The ARC is a ‘must do’ for many sailors, and attracts over 200 boats and 1200 people every year to sail 2800 NM across the Atlantic from Gran Canaria to Saint Lucia.
St. Lucia’s Gros and Petit Piton
St. Lucia’s Gros and Petit Piton are perhaps the island nation’s most notorious features. The gorgeous, lush mountains shoot over 700 meters into the sky on either side of Soufriere Bay, where you can visit the lovely Anse Chastenet Beach or the town of Soufriere. Sailboats can anchor or moor in this bay to enjoy an up-close view of the Pitons. Read More
Basically, I’m doing fine, enjoying myself more and more. I think I’m more comfortable now, more reactive when it comes to choosing sails. And if I had known my boat that well from the start, I could have sailed faster at the beginning of the race. But that’s how things are… I’ve been at sea for a month and it’s a special moment. You can feel the rhythm changing and you have to be extremely careful because whether you realise it or not, you are getting tired. And the temperatures have changed, too, they’re getting much colder so you drink less, which makes recovery more difficult. That’s why I eat soup several times a day, as well as energy supplements. And I try to sleep as much as possible. Micro-naps can be very efficient!
Conditions have improved. We now have more stable and stronger winds and it should last for four or five days. The sea is weird, though, the waves just don’t carry you as much as when you’re in the Great South. We’re sailing north to avoid iceberg and as a result, we miss some of the adventure. It’s become such a serious race…
The two leaders have extremely good boats that can truly make a difference in winds like this, that not that strong. Behind, the skippers who were chasing them got stuck near the gates, where there was basically no breeze. You can’t really use the weather when you have geographical constraints and areas you are required to sail in. But the leaders are also very well-prepared and with my boat and my preparation level, there’s no way I can compete with them. So I think it’s better to currently focus on skippers I can actually catch up with, Cali and Javier, while keeping an eye on Tanguy.
The last 24 hours have been fairly pleasant sailing VMG downwind in 15-20 knots of wind with a few gybes thrown in. I have still got a fairly big swell from the west so we still get up on a good surf every now and again.
All concentration is on the ex Cyclone Claudia and where I need to meet her to get the maximum gain. I am studying two weather models, the GFS model from the US and the ECMWF model from Europe. They pretty much agree on what is going to happen in the next 36 hours but after that, some details are different. My biggest worry is not being able to get to the south again but that is a little far ahead for the models to be accurate. For the moment I have to play the weather ahead and concentrate on my placement for Claudia.
I have not managed to get any repair work done on the rudder cassette yet but tomorrow morning the wind will go light and I hope to get some boatbuilding done. I hope it won't be raining. My energy saving is going to plan and the team are working out a way for me to build a new bracket for the hydro generator. This will be a long-term project and I probably wont be able to fix anything to the boat until after Cape Horn but the building of it I can do slowly over time.
Armel Le Cléac’h passed the Australia West gate last night at around 1944hrs UTC on its most westerly mark 21 minutes ahead of François Gabart, who was 18 miles to the east, but it is Gabart who has made the overnight gain as the Vendée Globe heads under Australia. At 21 miles between leader Gabart’s Macif and Banque Populaire of Le Cléac’h the gap is negligible, but the top two are always gaining miles on the fleet.
Here are the video highlights of the 34th day of the 2012-2013 Vendée Globe – Thursday, December 13, 2012.
Winner in 2010 of the Rolex Sydney Hobart, Spi Ouest France, Cowes Week and Voiles de Saint-Tropez, the First 40 has a unique international record of achievements and, over 2 seasons, has built up a solid reputation.
To increase her performance further still and prolong this success, Beneteau now offers the Club Racer version of the First 40 for the same price. This offer should draw the attention of the most experienced racers.
Brit Alex Thomson in Hugo Boss hits over 25 knots in his chase for the leading yachts. South of the fleet he’s hoping to make up time.
Leader Armel le Cleac’h just passed the most extremely point of the the second ice security gate and dived south finding the winds of his rivals.
Behind him his close rivals are already further south and sailing two knots faster in slightly stronger breeze. Tiredness is evident among the frontrunners as the chill of the Southern Ocean bites and the possibility of encountering ice increases.
Read more : http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/news/article/5619/an-option-to-invest-in-the-south-for-banque-populaire.html