think we�ll stay on this point of sail for a few days.�

Bruno Peyron, as regards S�bastien Josse :
� Jojo is sailing a sublime race. He doesn�t have the best boat and he is in front. I am surprised by how he is controlling this as he hasn�t made a major fault. I know he�s been preparing for the Vend�e Globe for a long time. He has what it takes to pull off a fine result. I hope he really enjoys this race. �

Righting Moment

Finian Maynard recently set a new outright sailing speed record of 46.82 knots on a sailboard sailing in the south of France. One interesting note I found in a Daily Sail article is in regards to weight and righting moment.

Maynard who weighs 257 LBS. said "When you are windsurfing you have a lot of righting moment and with that righting moment it is very difficult when you are lighter to stop it and when your rig starts moving to leeward a lot you start losing a lot of your power and speed. That's why the heavier guys can sit on it more, they can sit down and stop losing righting moment."

Finian Maynard

Typically when you think of speed you think lightweight. Not so, for this specialized area of wind surfing.

How long before there are mini water ballast tanks on the boards, or canting foils?

Meanwhile VMI is currently 3rd in the Vendee Globe. This Finot design is unique for current Open 60's as she is water ballasted. The current standard is a canting keel. VMI carries 2.8 tonnes/4800 LBS of water ballast.

VMI-nee Sobedo- with fixed keel.

Canting keels which swing to windward to provide righting moment are superior to water ballast due to weight. When a boat ballasts itself with water it gains weight, getting more stable yet heavier.

Considering this technology handicap VMI's Sebastian S�bastien Josse is ahead of expectations. About this Brun Peyron said: "Jojo is sailing a sublime race. He doesn�t have the best boat and he is in front. I am surprised by how he is controlling this as he hasn�t made a major fault."

Canting Keel Open 50 by Owen Clarke

Time to hit the Top 10

WELCOME TO THE DOLDRUMS!
Elapsed Time: 10 days, 2 hours, 5 mins
Fleet Leader: Bonduelle (J. Le Cam FRA)
HELLOMOTO: 14th out of 20, 200m to Equator

HELLOMOTO hit her first tropical squall at 0600hrs this morning, Conrad ran into a 40 knot rain storm and the boat was �stoking� at 23 knots! Another 48hrs to go�

Time to get back into the Top Ten: Conrad is 35m inside his original waypoint of 24W to cross the Doldrums. He is taking a risk by cutting the corner on the fleet to the West, but hopes that he can gain miles on the group of 5 boats within 50m around him

So far there is plenty of wind under those rain clouds but the gamble is to get on the right side of the squalls and change sails quickly enough as the wind goes from zero to gale force in a matter of minutes � hot work in the tropical heat but at least the rain is warm!

After the SE trade winds kick in, south of the Equator the St Helena High pressure system is centred more to the SW extending as low as the Falklands�spanner in the works?

Conrad Humphreys interview from onboard HELLOMOTO this morning courtesy of Geolink/Iridium:

�The first squall I saw on the radar at 0600 this morning, and I did a couple of sail changes as it came in, it was blowing around 40 knots. HELLOMOTO was stoking along at 23 knots for 40 to 50 minutes, but now the wind has completely died, and we�re sat here pretty much becalmed. I�m trying to point the boat into the next squall. It�s pouring with rain, there�s spray everywhere, you have to try and pull sails down as soon as possible when the squall comes, then 2 minutes later you�re left completely soaked and totally becalmed, not going anywhere, and then you have to pull the sails back up. You know you are going into this area of water and it�s going to be like this, so I tried as much as possible to get as much rest and fuel inside me yesterday, as the next 2 days I�m going to be snacking and sleeping when I can, but always on alert.

I chose my waypoint at 25 degrees West but I�m now 35m inside that. I know that even being 10 miles the wrong side of the waypoint you can lose out by a lot, but I remember Catherine Chabaud on Whirpool in the last Vend�e jumped to third place by crossing at 23 West, so I�m hoping for the same lucky break. The problem with being at this latitude is that I am sailing straight down through the Doldrums and can�t deviate on my route. The further west you are you can come up and I can�t. But at least it means there is wind here, which is great, even if it�s squally. It is a total lottery, though, and I am not concerned about whether Skandia or another boat is totally becalmed as by the time I get to their position the weather will have changed. What I do know is that the Code G sail is a Doldrums weapon!

�Afterwards, I should have a better sailing angle in the first few days of sailing in the SE Trades and be able to stoke down on the fleet. All guys around us are of exceptional quality as sailors and although the lead group are a long way ahead the best thing for me to do now is to concentrate on this little group good and there could be a chance to make some gains as we get into the southern hemisphere.

�The conditions are particularly nice at the moment. It�s very warm of course, I�ve just come off deck after a spurt of activity. It�s pretty exciting sailing � 2 days ago I was up the top of the rig making repairs and feeling utterly exhausted, but every day is different and today I�m on great form. I think I should have brought some more wine on this race, but other than that I�m pretty happy!�

Weather Brief

The Doldrums are more active than predicted as the leaders are still �stuck� and a few boats are even sailing through this area, including HELLOMOTO, in a bid to cut the corner and save miles on the race course. Gale force, fast moving rain storms sweep across the course and the skippers have to get on the right side to take advantage and be propelled forward at high speed. This is often the most taxing kind of sailing as the skippers are both physically and mentally exhausted by anticipating and managing the alternating squalls and calms, whilst they try to keep the boat moving through both.

Just before the Equator the 15 � 20 knot SE Trades will establish themselves on the route for the fleet to pick up speed again. However, the South Atlantic high pressure system (St. Helena High), normally centred between Brazil and Africa mid-Atlantic, is now centred further to the South West and extending as low as the Falklands and even Cape Horn. The fleet may have to skirt round the West side very close to land to stay in following NE winds and this will elongate their route round to the Cape of Good Hope. Is it worth contemplating the option of sailing to the East of the system, which is a much shorter route to the Southern Ocean but facing contrary SE headwinds�?

Fleet leaders & HELLOMOTO Ranking* polled at 0930 GMT

Ranking / Boat / Latitude / Longitude / Heading / Speed** / DTF*** / Miles from leader

1. BONDUELLE / 2 14.44' N / 28 09.52' W / 202 / 11.8 / 20787.4
2. PRB / 2 47.56' N / 28 03.68' W / 191 / 10.1 / 20813.3 / 25.9
3. VMI / 3 13.88' N / 27 45.44' W / 193 / 10.1 / 20826.4 / 39
14. HELLOMOTO 8 11.04' N / 24 27.64' W/ 193 / 11.9 / 21067.4 / 280

Linky Sailing News

Racing Nippon Cup. Vendee Globe report

News Appendix K for canting keels. Bruce report. Boats of the year. Boat hits buoy sinks

Great Lakes Ontario ferry good points

College Sailing South Alabama sailing. Yale report

Doldrums Sailing

The leaders in the fleet in this Vend�e Globe 2004 are well and truly in the erratic weather systems of the doldrums with a vast range of conditions despite the proximity in latitude of the frontrunners. At 1500 GMT they were squeezed into a bottleneck of just 30 miles. The first are expected to come out the other side tomorrow morning with the crossing of the equator forecast for tomorrow night, followed by a rather unclear weather scenario in the southern hemisphere. The majority of the fleet are set to shatter Yves Parlier�s earlier record from Les Sables d�Olonne to the Equator by a staggering 4 days approximately, a time which is symbolic of the pace of this particular edition. All these events were being closely followed by the special guests at today�s radio session, namely the President of the SAEM Vend�e, Philippe de Villiers; President of the SNCF (French Railway Network) Louis Gallois; Deputy Mayor of Les Sables d�Olonne, Louis Gu�don; President of the event�s main sponsor Sodebo, Patricia Brochard and Race Director Denis Horeau.

While the 5 leading boats are within 70 miles of each other under the impressive cloud mass of the doldrums, the state of the wind and the conditions on the water vary widely from one boat to another. Describing this famous intertropical zone of convergence with its numerous faces proved particularly interesting listening during the radio session with each observation contradicting another. The terror of Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) finds no echo in the words of S�bastien Josse (VMI) who is sailing less than thirty miles from him in what he describes as erratic variations. The enormous mass of air which is stretching out from the horn of Africa across the Atlantic is generating a different scenario for each racer, from the calmest to the most tempestuous. The ever placid Jean Le Cam retains his cheeky humour spoke of the infernal game of hide and seek with the elements which leave him with a boat that �has too much sail area up in the calms and vice versa. The skies are black and obscure the sea, the lightening and the wrath of the skies evoking a monstrous sound and light display.� And when the line of squalls finally fades away, he hardly has time to turn his back before he�s into another. Stable winds for Roland Jourdain on the other hand, squally skies for Vincent Riou and an apocalypse for Alex Thomson� such is this part of the globe, without clearly defined borders or seascape, each with individual prices to pay.

Currently lying in sixth Mike Golding (Ecover) is �sailing to my own waypoints, which avoid the South Atlantic high and keep on the west side of the Atlantic before plunging into the Southern Ocean. We�ve just had an unusual Atlantic and I think we might be heading for an unusual South Atlantic. What I mean by that is that the high is very displaced south at the moment, and looks like it�s set to stay so. There is a ridge of high pressure half way down. On a big runway like this, it�s about technique, sailing the boat well, choosing the right route, but more importantly keeping the boatspeed on.�

Another English sailor, Conrad Humphreys has had to climb the top of his mast to find that his spinnaker block almost completely sheared off. �two pins had come out and the halyard was being kept up by just one screw, which was split open, so I had to cut it right off. It was remarkable that the fitting had held together all this time. This morning at daylight I spent another 3 hours up the mast fitting the spinnaker sheet block, which I took from the back of the boat. The swell was bad so it was a lot tougher and I got thrown off the rig twice. I also forgot my gloves so my hands are all cut up now. You just have to set your mind to the problem and deal with it there and then.�

Jean Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec) has clearly been up against it too. � I have prepared everything for the repair of the piece which holds the boom which was damaged during a fairly violent lurch of the boat. I�ll hitch it up later after the doldrums. � In the meantime he is up into seventh just 200 miles from the leader.

Meantime the backrunners in the fleet are straggled across the Cape Verde islands with Norbert Sedlacek (Brother) bringing up the rear of the fleet nearly 900 miles back from the overall leader, yet to pass this archipelago.

Quotes from the Boats :

Alex Thomson � Hugo Boss: � I�ve currently got 30 knots of wind with lots of cloud. I�ve never seen the doldrums like this � it�s normally a lot nicer. At times I�m getting gusts up to 45 knots. I had some automatic pilot problems last night. At the time I was doing 35 knots under spinnaker and had a bad gybe. The keel swung over on the wrong side and the mast was right in the water. I battled at the helm to right the boat, then I had to save the spinnaker. I was able to drop it and I don�t think it was torn. At the end of it all my legs were shaking. It really was the worst night in my sailing career. I�ve slept very little and I even burnt my hand on some boiling water while the boat went over. Ahead of me there are still 1 or 2 climbs too....It was really frightening. You realise at times like that how easy it is to damage a boat. �

Vincent Riou � PRB : � This is the fourth time that I�ve crossed the doldrums. I�ve always had some wind. During the last Jacques Vabre, I went through them at an average of over 12 knots. Tonight I�ve had a fair number of squalls with gusts of up to 35 knots. But above all else it�s the very confused seas that are unsettling me. �

Marc Thiercelin � Proform : � The problem with the machine that converts seawater into drinking water is in the process of being repaired. I�m counting on making the most of my passage of the doldrums to collect the maximum of rain water. I have prepared everything this morning. I have four big 25 litres bottle. With a reef in the mainsail, I�ll be able to collect some water in the folds in the sail. It�ll be a bit brackish but it is still better than seawater. �

S�bastien Josse � VMI : � The wind varies a great deal both in strength and direction. It�s hard to keep the sails up. You have to be vigilant, prepared to sail a little under-canvassed. �

Jean Le Cam - Bonduelle : � The doldrums version 2004, is really something! What a night! I haven�t slept a wink. It�s coming in from every angle. I�ve never seen that! A real sound and light show. One minutes everything is calm, then the skies fall down on you. Yesterday evening, I even believed I was free of it. How wrong was I ! I really copped it. in moments like that it�s better to be in a monohull than a multihull! �

Mike Golding � Ecover: �Last night I had a push with a Code 5 in 21 knots of breeze. That�s a lot of sail when you�re sailing quite shy, and the autopilot was having trouble coping with it. I had a couple of �103 errors�, which is where you can�t move the rudder. That could be for a number of reasons, but is most likely due to the fact that there is a lot of load going through the rudder because I�m really pushing the boat. So I had to sit next to the helm to keep an eye on things.�

Norbert Sedlacek � Brother: "My first weekend was like my start in Les Sables, it was bad! After the good breeze reigning at the start of the week, I�ve spent nine hours on the trot helming and manoeuvring as the wind has been unstable. I�ve had trouble finding the right sail balance. According to the weather forecast, the wind was set to be fair regular between the Canaries but I ended up being becalmed under Gran Canaria for hours. At one point I was just 16 miles from the port of Mogan ( south-west of this island), where I have a lot of friends. That gave me a big moral boost. Fortunately I received a lot of emails at that point from supporters of my adventure. That gave me courage and I�m fighting now to find the wind again and get Brother racing again.

Vendee Globe Report 17 November

Whilst we go about our respective daily routines 20 lone sailors are racing around the world without a stop.

Each weekday ATWOS will present a report on the 2004-2005 Vendee Globe race. Who will join Lamazou, Desjoyeaux etc. as winners? Who will be a breakout young star like Ellen Macarthur? Which sailors will participate in dramas such as those of Pete Goss & Yves Parlier?

The report will cover the rhythm of the race, whether it's fast or slow, what's the degree of difficulty, is it iceberg territory?

Each day we'll check the standings to see who the leaders are and who else is on the move.

The fleet roundup will cover news of interest from any and all boats both the success's and the inevitable failures.

From the lone sailors will highlight the most interesting communications from the multi national group of sailors.

Rhythm of the Race "The doldrums have performed their job well, preventing the skippers from sailing straight to their goal."

Standings 1. Bonduelle 2. PRB 3. VMI is the newbie here.

Fleet Round Up VMI moves from 4th to 3rd, 48 to 39 miles out fo 1st while Hugo Boss drops from 3rd to 5th and from 40 to 80 mils out of 1st.

From the Lone Sailors Mike Golding: "It certainly feels like we�re on course to have just a 100 mile deficit. Last night I had a push with a Code 5 in 21 knots of breeze. That�s a lot of sail when you�re sailing quite shy, and the autopilot was having trouble coping with it. I had a couple of �103 errors�, which is where you can�t move the rudder. That could be for a number of reasons, but is most likely due to the fact that there is a lot of load going through the rudder because I�m really pushing the boat. So I had to sit next to the helm to keep an eye on things.� Le Cam Doldrums action video

Conrad Humphreys sheared spinnaker block

Antarctica Cup Delayed

The inaugural Antarctica Cup International Yacht Race planned for a start in 2005 is postponed to a date to be advised.

The event organiser�s business plan for the event provides that the fleet of identical high performance racing boats be owned by the event organisers and provided for use by the competitors at minimal cost to the competitor.

Relieving individual competitors of the task of finding individual team sponsors by consolidating event sponsorship into one major event sponsor , or a family of event sponsors, is the aim of the event organisers.

The search for a major event sponsor/s continues.

Under consideration is a �dual-handed� non-stop circumnavigation of Antarctica to start in late 2006 under a similar race format as the current biennial Antarctica Cup event in a fleet of �Open 60� class racing boats. This event is planned to incorporate a series of ocean races, �in between� the around-Antarctica races, hosted out of Nha Trang in Vietnam �the future Mecca of Asian ocean racing.

Identifying a port in Australasia interested in hosting this �dual-handed� event is work-in-progress.

Doldrums Nail Nick

RACE UPDATE:

KEY DATA AT 0950GMT: Skandia drops to 11th as UUDS and PROFORM slide by in the west....BONDUELLE still leads by 26 miles over PRB with VMI now 3rd ahead of SILL who has pushed BOSS back in to 5th...

QUOTE OF THE DAY FROM NICK: �@@@*********@@@@*****@@@@!!!!!!!!!�

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DEGREE [of longitude] OR TWO CAN MAKE: Nick has been suffering more than most overnight, as he is in what seems to be the worst of the Doldrums, his easterly position now really causing pain. But everyone has been experiencing the stress and sleep depriving conditions of this volatile region...the average speeds shown on the leaderboard disguise the fact that the boatspeeds are changing from 2 knots to 20 knot, and with them the heartrates of the skippers...

BONDUELLE MAINTAINS HEALTHY LEAD of 26 miles, and rapidly approaching the Equator and the entry in to the southern hemisphere, at 0500 Jean le Cam announced in a short video clip that he was clear of the Doldrums, �a Doldrums that has kept its fierce reputation�...the leading 4 boats have had a good crossing of the Doldrums � stormy yes, but windless no...they carried wind right around the edge of the massive cloud mass that then closed in behind him blocking the way for the boats in the east like Nick in particular...

SAILING IN THE DOLDRUMS WHY IS IT SO HARD? : �wind going from 5 knots to 25 knots...squalls coming in very quickly� reported Mike Golding this morning...and the problem with that is if you put up the right sail combination to make progress in 5 knots of wind, when the wind hits 25 knots you have five times too much sail up, five times too much power, and the boat is very quickly knocked down on its side, mast in the water...and a big risk of damage. If you keep a small amount of sail up, of course you are not making much progress...in Golding�s rather sleepless words this morning �you have to make a compromise and accept some inefficiency...�

ONE OF THE PRE-RACE FAVOURITES GETS BACK TO POTENTIAL: Winner of the Transat Jacques Vabre 2003, and skipper of one of the new generation boats, Jean-Pierre Dick has had mixed fortunes so far...and after sailing at below potential for nearly 4 days, last night he finally completed a repair to the gooseneck [see JARGON BUSTER]. Dick is currently in 7th place, 90 miles ahead of SKANDIA.

* THE NEXT �OBSTACLE� FOR THE LEADERS JUST GOT BIGGER: The same �unusual� weather pattern that has propelled the fleet to the Equator in record time, is also producing a rare situation in the South Atlantic as well � the St.Helena high pressure system is currently extended right the way across to the west near the Falkland Islands...creating a new blocking wall in front of the fleet...

BRIEF CALL WITH NICK THIS MORNING
In fact a sequence of short calls, as Nick�s concerns grew about what looked like a military vessel following him...

Had a shocker, he [the motor vessel] got right close to me...couldn�t work out what he was doing...I was hoping to get some breeze to move away.... Even when I altered course with the windshifts, they came at me...kept converging....then the next minute I�ve got 35 knots of wind, code E [large gennaker] and full mainsail up and I�m doing 23 knots, stuck on the helm in driving cold rain...heading west unfortunately, but got away from the boat anyway...sure it was Coastguard or something, but I couldn�t reach him on VHF...when I saw him preparing to put a smaller boat in the water I got quite concerned.

Think I�ve lost them now in this rain squall, as even on the radar you can�t make any objects out at all.

IT�S NOT JUST THE WIND THAT CHANGES IN THE SQUALLS: �After being on deck in shorts, 20 minutes later I was freezing cold and soaked through to the skin...I was shaking with the cold!�

JARGON BUSTER: GOOSENECK: the rotating joint between the boom (the carbon beam which supports the bottom of the mainsail), and the mast (which supports the leading edge of the mainsail, known as the luff). The gooseneck allows the boom to move out and in (and some vertical movement as well), according to the wind angle relative to the boat. Without it life is a pretty complicated � and slow!

SKANDIA DATA LOG 0930 GMT: data communicated to you via BT Business Broadband
LAT / LONG: 7 52N / 24 39W � 480 miles from the Equator...
WIND: All over the place, from nothing to 12 knots, from south east to north east and never still for more than a few minutes...
SEA TEMP AND PRESSURE: 19 degrees / 1019 Mb.

POSITIONS 1000 GMT 17TH NOVEMBER 2004
BOAT / LAT / LONG / distance to finish

1. BONDUELLE, 2 14.44' N / 28 09.52' W, 20787.4 distance to finish
2. PRB, 2 47.56' N / 28 03.68' W, 20813.3 distance to finish
3. VMI , 3 13.88' N / 27 45.44' W, 20826.4 distance to finish
11. Skandia, 7 51.88' N / 24 39.08' W, 21047.7 distance to finish

Doldrums get to Hugo Boss

Vend�e Globe : DAY 11

17th November 2004
Leader : Bonduelle (Le Cam FRA)
HUGO BOSS Ranking : 5th
Distance to leader : 80.4 nm
10:00 GMT Position of HUGO BOSS : 03 45.88' N 28 12.48' W
Wind direction & speed : ESE, 20 knots
Boat speed : 10 knots
Location : Closing in on the equator

Yesterday evening brought tricky conditions for Alex and HUGO BOSS. Having solved the pilot problems that caused his issues on the previous night, Alex had time to concentrate on sailing the boat, and his concentration was certainly needed.

The doldrums (or Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, to be correct) are not as active as they sometimes can be, but they are still causing squally weather. If you are on the right side of a squall, you can make gains, but find yourself on the wrong side, and you can lose out to boats close by. The skippers have to be ready to change course or change their sail plan at the drop of a hat.

Alex feels he was unlucky last night, finding a number of wind holes, and being on the wrong side of a couple of squalls. He was up all night monitoring the conditions, snatching only a couple of short sleeps, but through this area it�s more luck than judgement that dictates your fate.

The conditions are still squally, but hopefully the worst is over now, and Alex can start to push the boat again. For the first time since the start, the boat is now sailing close to the wind, as it blows from the ESE, and Alex�s desired course would be about SSE. Due to an unusual weather pattern mid Atlantic, the fleet may well become embroiled in a tacking competition down towards the Southern Ocean.

Virbac makes repairs

Objective : "Hit the Southern Ocean with a boat in excellent tip top condition�"

As Virbac-Paprec approaches the Doldrums, a zone of meteorological havoc, Jean-Pierre Dick looks back over the start of his Vend�e Globe. "After having got off to a difficult start where I found it hard to get into the swing of things, I�m now getting excellent sensations on the boat � which is essential. I�ve got to repair the damaged gooseneck and can�t wait to get back into the race ad catch up with the leaders�. Virbac attacks", as Jean Le Cam puts it as it rhymes. (Radio session of 13th November) !

No two days are alike in the Vend�e Globe. During today�s official radio session, Jean-Pierre�s voice was "loud and clear", irrefutable proof that moral on board has taken an upturn for the better, in line with Virbac-Paprec�s progress in the latest position polls. Dick�s Farr design is lying 7th having distanced two of his opponents Skandia (Nick Moloney) and VM Mat�riaux (Patrice Carpentier) now astern. He spent an excellent night positively reeling in the miles thanks to a steady north-east wind. "I helmed for a couple of hours in perfect harmony with the boat. Reminiscent of the feeling you get when you meet up with an old friend that you haven�t seen for a long time� sheer pleasure ! Since the start, I�ve not been able to take things in hand and have had a spot of gear failure here and there. Lacking in visibility, I�ve made strategic mistakes. But I reckon I�ve managed to break the viscous circle which stops things from happening the way you want them to. I can tell that everything is going much better now than before."

Quickly� the gooseneck !
Virbac-Paprec�s skipper makes no secret of the fact that he has to finish repairing the gooseneck if he is to get back into the match (fitting linking the boom to the mast), "a vital part", which broke in a broach (when the boat steers violently off to one side wind astern). "I�ve got the spare on board but it�s tricky to fit. You have to bring down the main and take it off the boom. No mean feat. I gave it a first shot yesterday as I passed the Cape Verde islands but a rather heavy wind picked up. I haven�t finished yet, but I�ve seen how to go about it. You mustn�t have too much pressure on the sails. Not an easy equation to solve � the whole reason for my being here is to find the best wind and sail fast ! I�m going to have to find the right moment to get down to repairs�"

Jean-Pierre�s message was received loud and clear ashore on the official radio chat yesterday. As sea also. Marc Thiercelin (Pro-Form) was particularly attentive to Dick�s message. "I had the same problem as Jean-Pierre with my gooseneck four years ago. It took me 48 hours to get it sorted out. But he shouldn�t despair. It�s always possible� ". Just the sort of encouragement which boosts Jean-Pierre. Captain Marc knows what he�s talking about when it comes to sailing solo around the world. Objective for Jean-Pierre : "attack the sail down the South Atlantic with a boat in tip top condition� at her very very best of her potential !"

Virbac-Paprec�s situation at 14h30 GMT (15h30 French time)

Position : 9 05.92' N 25 48.24' W
Distance to the finish : 21123.4 (39128 Km)
Distance from the leader : 200.8 miles
Speed : 8.7 knots
Heading : 196�

Rankings at 15h00 GMT (16h00 French time)

1. Bonduelle - Jean - Le Cam
2. PRB - Vincent Riou
3. Hugo Boss - Alex Thomson
7. Virbac-Paprec

Passing Through the Inbox

I heard a radio ad the other day that said we've gone from the information economy to the Inbox economy. We all get a lot of emails, voice mails and other communications. Here are some marine items that have passed through my inbox recently.

Last Thursday was the anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. The 29th anniversary saw a unique ceremony at Split Rock Lighthouse. The light's beacon was lit and the names of crew members spoken. The Fitzgerald sailed past Split Rock light on its fateful voyage. The light has been in existence since 1910.

Another light- Old Mackinac Point- has received an award for its restoration. Located near the Mackinac Bridge Old Mackinac was a working lite until 1957. It will open for the 2005 season May 16th.

There aren't many lighthouses in the Arctic's north west passage, but there may need to be some. For by mid century ships maybe able to sail the North West Passage 120 days per year rather than the current 20-30. This is 40% shorter than the current Europe to Asia route which uses the Suez Canal. Rising temperatures are the cause behind this.

Continuing with commercial shipping 3 people died and 20 are missing due to shipwrecks off Algeria. 65 mph winds grounded 2 ships and sank one.

John F. Kennedy was the last President who was an active sailor. Kennedy sailed a yawl named Manitou which originally was a racing boat on Lake Michigan.

Manitou was a Sparkman & Stephens design which won the 1938 Chicago Mac & the 1939 Port Huron to Mac race.

Now the boat is being restored by descendants of the original owner James Lowe of Chicago.

One can hardly imagaine the chaos caused by a current day president deciding to travel to say Bermuda by sailboat!

President and First Lady vacation at Hammersmith Farm. Hugh D. Auchincloss, Mrs. Auchincloss, President Kennedy, Mrs. Kennedy, others. Narragansett Bay, RI, aboard the US Coast Guard Yacht Manitou. 9/09/1962

Conrad the Climber

A BOLT FROM THE BLUE
HELLOMOTO�s �block horror� as spinnaker halyard fitting shears

Elapsed Time: 9 days, 1 hours, 20 mins
Fleet Leader: Bonduelle (J. Le Cam FRA)
HELLOMOTO: 13th out of 20, 250m South of Cape Verde Islands

Last night, an 8mm bolt from the spinnaker halyard masthead fitting falls onto the deck and lands at Conrad�s feet by remarkable chance

Conrad drops spinnaker and immediately attempts his first climb to the top of 90ft mast in pitch black to find spinnaker halyard had been held on with only 1 screw

At daylight this morning, Conrad went up the mast again for 3 hours and successfully fit a spare block but is thrown off the rig twice in big swell and breeze

Vend�e Globe UK Breaking News is active from our homepage, also Conrad�s first onboard images and Week 1 Diary are online at www.conradhumphreys.com

Conrad Humphreys interview from onboard HELLOMOTO overnight and this morning courtesy of Geolink/Iridium:

�I�d been pushing the boat hard all day downwind to gain miles on the fleet after my recent set back losing my best spinnaker over the side last Friday. As the day was ending, I went up on deck and I was suddenly surprised by a large 8 millimetre bolt landing at my feet. It had fallen from the mast just then, and I knew it could only be from the halyards as the rest of the rig is lashed. I had to react instantly as HELLOMOTO was trucking along at 17 knots under full main and spinnaker in a 22 knot NE wind and the light was starting to fade.

A quick call to my shore manager established that the bolt had come from the block which holds the spinnaker halyard to the top of the mast � the halyard which I had been flying the kite on all day. This meant that the block holding the spinnaker halyard had sheared from the mast and the 200m2 spinnaker could have just dropped from the masthead at any time while the boat was sailing along at 16 knots. Worse than that, as I was sailing HELLOMOTO at a very low angle at the time (Ed: spinnaker right out in front of the boat) the boat would have run straight over the sail and caused a real nightmare for me to try to recover the sail, halyard and block from underneath the boat. It�s all very well with a crew, but on my own to try to haul a heavy, wet sail and halyard back onboard would have taken me several hours of tough, physical work. I couldn�t bear losing a second spinnaker as well, as it would be quite detrimental to boat performance with so much downwind sailing still to go.

I couldn�t afford to wait until daylight to climb the 90ft mast as I needed to see what had happened and get that block off the mast before worse could happen, but it was getting dark, so I dropped the spinnaker onto the deck and without even time to properly prepare my climbing gear, I started to climb the mast as night fell. The boat was sailing along still at 10 knots under full main in a strong 22knot breeze and I had to entrust my autopilots to hold course for the whole 2 hours I was up there. I got half way up and wondered how I�d ever get to the top. I was surprised at how hard I was finding it, even though I�d practised and trained myself physically for this exercise many times, but I hadn�t eaten or slept enough during the day, because I had been pushing the boat hard, and so I really lacked the energy I needed there and then. I got to the top of the mast after about 20 minutes, unable to see a thing, but found that the block had nearly sheared right off the mast, two pins had come out and the halyard was being kept up by just one screw, which was split open, so I had to cut it right off. It was remarkable that the fitting had held together all this time.

By this time it was pitch black and I was concerned about getting back on deck safely as I hadn�t got my descending gear so had to carry the broken block and free climb down the rig one-handed loop by loop on the main sail strops. It was pretty stressful as I couldn�t see if I was to fall and by the time I reached the deck I was absolutely exhausted � I couldn�t even pull the skin off a rice pudding! I immediately called my team to let them know I was safely down and the first thing I did was to eat some of my wife�s beef jerky and I gorged myself on it! I caught up on some well-needed kip but spent the rest of the night working out how to make a new block as I don�t have an exact spare.

This morning at daylight I spent another 3 hours up the mast fitting the spinnaker sheet block, which I took from the back of the boat. The swell was bad so it was a lot tougher and I got thrown off the rig twice. I also forgot my gloves so my hands are all cut up now. I�m utterly shattered again after the second climb, but I�m stuffing myself with Vikki�s cake and a cup of tea and I�ll be right as rain again. Mentally, though, I don�t feel quite as frustrated, as this sort of thing will happen and you can�t moan about it, there�s no time, you just have to set your mind to the problem and deal with it there and then. I�ve no idea how much I�ve lost on the fleet during the last 10 hours and the boat has been sailing underpowered all night, but I now have to push the boat to her full potential again. My overall focus is to get HELLOMOTO back up with the front runners, she�s a fast boat and I know we can do this.�

Notes: HELLOMOTO has four spinnakers in the sail wardrobe. One of these has been lost already: Conrad had to cut it away when it badly wrapped itself around the forestay and unfortunately got caught around the keel as it fell into the water.

Weather Brief

The Doldrums are approaching still for HELLOMOTO at 11 degrees North but leader Jean Le Cam on Bonduelle has already experienced some squally conditions at 6 degrees North and significant wind shifts to the ESE. This is the time for the chasing pack to make gains on the leaders as they are still in a steady 15-20 knot NE following breeze. Conrad must still make ground to the West as the Doldrums effect extends to around 26 degrees West, which is where the top 6 boats have lined up to cross through the ITCZ and head South to the Equator.

Fleet leaders & HELLOMOTO Ranking* polled at 0934 GMT

Ranking / Boat / Latitude / Longitude / Heading / Speed** / DTF*** / Miles from leader

1. BONDUELLE / 6 33.44' N / 26 21.44' W / 202 / 14.1 / 20977.1
2. PRB / 7 01.84' N / 26 53.24' W / 199 / 15.4 / 21012.0 / 34.9
3. HUGO BOSS / 7 11.40' N / 26 33.72' W / 194 / 14.7 / 21016.7 / 39.7
13. HELLOMOTO 11 28.48' N / 23 11.88' W / 198 / 9.4 / 21272 / 295.1

Le Cam's Jackpot

Were there any doubt as to who hit the strategic jackpot on the passage of the Cape Verde islands, Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) continues to set the pace, 34.3 miles ahead of second placed Vincent Riou (PRB) after hanging a winning easterly option right around the outside. Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) has been in third for the past 8 hours or so 66.7 miles back from Riou, though he still has the prospect of climbing the mast again. There are less than 400 miles to go before the competitors reach the renowned zone of fickle winds and squalls known as the doldrums, the current leader expecting to reach them tonight having already seen lightening. Whoever is the first to pass the doldrums will have his inscription fee reimbursed but regardless of that the atmosphere across the fleet is decidedly upbeat, it�s hot, the flying fish are a plenty and the boats are gliding. The last images and odours of land will soon be a distant memory to the leaders, and now the skippers can really feel as if they have set out on a round the world race, looping the loop in 21,200 miles time.

Not surprisingly Jean Le Cam was in fine form during this morning�s radio session. �I�ve had 5 hours of sleep and managed to get back some westing across the path of the other competitors. Not bad! I could have shaved a bit more off the Cape Verde islands but never mind - the water�s at 27.6 degrees. I�m not too worried about the Doldrums, it�s not a mountain, once you�re in it, you�re in it and then you have to get yourself out again. I�ll just have to keep my eye on �Vincent Le Terrible�...(Riou).�

Vincent Riou (PRB) is currently 34.3 miles in his wake, also revelling in the pleasures of being on the water. �Conditions have been perfect since the islands. I�m gliding along in 15 knots of wind in relaxing medium trade winds. I�ll spend a bit of time looking at satellite images and the lower cloud cover for getting into the doldrums but I view the entrance within a range of 2 degrees. I don�t think it�ll be a problem. Our lives are ruled by the rhythm of the rankings, the radio sessions and the arrival of weather charts.�

Meantime the past 24 hours have been a period of reflection and preparation for Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) up into third. The time is fast approaching when Alex can no longer delay making yet another ascent up the mast to address the recurring issues with the �sheave� and finally making the repairs to the broken batten in his mainsail. "I�ve been putting it off as I�m really not looking forward to it. It�s so hot during the day, it makes the climb seem that much harder - although I guess I should be getting used to it by now! My main worry is that so many flying fish have landed on the boat already that I�m worried Bilou (Roland Jourdain, 25.7 miles behind him in 5th place) will smell them and start catching me up just to make me watch him eating one raw sprinkled with a little lemon juice! Apart from that I know there�s always plenty to do on board but you get bored of being on your own".

S�bastien Josse (VMI) is currently between the two friends and down in sixth, biding his time, is Mike Golding (Ecover) who took the place of Australian, Nick Moloney (Skandia) this morning. �I�d give this first week 8/10 though I am a bit disappointed with my position. To sum up I�ve been in the wrong position for the past 2 days, even if I was going for long term gains. The reality is that I lost out on this particular game. It does seem to be going round to the west now with boats like Bonduelle coming over � I am continuing to make even more westing though if you can believe that � you can�t be wrong all the time after all! I think the doldrums are a day�s sailing away and they seem to be spread quite widely in a traditional cone shape and if the lead boats go south now they�ll cop it. Right now I really feel in phase with the boat in stark contrast with the last Vend�e Globe where I felt like a robot. After all I am on one of the best boats in the world.�

Just 18.8 miles behind him at 1500 GMT, Nick Moloney has had a close encounter with a fishing boat overnight which got rather heated, along with some problems with a sail getting stuck at the top of the mast - a problem since resolved it would seem. Behind him Patrice Carpentier (VM Mat�riaux) is having a blinder of a race on a fairly ancient boat, really getting immense pleasure from racing around the world, while Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec) is clearly suffering nearly 200 miles from the head of the fleet and a very strange option near the island of Fogo. Whether this is related to his earlier troubles with his battens and the mast/boom joint is a closely guarded secret for the time being.

Other troubles amongst the fleet have been encountered by Herv� Laurent (UUDS) who is suffering from a leak in his daggerboard casing (like Raphael Dinelli). He is awaiting better conditions to try and fix the problem but for now is taking onboard 30/40 litres of sea water per day. Marc Thiercelin (Pro-Form � 11th) had made the greatest performance over the past 24 hours this morning having covered 322 miles (13.4 knot average), but the machine which converts seawater into drinking water has broken and he is having to use a hand pump. Jo� Seeten (Arcelor Dunkerque) is still suffering from the fumes of a leak in his fuel tank.

The mood throughout the fleet is upbeat though after just over a week of racing on the approach to the Doldrums. The back of the fleet has now stretched out to 845 miles with Norbert Sedlacek (Brother) and there are still 5 backrunners to pass the Canaries with American, Bruce Schwab (Ocean Planet) currently island hopping the archipelago.

Quotes from the Boats:

Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto): �I�ve been trucking along doing some good trade wind sailing � even with a couple of wipe outs. I�m still not making a big enough dent in the leaders though. For the situation ahead there seem to be squalls at around 25 degrees west so I clearly need to get some westing in but I�ve had a good morning, even if the local radio in the Cape Verde islands interrupted my David Bowie CD!�

Benefic: (Karen Leibovici): "Everything onboard Benefic is ok. On Sunday I took the time to give the boat and the girl a scrub down: first shower, then a fois gras tasting given to me by the restaurant " l�Entre C�te � in Les Sables d�Olonne. After this fine introduction, I cleaned down the engine compartment where my diesel pump is continuing to play up. I�m beginning to get a taste for mechanics. When I run the engine, the temperature in the boat very quickly rises to 30�, or more. As a result I make the most of the cooler evening temperatures to charge the batteries. Tonight is a particularly clear and starry one and I�m spending a lot of time with my head fixed towards the sky. See you soon Karen ".

This mesage was received by the race management today...memories of times gone by. "My name is June Cox and I am writing on behalf of my daughter Claire who does not have access to the Web or a computer today. She asked me to try and make contact. Two days ago (13. 11. 2004) my daughter was walking on a very remote beach on Kangaroo Island off the southern coast of South Australia and found a bottle with a message in it. The message is from Bertrand De Broc and he threw it in the water at Cape Hope on Christmas day 1996 during this race. He has put some information on the note and we would love to contact him as it is a very exciting find. Do you have a way of helping us contact him?
Adelaide, South Australia. Kindest regards, June Cox
(In the 1996 edition Bertrand de Broc suffered structural problems with his boat (Votre nom autour du monde/ Pommes Rhone Alpes) and capsized. Today he is a renowned sailor on the Figaro circuit).

Vendee Globe Report 16 November

Whilst we go about our respective daily routines 20 lone sailors are racing around the world without a stop.

Each weekday ATWOS will present a report on the 2004-2005 Vendee Globe race. Who will join Lamazou, Desjoyeaux etc. as winners? Who will be a breakout young star like Ellen Macarthur? Which sailors will participate in dramas such as those of Pete Goss & Yves Parlier?

The report will cover the rhythm of the race, whether it's fast or slow, what's the degree of difficulty, is it iceberg territory?

Each day we'll check the standings to see who the leaders are and who else is on the move.

The fleet roundup will cover news of interest from any and all boats both the success's and the inevitable failures.

From the lone sailors will highlight the most interesting communications from the multi national group of sailors.

Rhythm of the Race Top 5 within 70 miles. "The mood throughout the fleet is upbeat though after just over a week of racing on the approach to the Doldrums."

Standings 1. Bonduelle 2. PRB 3. Hugo Boss . Order unchanged from yesterday.

Fleet Round Up 310 mile for 3rd place VMI, batten problems for Virbac-Paprec, water problems for Thiercelin, fuel difficulties for Seeten

From the Lone Sailors Alex Thomson " It really was the worst night in my sailing career. I�ve slept very little and I even burnt my hand." J.P. Dick " I�ve started the work but there are several more hours to be done."

Laundry on VMI

Linky Sailing News

Racing Le Cam's Jackpot. Transat '05

News Nippon Cup Crew list. GBR challegne out?

Great Lakes Wisco mercury study. Poor ferry planning

College Sailing North/South

Hugo Boss photographed from VMI on November 13th

Bavaria 38 Match

The new Bavaria 38 Match, which made its North American debut at the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis last month, is the newest addition to Bavaria Yachts� growing lineup of German-engineered sailing machines.

�The 38 Match is a no-compromise yacht for the serious racing skipper looking for silver, or the family cruiser more interested in getting the best anchorage in the bay by simply outsailing everyone else on the water,� said Bruce Mundle, managing director of Bavaria Yachts USA.

The 38 is the first of the Match-series performance cruisers from Bavaria. It is being followed by a 35 and 42, according to Mundle.

For the Bavaria 38 Match, Doug Peterson has combined with J & J Design to develop an easily driven hull form with a semi-plumb bow and relatively full sections forward, with a high-profile keel and rudder combination for optimum underwater performance. The beam is carried well aft, allowing for strong sailing characteristics while providing ample space for the onboard cruising lifestyle.

The large crew-friendly cockpit allows for easy movement and sail handling. Traveler and backstay adjustments are located on the steering pedestal in easy reach of the helmsman, whose steering position also features excellent sight lines to sails and instruments. The main deck is open and functional with a full complement of Harken winches and hardware. Cutaway toe rails aft make for more comfortable crew hiking, and the clean and open coach house provides for easier movement of crewmembers across deck when tacking.

The fully tapered performance mast is keel-stepped for optimum performance. The shrouds are stainless steel rods, anchored into large tiebars below deck to distribute the mast load to the hull and grid. All control lines are led aft into the cockpit.

Below decks, the 38 Match is a perfect blend of livability and functionality. Rich bright mahogany woodwork is generously used throughout the interior. The cabin sole is teak and holly finished composite. A removable varnished wood table amidships is framed by comfortable port and starboard upholstered settees, which convert into single bunks for crew. The fully equipped galley includes a stove with oven, refrigerator and stainless steel sink with hot and cold water. The ergonomic navigation station is designed with a contoured instrument panel and ample storage for charts and instruments. Opening ports provide for excellent ventilation as well as light.

The 38 Match comes in two-cabin and three-cabin versions, with a head and hot and cold shower. The forward stateroom is designed for comfort with a large vee-berth and separate upholstered settee in the dressing area. In the three-cabin configuration there are two double-berth cabins aft.

�The 38 Match is living proof that a performance sailboat can also be used for cruising in comfort,� said Mundle. �It�s equally at home charging around the buoys or lying at anchor in a quiet cove.�

Bavaria Yachtbau is one of the largest sailboat builders in Europe, with a modern high-capacity factory in Wurzburg, Germany, which employs state-of-the-art automated processes to ensure consistency and quality control while reducing manufacturing costs. As a result, Bavaria Yachts provide an extraordinary combination of value and quality.

Moloney bites West Bullet

RACE UPDATE:

KEY DATA AT 0930GMT: Skandia 9th, 20 miles behind 8th place TEMENOS, 37 from VIRBAC...Bonduelle still in front by 35 miles from PRB, BOSS, VMI, SILL, ECOVER.

QUOTE OF THE DAY FROM NICK: �Lost a lot...but feel good about where I am now...�

PAYMENT TIME FOR SKANDIA: Nick was finally was forced to make a �losing� gybe to the west last night, the least favourable angle of the two downwind sailing angles, in order to gain some westing to position himself better for the passage of the windless Doldrums zone ahead. He wasn�t surprised to find this morning that he had dropped a couple of places in the rankings...�...more comfortable now. Feel good about where I am now...� were Nick�s relatively relaxed thoughts this morning.

BONDUELLE MAINTAINS HEALTHY LEAD: At 35 miles ahead of PRB, le Cam has a good solid lead as he heads in to the Doldrums and from the speed data coming off the boats, it doesn�t look like he is yet being effected by them � still recording 12.6 knots over the past few hours. Behind PRB, Alex Thomson has been sailing well to grab the 3rd podium position, ahead of VMI. Meanwhile ECOVER out in the west has been making steady progress on SILL, now only 54 miles ahead of him � a boat just three days ago he was in visual contact with.

ALL EYES ON THE CLOUDS AHEAD: Using tools such as DartCom (see Jargon Buster), the solo skippers are making their big decisions now as to where they will cross...looking for a �gap� to let them burst through in to the South East Trade Winds on the other side...the winds that will power them around the St.Helena High pressure system...the next major weather system on the racecourse. For now the front 6 boats are all within a 50 mile band...heading to cross around 26 degrees West...

AUDIO transcript from the Virtual Media Conference with Nick courtesy of Geolink/Iridium

A BIG NIGHT? Yeah, took a big gybe west, to try and set up better position for Doldrums. Lost a lot [in the rankings], but potentially doing better, and more comfortable. Feel good about where I am now.

Haven�t got a set plan at the moment as to where to cross, more weather information this morning...trying to make as much westing as I can though. I�m about 12 hours away from the Doldrums.

REST, DESPITE THE GYBES DURING THE NIGHT? Yeah, managed to rest, I was pretty well set up for the manoeuvres, but its always hard work on your own. Breeze wasn�t that strong...between 0200 and 0500 we were pretty slow...

A GYBE IS A DIFFICULT MANOUEVRE ALONE ON AN OPEN 60 RACEBOAT? A gybe takes about 35 minutes in these conditions, and goes something like this...snuff the spinnaker, haul it around around to weather (will become the new leeward side after the gybe), come back to cockpit for dealing with the mainsail...wind it in, take on the new runner, let the old one off, let out the mainsail. Wind not strong enough at present to have to take a reef (to prevent batten damage), so easier at present. Then a frustrating few minutes getting spi up again. Surprised myself how clean the manouevres have been. Its a bit dodgy on the foredeck, reaching high, losing your balance, which is a bit dodgy...

HEAT OF THE TRADES? Heat not so bad as there is cloud cover...so its not so bad. Boat is well set up, ventilation is not too bad with the front hatch open which I can do at the moment as there isn�t much breeze [or water on the deck].

Regularly looking around. Hope to see somebody I guess, but other mind doesn�t want to see anyone as it would be a distraction.

Am looking forward to getting to the other side of the Doldrums, and maybe my easterly gauge will help me if I can get across ok.

JARGON BUSTER: DARTCOM? Crossing the Doldrums calls for some other forms of weather data than weather maps...the effects are so localised, and also move so fast, that weather models have a hard time predicting where the gaps in the Doldrums are. One of the best indications is cloud mass � and therefore semi-real time satellite pictures are one of the skippers� best tools.

SKANDIA DATA LOG 0930 GMT: data communicated to you via BT Business Broadband
LAT / LONG: 10 31N / 23 52W � mark it on your Nick Moloney poster/map! South West of Senegal.
WIND: 15 knots from 065: light Trade Winds leading the fleet in to the Doldrums...
SEA TEMP AND PRESSURE: a nice 20 degrees / and 1018 Mb.

POSITIONS 1000 GMT 16TH NOVEMBER 2004

BOAT / LAT / LONG / distance to finish
1. BONDUELLE, 6 33.44' N / 26 21.44' W, 20977.1 distance to finish
2. PRB, 7 01.84' N / 26 53.24' W, 21012.0 distance to finish
3. HUGO BOSS , 7 11.40' N / 26 33.72' W, 21016.7 distance to finish
9. Skandia, 10 30.68' N / 23 52.12' W, 21209.6 distance to finish

Hugo Boss 3rd on Day 10

HUGO BOSS wipes out the miles

Vend�e Globe : DAY 10
16th November 2004
Leader : Bonduelle (Le Cam FRA)
HUGO BOSS Ranking : 3rd
Distance to leader : 39.7 nm
10:00 GMT Position of HUGO BOSS : 07 11.40' N 26 33.72' W
Wind direction & speed : NE, 25 - 30 knots
Boat speed : 16 knots
Location : South of Cap Verde Islands

Just before darkness set in last night, Alex was enjoying 20 - 25 knots of wind with spinnaker and full main flying. All of a sudden everything on board, including Alex was propelled from one side to the other as the pilots gybed the boat, leaving it completely on its side. Alex was left grabbing onto a winch as he realised the main sail was pinned down by the vang, and he considered how to right his boat. Fortunately he was quickly able to gybe the boat again and get it back upright. "It�s very extreme", he commented calmly."Everything crashes over to the opposite side and it takes a second or two to realise what's happening". Having righted the boat, Alex switched the pilots back on and did a quick inspection to ensure no obvious damage. But just moments later, the boat gybed again, this time leaving the kite wrapped around the mast. By this stage he was really having to hang on and began to worry about the miles he would be losing but somehow he managed to untangle the kite and right the boat once again. Determined to keep panic at bay, but with legs trembling all the same, Alex spoke with the shore crew and got the back-up pilots up and running.

With his confidence a little shot and the boat in chaos, Thomson decided that a cuppa and some food would be in order before tackling the tasks that faced him.He went below, boiled the kettle and then just as he was pouring the hot water into his delicious freeze-dried culinary delight of the day, the first squall hit, with gusts of 30 knots and upwards. The sudden jolt of the boat caused the boiling water to spill, scalding Alex's left hand. "It was really painful but I realised that was a lot going on outside and so my first priority had to be to sort the boat out." Alex came on deck to find HUGO BOSS not just in the middle of a huge squall with increasing winds, but also in the middle of an electrical storm which sent his wind instruments crazy. With his left hand pretty much useless, he rushed to the foredeck and pulled the spinnaker down. By this time, it was about 4am, and exhausted from the previous 9 hours adventure, Alex finally made it down below to get some well earned rest.

At 6.30am, having slept through his alarm, he awoke to find himself in 30 knots of wind but within a few minutes of being on deck, the wind speeds had leapt to 45 knots! Though the sleep had left him feeling a lot calmer, Alex decided to stay on deck and monitor the back-up pilots, his confidence in his equipment not yet fully restored. When asked about the condition of his hand, he said, "I have no doubt that the doctor at home would say with a burn of this nature, 'keep it clean, don't use the hand but most importantly don't get it wet'. Unlikely I think !". But relief came at last when he made his morning report to his Gosport based shoreteam and discovered despite his challenges during the night, he managed to not only hang on to 3rd place, but made some significant gains, leaving him only 5 miles behind PRB and with Bonduelle firmly in his sights.

Winter Checkup

Once your boat is hauled out and winterzied it's time for a few months on the hard in storage. This article gives a few hints and tips about best practices to use when storing your boat.

All items on this list pertain to boats stored at Torresen Marine. It is likely that many apply to other boat yards.

Do not leave personal items or valuables on your vessel during winter storage.

Store docklines, fenders and power cords to prevent losing them and so they last longer.

Sanding: Whether inside or outside use a dust free vacuum sander. TMI sells and rents Fein Sanders.

Power cords and extension cords can't be left plugged in when a boat is not attended as they are a fire hazard.
Leaving unattended heaters inside boats is prohibited for the same reason.

Tie off your halyards

Schedule service work with as much lead time as possible, allowing your service provider to do the best job possible without unecessary rush.

Don't store sails in the boat.

Winter is a good time for inspections. We can arrange to have your fire extinguishers, life rafts, PFDS and other safety equipment insepcted.

Periodic visits to check things such as winter covers are also a good idea. While visiting your boat stop in the TMI ship's store. Winter time is a little slower than high summer. If you have a project you want to discuss with store staff winter time is the best time!

1 Week In

"Today is day 7 and began with some mysterious visits in the early hours from some small fishing boats. I had noticed them lurking around on the radar for a couple of hours before three boats headed towards me. Knowing that there has been some incidence of piracy in these areas, I decided to head offshore a little. One of the boats came along side just a few metres from HELLOMOTO and shone its torch at my mainsail. After a couple of minutes, there curiosity waned and much to my relief they headed back to join there friends.

"This week has not been an easy one to settle into a good rhythm. The blistering pace set at the start has only been slowed by the unusual lack of south Atlantic trades. After an incredible start witnessed by hundreds of thousands lined along the Les Sables d�Olonne shoreline, the fleet started to stretch out towards Cape Finisterre. Off the Cape, there was a lot of storm debris in the water and we collided with three pieces of wood at high speed, one of which hit the starboard rudder with a lot of force. A quick check has shown some damage to the blade but nothing serious.

"As we headed south towards Madeira, the fleet split left to right was over 100 miles. Looking ahead past the Canaries, the low pressure to the south was preventing the trade winds from forming and looked to me like the fleet was heading towards a park up. Being the most easterly of the fleet, I opted to head through the Canaries to pick up the breeze that was shown consistently off the African coastline. Having always tried to avoid sailing through these islands, (notorious wind holes in behind the islands) I aimed for the gap between Fuertaventura and Gran Canaria. My ETA was midnight! Not great as I knew there would be some tricky manoeuvring to be done, notwithstanding the conditions I was to be greeted with.

"I changed from the big HELLOMOTO spinnaker to the Code 5 with the wind gusting to 25 knots and 30 miles to the corner of Fuertaventura. I was struggling to sail deep enough to clear the shallows off the western corner and a large container ship was forcing me high of course as I tried to cross its bows. Things were starting to look a little dodgy as I crossed the 10m contour line and was sailing dead downwind in a very nasty breaking and confused sea state. I cleared the lighthouse by what appeared to be metres and got set up for a gybe back to the west once clear of the wind hole behind Gran Canaria.

"The wind dramatically strengthened once clear of the gap and HELLOMOTO took off at 20 knots surfing down breakers that must have been 10-15 feet. Any where else and I would have been in my element, but having had less than 30 mins sleep in the previous 24 hours and Richard Simmonds from APP constantly talking to me about camera angles (a hallucination � I must have been tired!) I was pretty edgy as the speedo read 26 knots and the african coastline was only 40 miles away.

"Gybing these boats in big breeze is not easy. The mainsail on HELLOMOTO is 200m2 and during a gybe if not controlled can crash across the boat with the potential to break all six of the carbon fibre reinforced battens. I only carry enough spare battens for two complete changes. I opted to reef the mainsail and furl the code 5, not easy in 35 knots of wind.

"The manouevre went well and I had a good course running parallel to the coastline. I had a quick 40 winklets and as day break arrived I set about re-hoisting the big HELLOMOTO spinnaker. During the fresh running conditions through the night ahead of the Canaries, I had not noticed that the spinnaker sheets had been chafing against the mast Cap shrouds above the leather protection. To my horror the shroud which holds the mast up looked badly chafed and I needed to climb out onto the deck spreaders to check it wasn�t as serious as I thought. I also needed to come up with a plan for how to prevent this from happening in the future. Getting out onto the deck spreader took three attempts as each time I didn�t have the strength to be able to hold on one handed whilst the other hand secured me there. My third attempt, I decided to shimmy up the spreader after securing a line outboard. The chafe was serious but only through the outer plastic, luckily no damage to the fibres that would have surely led to my retiring from the race. I wrapped the shrouds with sticky Kevlar, took a couple of pictures for Joff and slid back down the spreader. It was now 0830 and I was feeling tired and very hungry.

"Hindsight is obviously a great thing, and having got through a pretty stressful night without any serious mishap and making good progress in the fresh winds found on the African coastline, I don�t know why I didn�t call it a day and grab some much needed sleep and re-fuel. No...with 150 mile deficit to make up on the leaders, I decided to return to re-hoisting the spinnaker saying to myself another 30 minutes effort would give a greater reward. Sometimes, you need to listen to your body. With a tired head and energy levels excessively low, the 30 minute sail change turned into 5 hours of hell due to me leaving one jammer on the mast un-cleated. I called Mary just before 9am to cancel any morning media commitments, I said I would phone her straight back with a great story about my high speed adventure through the Canaries. Little did we both know that morning something was to unfurl that would lead to me ringing her back completely gutted, totally exhausted and perhaps a level of depression I have not experienced for a number of years.

"At 0900, I bore the boat away, and began hoisting the 350m2 HELLOMOTO spinnaker to the top of the 90 foot mast. The sail is in a sock which prevents it from opening until you are ready. Standing on the foredeck holding a thin line that controls the power to this monster sail, with the boat already sailing at 15knots under the mainsail alone you feel completely charged. This morning my tired mind missed some of the vital warning signs. As I started to pull on the sock, I had missed that the jammer holding the spinnaker halyard was not shut. As the sail violently filled, the halyard slipped off the winch and the sail fluttered gracefully into the water. I dived for the autopilot and dumped the mainsheet to slow the boat and stop run running over the sail now fanned out in front of the boat. I quickly gathered some sail ties and began hauling the sail back onboard. No problems, I had been quick enough and although wet, the sail was at least still in one piece and back onboard. I stuffed the sail down the fore hatch and grabbed the other spinnaker - the new one, only just delivered from North Sails. Without stopping to even consider a a quick breather, I re-hoisted the second spinnaker and got ready to un-sock it, checking this time that the jammer was closed!

"I opted to put the boat on a lower course so that the mainsail blankets the spinnaker as you un-sock it. The sailed open and as I ran back to the helm, it billowed out in front of the forestay. I was to slow to head up on course and could only watch as the sail started winding itself around the forestay like a wineglass. I altered course to try and clear it, but my manoeuvring only made the situation worse. The spinnaker was wrapped around the forestay and a new plan was needed. I was too tired to think and could not face another climb up the mast to clear it, so I dropped the halyard and desperately hoped the sail would untangle itself from the rigging on its own. This proved partially correct, and as the sail fell into the water, I focused on clearing the wraps around the forestay. The head of the sail filled with water and started dragging like a giant sea anchor before ripping in half. The sail was being destroyed and I could only grab a knife and begin hacking it away from the rigging. Normally this would have been enough - a bad day some might say, but as the sail sunk below the boat it wrapped itself around the keel. For three hours I tried to manouevre the boat backwards, forwards, sideways which ever ways trying to clear the sail from the keel. I don�t think I ever felt quite so alone. I dropped the mainsail, and started considering how and when I might be able to go over the side with a knife to clear it. The wind was due to drop later that evening. I sat motionless in the cockpit floor, sweat pouring from my body racking my tired mind for a solution. I re-hoisted the mainsail, and began again circling trying to unwind the sail. Then without warning, the boat suddenly became free. The sail had given up its grip and decided to sink below the waves. We were free. I pointed HELLOMOTO back on course and slumped on the cockpit floor to exhausted and emotional to think or care about what sail to put up next..."

Humphreys under Pressure

Elapsed Time: 8 days, 2 hours, 2mins

Fleet Leader: Bonduelle (J. Le Cam FRA)

HELLOMOTO: 12th out of 20

Conrad is pushing hard to climb up the rankings as HELLOMOTO sails inside the Cape Verde Islands today, his immediate goal to pick off the nearest boats around him but the overall focus is still on getting back up with the front runners

The next weather obstacle is the ITCZ (Inter Tropical Convergence Zone) or �Doldrums�, an area of unpredictable squally weather, which is active between 6 and 5 degrees north

Conrad is gathering various weather information in order to select his longitudinal crossing point for The Doldrums, in the hope that he can gain an advantage by sailing less miles

Vend�e Globe UK Breaking News is active from our homepage, also Conrad�s first onboard images and Week 1 Diary are online at www.conradhumphreys.com

Conrad Humphreys interview from onboard HELLOMOTO courtesy of Geolink/Iridium:

�I�m trying to push as hard as I can to make the miles up, much of it was between Code and spinnaker sailing. It�s really great sailing out here in the Trades, but I�m not making a big enough dent on the leaders unfortunately, well, we�ve got the Doldrums to come 200m away, where we should concertina up a little bit further I hope. They�re not so active right now. The Trade winds seem to go right the way down as far as 10 degrees North and the SE Trades are coming up, there is quite a big squall area around 25 degrees West. Unless nothing changes in the next 10 days then it could be pretty good. At the moment you could cross as far west as 25 degrees, but you wouldn�t want to cross inside that, unless I wanted to take a bit of a flyer, which is always a possibility. I am focused on selecting the best crossing point for the Doldrums, and will refine my option the nearer I get, but it would be an advantage if I ended up sailing less miles on the course.

�The few key boats around me, Dominique Wavre on Temenos and Nick Moloney on Skandia are a bit further ahead, that would be my immediate goal to pick off these boats, I should be able to do that, I hope. Obviously Nick on Skandia is well out further East than us, so if I keep stoking down with this pressure then possibly I can take some miles off him. My focus overall is to get back up with front runners and there�s no reason why, with this boat and th