Calais Round Britain Race - Day 9

Bulletproof Riou

• Winner of the 2003 edition of the Calais Round Britain Race and Vendee Globe, Vincent Riou and his crew look set to take victory in this 2007 edition of 'the Calais' around 2300 hours French time after over 9 days of racing.
• Conditions tonight look favourable for the Dover-Calais Record
• Second, third and fourth place look to be established but the order is less certain, their arrivals likely throughout the night.
• The battle for 5th has just been swiped away from Jonny Malbon’s 2002 Artemis Ocean Racing by Yann Elies’ on his prototype Generali.

In all probability, Vincent Riou on PRB will take victory in this 2007 edition of the Calais Round Britain Race, with arrivals steadily filing into Calais early tomorrow morning and throughout the course of the day. The top four places look to be fairly established but Artemis Ocean Racing will be all out to snatch back 5th place from Generali if they get even the slightest chance, whilst the Roxy girls and Aviva will certainly not be easing off the pace.

58.7 miles from Calais at 1600 hours French time, Vincent Riou on PRB was tacking off the Thames estuary at lunch time today and hoped to round the mark in Dover at around 19/2000 hours. " We’ve got a little sun at last. Conditions are improving and already the fog is gone. We’ve been making more headway since 0800 hours this morning with a twelve knot SW’ly. They’re really floundering behind though…There’s still fifty miles till Dover but I don’t think we’re going to break the Channel record! We’re going to have around 15 knots of W’ly, which is forecast to build: it should be more favourable for the chasing pack. At the moment we're on a favourable tack making towards the Thames and we will be in Calais this evening. We’ve put up a steady performance throughout the course and the secret in these light conditions is to remain calm so as to try not to make any mistakes. ” As Jonny Malbon on Artemis Ocean Racing said earlier though..." PRB is bulletproof! ” and the most likely scenario tonight is that the orange monohull will make Calais before midnight tonight.

Up into second place Pascal Bidégorry’s main concern were the grib files and the general strategy alongside Jérémie Beyou. “ I hope we’re going to be able to hang onto our new second place. We’re rather happy with our performance since that first extraordinary night of sailing where we were 177 miles behind the leader. We've managed to nail quite a few other boats since then and that's really satisfying. Forecasts suggest we're going to end up sailing upwind and stay like that but conditions are very random. We were stopped dead last night but now we've got the keel canted over as far as possible. We haven’t made it as far as Calais yet but as the breeze is filling in from the South, Jean Le Cam doesn’t have too many options. The wind is fairly random: twenty minutes ago were stopped dead and now we are canted right over! ”

Reduced to third place today VM Materiaux crew and Figaro specialist Gildas Morvan was revelling in the race conditions nonetheless: “ It's fairly logical that we lost second place in the sense that we were having to guard our right (Temenos) and our left (Delta Dore). Jérémie was daring and it came off. ”

In fourth place, just 30 miles from a podium place, Tornado sailor Pim Nieuwenhuis on Temenos sounded very fresh today but the sailing conditions weren’t quite so bright. " We're making very slow headway. In fact we've just raised the anchor and have only just started moving again. I kind of expected an Imoca 60 would be faster than this! There's just no wind at all. After all this time at sea the jokes are getting sillier. We're not enjoying this part of the race very much! The first part was definitely better than the second! We’ve had plenty of sleep however so we're all ready for the final sprint! "

Relegating the very frustrated crew of Artemis Ocean Racing to 6th position, Yann Elies on Generali was savouring his fine tactical option offshore boosting them 2 places in the 1600 hour rankings to fifth: " We're doing fairly well. We've reached our goal to get back with the little gang ahead but our mission is not yet complete. As the wind is going to fill in from the South, we're not going to able to hang around. We might be on for the Dover-Calais record as it looks like we've got 15-20 knots of NW'ly "

Just 0.1 mile behind you could sense Jonny Malbon’s frustration on Artemis Ocean Racing but they continue to battle on: “ Conditions are absolutely horrible! We were drifting towards an oil rig and were just 0.7 miles away but couldn't even see it. For 1 1/2 hours we tried to gybe away from it in zero winds with zero boatspeed. We're now making a bit of headway with just 3 knots of wind. We had zero anything for a good hour. During that time we could hear the tannoy systems on the oil rig and the grumbling engines of the support boats but no sounds of water rushing over the hull. What's even more disappointing is that Generali has caught up on us. We've worked so hard to get into this position too. We won't give up but we need wind to push us in any direction and until then our hands are tied. The files say more wind but for now we’re stuck in a waiting sequence. ”

And so the waiting sequence begins for us too here in Calais with our first arrival expected around 2300 hours French time…

Find all the latest information on www.calaisroundbritainrace.com

Quotes:

Sam Davies on Roxy: “ At the moment we have 1.4 knots of wind and 2.2 knots of boatspeed. We’re doing well as we're travelling along at double the windspeed but 2 knots isn't great. We're working hard but it's very difficult. Akena is coming back behind us and there's not much we can do. We’re going the same speed as the seagulls swimming by. There was no escape from this area of light winds. We've got a bit of sun and fog at the moment just for a change but actually we prefer just having fog at the moment as there seems to be more wind then. The chocolate is probably going to run out by the end, there's no milk left and very little tea! "

Dee Caffari (Aviva): “ We were keen to maintain our speed in the hope of reducing our deficit behind the leaders by as much as possible. In just 24 hours we have made up close to 100 miles on the rest of the fleet but looking at the course and the distance to run we may just run out of time to continue making an impact. The other contributing factor is that as we close the gap our weather systems become more alike and if we are moving then it normally means that our rivals are moving towards the finish line as well".

Update from Aviva:

Aviva still pusing to make up lost ground

The Calais Round Britain Race is nearing its conclusion as the 11 boats head towards the entrance of the English Channel for the final dash from Dover to Calais. The changeable weather conditions are making exact arrival times very hard to predict and none of the boats are taking their current position for granted. Aviva has held on to some good breeze throughout the night and Dee Caffari is still aiming to catch up with the back of the fleet before crossing the finish line.

Dee Caffari’s latest diary:

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“All night we sailed in the semi-darkness of twilight, amongst the ghost town of the North Sea. All around us we could see oil rigs, those in use and lit up like Christmas trees and also those left standing derelict, unpopulated for some time.

“The spinnaker was changed several times, when the wind strength or our apparent angle to the wind changed. We were keen to maintain our speed in the hope of reducing our deficit behind the leaders by as much as possible. In just 24 hours we have made up close to 100 miles on the rest of the fleet, but looking at the course and the distance left to run we may just run out of time to continue making an impact. The other contributing factor is that as we close the gap on our rivals the weather systems we are in become more alike and if we are moving then it normally means that our rivals are moving towards the finish line as well.

“We hope that today will continue to allow us to sail in good pressure whilst those ahead struggle so we can continue to close the gap.”

Dee, Chook, Frog, Pants and Hugo

Update from Artemis:

All the good work in jeopardy onboard Artemis Ocean Racing

Last log from Jonny Malbon before the finish of the race

“So here we are on day 9. A very painful night for us, but I guess for the whole fleet too. We have managed to maintain our advantage over Roxy, but Generali have come back into the frame. They are very close but we hope we have put ourselves in the best position to make the most of the new wind that is forecast to come in.

We have all been trapped in very light winds for the last few days and it has been a very painful experience. All the good work that we had done on the course is in jeopardy so we are all just focused on eking every bit of speed and direction out of the boat. This is very exhausting and at times pretty soul destroying. This coupled with the incessant fog has led us all to become slightly mad. Understandable I would imagine…

We are right now sailing along at 3.3 knots in 3.2 knots of wind. The tide has just turned so very soon we may have up to 2 knots against us – this leaves just 1 knot of forward motion. Progress you might say, but when we have 170 miles left to the finish, then you can see why it has become a little depressing!!!

We had a few encounters in the thick fog last night with oil rigs, and their guard ships. There are so many rigs out here it is unbelievable. The last few times I have done this course we have been sailing downwind at 25 to 30 knots in the dark, so this time sailing in dense fog with no boat speed and very strong tides was very different. For sure the fast downwind stuff is more exciting, and less dangerous. We did hear Roxy on the VHF last night, getting hailed by a guard ship which meant they were in the same vicinity. When you can’t even see the bow of your boat, any info like that is priceless. I would imagine that they would have heard us getting hailed by a rig too.

We don’t have any position reports on the boat from 2000 till 0400 French time. This is pretty painful in these conditions as you constantly worry that the other guys have some secret breeze or have found a little corridor of pressure. The most eagerly awaited information that comes on board is the 0400 position report. Checking your own position course, speed and location against the others when the polls come through is pretty addictive as it gives you an idea of how you have performed against the fleet during the night time blackout.

Hopefully the forecast breeze will fill in from the west or south west and we will be able to start moving properly again. We have already thought that the new breeze had got to us on a couple of occasions which was really good news for a while (making 10 knots to the goal) but so far they have been short lived. Again pretty depressing as the boat speed changes from 10 knots to nothing in an instant and the ETA (Estimated Time Arrival) rockets to sometime next year.

We are all pretty determined not to let Generali or Roxy through as we feel that we have done a really good job all round in getting ourselves in fifth place. I think that the guys will break into a split watch system now, so that one person changes every 3 hours or so, so that we can have continuity on deck. It takes a lot of concentration and teamwork to keep the boat moving in these conditions and to have that little team change completely for a new watch can mean lost boat speed and an unnecessary slow down.

I am making this sound quite boring!! It really isn’t! I guess I am so tired and focused on the next 177 miles that I can’t think of anything else!! It is still great fun out here and very satisfying when the boat is moving well in these conditions, but I think we all want to get into to Calais in fifth!! We will certainly try...

We hit 0 knots boat speed and 0 knots wind speed early this morning. However, while we all trying to get the boat moving in mirror flat conditions a lone seagull paddled up to the boat from behind, looked at us nonchalantly, and then just paddled straight past us. Not to motivating being overtaken by a paddling seagull, I can tell you.

Keep your fingers crossed,
Jonny.”

Update from Temenos:

A mix of calm and nothing at all!

We had hoped to see the frontrunners cross the finish line during daylight hours, however the capricious weather for the end of this race has spurned our forecasts. Dominique said yesterday that “in these kinds of twisted conditions anything is possible". Even being brought up sailing on Lake Geneva doesn't make this situation any more pleasant. "Even the Swiss on Lake Geneva are fed up with these conditions!" joked Michèle when contacted earlier this afternoon.

Visibly the atmosphere is still a jovial one aboard TEMENOS though the crew were hoping to finish fairly rapidly. This shifty, erratic wind, which virtually disappears at times, is really testing the crew’s nerves.

From the trimmer's job, which is difficult and unpleasant as the sails flog and fill, to the helmsman who persists, concentrated on trying to get the very most s/he can from the slightest sniff of evanescent air, to the navigator who sees his strategy pushed around by the fickle weather forecasts…. A sailor's job at the close of this race clearly isn't a picnic.

Ensnared off the English coast since yesterday evening, TEMENOS is progressing haphazardly… with 12 hours to cover 43 little miles, the damage is severe. Not surprising when reading these figures to hear Michèle referring to the "worst night since the start. We had a mixture of calm and nothing at all. At times there were some little flurries of air but it rarely lasted more than 10 minutes. We were continually making manoeuvres throughout the night in a pea-souper fog, trying to keep an eye out for oil rigs, sandbanks and cargo ships. It was very tricky."

We were even prepared for some kedging on deck in preparation for the change of current, with 2, 3 knots on the nose there was a strong chance we'd have to weather it out and start going backwards. There’s a fair number of sandbanks on the course, and we passed one called Leman (Swiss name for Lake Geneva). There are some things you just couldn't invent!

We’re a little annoyed. It’s frustrating to learn from the first ranking of the morning that the other boats have not been slowed as much as us. That doesn't mean that we're any less motivated about trying to make headway, quite the contrary in fact."

In the early hours of the morning, Delta Dore, now 2nd in the fleet thanks to an E’ly tack the previous day, as well as VM Matériaux, have considerably increased their lead over TEMENOS. The first had a 46 mile lead the second 20 miles at the 1600 hour ranking. With less than 100 miles to the finish for Delta Dore, it’s difficult to see how this hierarchy can be upset.

A definite advantage when sailing in crewed configuration is that the effort is shared. "A night like that tires you out but we have a good rhythm and we're able to recover sufficiently well when we’re off watch.” However, the food shortage is becoming a bit of an issue onboard and seemingly it would be better to be alone aboard rather than be forced to share the last rations of freeze-dried food five ways.

"Things are getting to be very tight. We're into our reserve stock now but we should have just enough to keep us going to the finish."

No real worries on this score then but certainly within the fleet, everyone is very keen to bring to an end the endless light winds of this Calais Round Britain Race… it remains to be seen when they’ll be able to do that! Forecast suggest it will be this evening for the leader, and we hope it will be in the early hours for TEMENOS.