It really doesn’t get any more action packed than this. We’ve got Ellen, Bruno, Jean, Vincent and Mike. All racing their guts out, in three different events. So let’s take a tour, shall we?
First up, Ellen. Little Big Mac has now pushed her lead over Joyon’s seemingly unbeatable solo circumnavigation record to more than 2 days, with just over 2,000 miles to go. She’s hammering north with the help of decent trade winds, scrapping for every extra mile she can get and praying that her boat stays more or less in one piece and doesn’t hit anything. Most sailors with a 2 day lead in this stretch of water would be laughing and drinking Mai Tai’s. But Ellen can’t afford to. Joyon put up some massive runs over the last four days of his record bid, and Ellen is facing a massive high pressure system parked over Ireland, which could eat her up. And even if she avoids that trap, the forecast right now is calling for brutally strong headwinds as she approaches the Channel. In other words, this thing is going down to the wire, and every f*cking minute and mile will count. Unbelievable, really…
Well, if you think Ellen v. Joyon is exciting, we’ve got more. The Vendee Globe leaders (Le Cam, Riou and Golding) are all within 650 miles of the finish, and all within 60 miles of each other. Not only that, the two leaders–Le Cam and Riou–are within a mile of each other (no, that’s not a typo) after 85 days of racing. This is the tightest Vendee ever, and anything could happen. Riou and Le Cam are separated by a lot of water, so one or the other has made the best tactical decision. And Golding, who’s on new leader Le Cam’s line is going faster than anyone. Golding, as usual, is most quotable, and not just because he’s speaking English. Here he is on former leader Riou risking such great separation between himself and the chasing pack: “Having sailed such a beautiful race it does seem rather daft to have dropped such a clanger at the end. Even if he gets away with it, I believe what he’s done is a big mistake. He shouldn’t have let that happen.” Jeez, Mike, I don’t thing Vincent is going to be buying you that steak dinner you keep dreaming about. And here’s Iron Mike on surviving the frustrating conditions of the final sprint: “All sorts of things could happen. In these conditions, I could easily see a rig coming down, frankly. You can’t afford to be fully powered up. If you happen to find yourself at 100 per cent performance, it’s just coincidence. There is a lot of load going through the boat, and you look up at the rig and think, how long is it before something goes ‘ping’? You can’t see these squalls coming, they haven’t got labels on…I’m not coping with it very well. I can’t make the boat display its best qualities, and I can’t display my best qualities if I’m forever changing sail plans. I’ve found it excruciatingly difficult. I’d do anything to get out of these changeable conditions. I’d climb the mast to get out of this. It’s so random I’m not able to do anything with it, except that I am closing down the miles. So to that extent, I suppose you grin and bear it, and hope the miles keep on coming down.” Golding says that he has been taking out his stress on anything breakable (and expendable) and that he has been doing a lot of cursing. Four more days to go…
And last but not least, cruising along at high speed into the Southern Atlantic we find B. Peyron and his jolly crew on Orange II. The big cat will cross The Line ahead of Cheyenne’s time, but behind Geronimo’s 6 say, 11 hour record time (update: Orange II crossed the Quator after 7 days, 3 hours, giving her a lead of 190 miles on Geronimo’s Jules Verne time and 534 miles on Cheyenne’s world record time. Orange II has averaged more than 20 knots since the start). Now Peyron and his cat are hoping that the unbelievably favorable weather forecast for the South Atlantic pans out. Normally, boats heading to the Southern Ocean have to head far west, and contend with light winds to get past the St. Helena high. But right now the forecast has the high well west, with a corridor of northerly winds to the east. If that holds up, Orange II will slingshot into the Roaring Forties with a huge advantage. We’ll see. In the meantime, check go to the video page on Orange II’s website and check out the start (1/24) and the two most recent clips for some good maxi-cat shots…
Ellen Exclaims: “There’s got to be a better way to make coffee…”
Golding Grouses: “Did I mention it was wet, too…”
Peyron Prays: “Please, St. Helena high, oh please, please, please, we’re coming as fast as we can…”
The Earthist Chronicles 