The Vendee Globe

[andrewcsy]

Good picture here.

It was a nervous night and early morning, with Jean calling his shore team "in distress" before his phone went dead and his EPIRBs activated.

As expected, he'd lost his keel (well, the bulb) and had capsized. No-one knew if he was alright, but Vincent Riou, who arrived this afternoon, did make contact. I'm not sure what was said but he seems to be OK. More help is coming (including a RIB with divers) early tomorrow morning.

Now that's gotta be scary. I hope he's alright.

What is it now, 13 left?

Andrew

[Connemara]

That's a pretty dramatic image all right, but the good news is that he appears to be in the hull and alive.

Yer right.... I count 13 boats still in the race out of 30 that started. And a couple more are having equipment problems.

Connemara

[Stillraining]

Go Samantha...I keep having to change who I rooting for...

[andrewcsy]

Le Cam is safe and sound, though Vincent's boat is a little worse for wear...

[andrewcsy]

Originally Posted by andrewcsy

Le Cam is safe and sound, though Vincent's boat is a little worse for wear...

Update:
Much worse for wear.

[andrewcsy]

Congratulations to Michel Desjoyeux! This is his second victory.

With Roland Jordain's keel damaged, could Sam Davies on Roxy make it onto the podium? (Interesting side note: Roxy is the same boat that Mich Desj won the 2000/2001 Vendee with).

I wish I could find some English video of Mich Desj's arrival and subsequent press conferences - anyone have any links?

Cheers
Andrew

[Connemara]

Originally Posted by andrewcsy

With Roland Jordain's keel damaged, could Sam Davies on Roxy make it onto the podium? (Interesting side note: Roxy is the same boat that Mich Desj won the 2000/2001 Vendee with).

Seems unlikely to me.

I see Jourdain has abandoned the race in the face of high winds forecast on his route. That leaves Armel Le Cleac'h in second.

So third will probably be Guillemot on Safran. Davies is a bit ahead of him, but he has some time in the bank because he diverted to lie to near Generali when her skipper was injured. They may have to adjudicate the finish.

OTOH, who can tell? The way this race is going they might all sink and the two still in the Pacific would be second and third. It has been a demolition derby out there.

Connemara

[Wrenna]

I am truly amazed at the interest you take in the Vendée Globe. I sometimes wonder why there is only one American sailor taking part in the race. Are you afraid of French sailors by any chance ? (Joke.)
Well, Mich' Monde won the race last Sunday. Just routine. Armel Le Cleac'h is hopefully going to finish second in a few days' time. I'm delighted, he is such a nice and competent sailor.
But the real winner will be Sam Davies, whether she finishes 3rd or 4th does not matter. Everybody in the yachting world in France is absolutely crazy about her. She is incredibly gifted and nice, she smiles all the time, she sings, she dances, she grows beans on Roxy. Her English accent when she speaks French is delightful, and she does speak very good French. Everything is always alright with her, although she expressed some doubts tonight about her route, when a lot of skippers have started to say they were getting a bit fed up with the race.
In four years, when she has a really fast and powerful boat, Mich' Dej' and others will be well advised to be very careful. She might be the first sailor under 80 days in the single-handed non-stop unassisted sailing race around the world. Jules Verne had better watch out, as Desjoyeaux said when he arrived at Les Sables.