The Earthist Chronicles

The Bay Of Biscay is known for its November cold fronts, and last night it served up a classic, with winds to 50 knots and seas to 20 feet. The result: serious devastation in the TJV fleet.

Here’s a quick summary of the action:

1. 2200GMT Tuesday night, Brossard (Y. Bourgnon/ C. Caudrelier), with major rupture along central hull, taken under motorboat tow by Laurent Bourgnon and reached Guernsey at 2300hrs.
2. 0315 GMT CROSS and MRCC informed that Sodebo (Coville/Vincent) and Orange Project (S. & Y. Ravussin) had set off their EPIRB distress beacons.
3. Sodebo skipper Thomas Coville reports to Race HQ that the port float has broken up, resulting in a dismasting. Sodebo located 150 miles off Brest in 35 – 45 knots of wind and very rough sea state of 7m waves. They are safe but can no longer control boat.
4. Orange Project skipper Steve Ravussin reports to Race HQ that a beam had broken, resulting in capsize.
5. 0615 GMT Project Manager Alain Gautier informs Race HQ that Foncia has capsized 220 miles off French coast lying 2nd in fleet at the time.
6. Armel Le Cleac’h reports to Race Doctor that Damian Foxall has injured his ribs and has a possible broken collarbone.
7. 0930 GMT Sodebo skippers report that a French fishing boat has taken the boat under tow and they are safely onboard the fishing vessel, heading for Brest.
8. 1000 GMT Galileo Open 60 monohull Brazilian skipper Walter Antunes reports broken boom, they are derouting to Spanish port before deciding whether to continue.
9. 1000 GMT Multihull Open 50 boats Victorinox and Branec heading for French coast as Victorinox reports broken bowsprit and Branec a broken port hull
10. 1030 GMT CROSS took over rescue operation, and French Navy helicopter from Brest lands on aircraft carrier Jeanne d’Arc in the zone of operation to refuel and then set off to rendez-vous first with Foncia and then Orange to evacuate the skippers.
11. 1230 GMT Navy helicopter rendez-vous with Foncia, and both crew safely winched off boat with help from diver. Orange Project only 6 miles away from Foncia so French Navy helicopter flies directly to evacuate the Swiss skippers.
12. 1400 GMT All four skippers from Foncia and Orange safely winched off and in helicopter en route to Jeanne d’Arc
13. 1500 GMT All four skippers will be onboard the Jeanne d’Arc to receive immediate medical assistance, after which they will all be helicoptered to Brest.

Is that a grim report, or what? You can get all the details, and further updates, here. This will provoke yet another round of soul-searching and debate over racing shorthanded trimarans across the Bitch Of Biscay in November. And there will probably be little new in the rhetoric. The important thing is that all the sailors seem to be okay–even if some of the boats will now become nice barnacle colonies…

“Merde, merde, merde! Wake up Damian! I think we’re pointing in the wrong direction…”

Bungee jumping is pretty exciting, even if this doesn’t happen. Just goes to show: always look before you leap…

Crafty Croc: “And this is my bungee-jumper ready position…”

While the Volvo teams were sipping tea and gowing slow (see below), the TJV was in full-on fury, sailing into Force 6 winds and enjoying the usual post-start pasting. You can catch up on all the action here. But the pictures tell the real story…




Skandia Surprise: “Having a rope like this wrapped around your keel is very, very slow. But at least I now have something to tie Brian up with if he’s a bad boy…”

The first inport race in Volvo Ocean Race history went off on Saturday. Light wind, pretty boring affair. It’s hard to make these machines seem dull, but racing them inshore in light wind is a pretty good strategy. Note to Volvo: stick to the offshore stuff. For the record, the race was won by Ericsson, which now has a half point lead over Brasil 1. The real start, the ocean racing part, comes next Saturday. I think I’ll take a nap until then…

First Blood?: “Dammit, Neal. How’d you let that lugger slip around the mark first…?”

I’m not sure that two major ocean races is better than one (after all, there are only so many hours to waste in a day). But what are you going to do? In addition to the Volvo (see below), this weekend sees the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre, the classic two-hander from Le Havre to San Salvador. This thing is always a flat-out, crew-killing sprint, which more than occasionally morphs into a total demolition derby. Here’s a preview of the monohull fleet, which has 12 Open 60s and 7 Open 50s starting tomorrow. The multihulls, all 18 of ’em (ten of them Formula 60 tris), start on Sunday. It’s going to be a crowded North Atlantic over the coming week. Hope the commercial skippers are ready for some crazy sh*t…

At least that what the PR geniuses at Volvo have to say. No matter how you cliche it, the VOR is finally here. So dig in and check out the form here. And also make sure you keep track of “race data central.” My only complaint about the site so far is that there is no easy to find picture gallery, and Virtual Spectator, which is a fantastic way to follow the race, is not ready yet. Still, this is going to be a great one…

Brasil 1 Has The Babe Factor: “Oh man, I can’t believe they wouldn’t let me make Giselle a watch captain…”

You just see it everywhere these days. So there’s only one thing to do: Sit back and enjoy it. And no one does it better than Warren Miller. These (Quicktime again) are from Ski magazine’s Miller archive. Clip 1. Clip 2. Clip 3. Phew. I need a smoke…

XXX Skiing: “Ohh, baby! I’ve never been in so deep…”

I don’t know about you, but I’m having a rough week. Good thing I came across GetRelaxed.Com. Now I’ve got underwater bubbles playing in the background. If I like I can switch to rain, a waterfall, or surf sounds. Ahh, soothing…

“Oh Lord, please find me a relaxing website…”

In 2001, German sailor Uwe Rottgering set out on a solo circumnavigation. 783 days, 16 countries and four continents later he arrived home. And luckily for us, he has produced a great 14 minute video of his travels (which I cam across on the blog H2uhOh). Yes, you need a chunk of time to watch this. But it’s worth it, because ‘ol Uwe delivers a real feel for the variety and emotions of the experience. Check out his website here. Grab your lunch or some popcorn and cue up his home movie here. And then get off your ass and start making your own plans…

Solo Circ: “Ahh, Mozart, a well-found boat, and a following wind…”