Vendee Wrapup–Charging South: The top eight boats are all in the southern hemisphere, and Bonduelle’s Jean Le Cam is still leading the sprint toward the Southern Ocean. To get there they’ll have to work their way around the South Atlantic High. Latest report here. Latest positions here.

While the lead boats are close reaching south, the middle of the fleet is just emerging from the purgatory of the Doldrums, which are characterized by windless holes, sudden squalls, and almost no sleep. Skandia’s Nick Moloney reports that he is so tired he sometimes goes on deck, only to forget what he wanted to do.

Here are a few accounts from the boats, which give you just the barest sense of how miserable solo racing in the Doldrums can be.

First up, Conrad Humphreys on Hellomoto:

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 2 or 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!

Next up, TWC favorite Bruce Schwab, on Ocean Planet:

We are now in the dreaded “Doldrums,” a vast area of HUGE thunderclouds with torrential rains, interspersed by agonizing light winds. In the massive thunderstorms, there is lightning to fear along with downdraft winds up to and over 40kts.

In a mere two days the area has fully lived up to its reputation. Yesterday, I went from careening at a high speed in a downdraft (until I was able to get the genniker rolled up, a story in itself), to beating upwind for hours in 25kt winds, in addition to two hours TOTALLY becalmed and slatting noisily in the leftover waves….all this before early afternoon.

Today has been a series of TORRENTIAL downpours along with the wind blasts. I get set up in my gear for the storm when I see them coming, then stay in the cockpit and trim the sails and autopilot while trying to make the most of the sudden burst of speed. I tend to reach way off and just try to cover as much ground (er, water) as possible as long as it’s in the general direction we want to go.

I’ve had about two hours sleep total for the past two days, so I’m very tired, but will squeeze in some naps tonight..right after this update, I hope! But alas, more ominous towering clouds are headed this way….yikes!

You always hear about the Southern Ocean and the Roaring Forties, but it is the Doldrums that round-the-world sailors hate most…



Down In The Doldrums: The view from Hellomoto…