Canyousea | The race day after day

After 84 days at sea Roland Jourdain took the decision this morning to bring his Vendée Globe to an end and to stop racing in the Azores. 02 fev. 09- Bilou retires 02/02/2009	Roland Jourdain has been heading towards the Azores ever since last Thursday when he lost his keel bulb and some of the keel blade. He should complete Stage 1 of his plan by daybreak on Monday morning, having coped with 24 hours of big seas with reduced sails. In case he has to retire 2 members of his shore team will arrive in Ponta Delgada this afternoon to see the boat in. A poignant 24 hours… 01/02/2009	On todays radio vac call with the race organisers, Roland Jourdain explained what conditions were like onboard Veolia Environnement, having continued towards the Azores with a massively damaged keel. The red monohull still had 450 miles to go (at 1500 French time) on this particular stage of the race before re-assessing whether he can continue to Les Sables depending on the sea state. Bilou has been very touched by all the sympathy he’s received from people following the race on land. Henri Proglio, the President of Veolia Environnement has also sent him best wishes from everyone within the company. 30 janv. 09 - One stage at a time… 30/01/2009	Following problems with his keel this morning, Roland Jourdain is progressing towards the Azores doing an average of 9-10 knots with just 3 reefs in the main. He is in an area of 30 knots from the north north west in a sea with quite a swell.. 29 janv. 09 - Black Thursday for Veolia Environnement 29/01/2009	At 0500 this morning (French time), Roland Jourdain called his technical team to report a keel problem. For now, the boat is stable and is continuing towards the Island of Sao Miguel in the Azores, some 640 miles away. Keel damage on Veolia Environnement 29/01/2009
Since getting back into the North Atlantic, Roland Jourdain has had milder conditions to deal with but with the trades in the east due to weaken over the next few hours, Bilou is making the most of the respite. He will soon be facing a high-pressure system by the Azores with windless holes, and for now he has no other choice than to follow in the path of Michel Desjoyeaux who is now 558 miles in front of him… 27 janv. 09 - Moments of respite… 27/01/2009	After 2 windless days in the Doldrums, Roland has finally broken free of them. It has been an exhausting return into the northern hemisphere without any rest as the skipper onboard Veolia Environnement has had to deal with 2 completely windless traps before getting into the north-easterly trades. He is gradually accelerating in the trades... 23 janv. 09 - A northern hemisphere with attitude! 23/01/2009	Michel Desjoyeaux is once again back in the Northern Hemisphere, having struggled all day with light airs in the Doldrums that are further south than usual this year. Roland Jourdain has benefited from this and regained over a hundred miles on the leader and was 315 miles from Foncia at the 1600 ranking. There’s still a lot of the Doldrums to go.. The unknown variations of the Doldrums… 20/01/2009	He’s just about making headway, sailing northwards towards the equator. This morning, Bilou was still in a calm area and was attempting to remain philosophical … He was disappointed yesterday about being stopped short in the trade winds, but he’s trying to stay upbeat by focusing on the situation on the horizon. The Doldrums, further south than usual, are beginning to slow Michel Desjoyeaux down, but the unknown factor is… for how long. 19 Jan. 09 - It’s all the weather’s fault! 19/01/2009	Against all expectations, he thought he had caught up with the trade winds and would therefore see the speed of Veolia Environnement increase regularly… But at the end of the night, the South-Eastern flow had been troubled by a series of squalls generating a highly variable wind. The morning was therefore exhausting for Bilou who had to fight an endless battle on deck and in the heat while waiting to escape from this rather unpleasant situation … 18 Jan. 09 – A rotten Sunday! 18/01/2009
Nothing like last week when he told us he was at the end of his tether, busy mending the boat’s cracks - on Saturday, the atmosphere was totally different - far more relaxing! The conditions aboard have changed somewhat since drawing level with Trindade Island and Bilou is planning on checking every nook and cranny of his boat and taking care of his good self before reaching, tomorrow, the South-Easterly trade winds and accelerating the pace a little en route for the Doldrums. 17 January 2009 - A bit of a break! 17/01/2009	15 Janv. 09 - Message from Bilou for you ! 15/01/2009	With an outside temperature of 27° C, and a sea temperature of 24°, it’s beginning to warm up off the Brazilian coastline. Bilou is not far off complaining about the heat as he wants to finish off his DIY inside the yacht… but the warmer weather must be doing him a world of good! Furthermore, in the space of 24 hours, he has made up 100 miles on Michel Desjoyeaux and is currently making headway with a stable 16-knot wind on a favourable leg… 14 Jan. 09 – And then the anticyclone calmed things down… 14/01/2009	There was a sigh of relief onboard Veolia Environnement this morning! Since Thursday evening Roland Jourdain has been repairing the damage caused by his collision with a sea mammal – he finished the work this morning and is quietly getting back to the race. He will need to look after the boat carefully in the wind forecast for the next few hours. He won’t be able to advance by leaps and bounds, but for now the workshop is closed! 11 janv. 09 - The workshop is closed! 11/01/2009	Three metres, two metres, one…each time Vincent Riou got nearer Jean Le Cam’s capsized hull... Losing the race but saving a man? 09/01/2009
Although the two men have different strategies, the difference between them remains approximately 100 miles. It’s a tough call to say who will finish first. The weather off Argentina looks very complex for the coming days with the development of a small anticyclone which should merge with the high pressure zones generated by the Saint-Helen anticyclone… 08 Jan. 09 – Weather headache on the horizon… 08/01/2009	… That’s how Veolia Environnement set about going back up the Atlantic yesterday. After sailing around Cape Horn, the two men leading the fleet went back to their yo-yo game. 06 Jan. 2009 – Softly, softly… 06/01/2009	This Sunday, the strategies differ between the two leaders for tackling Cape Horn scheduled for tomorrow night. 04 Jan 08 – The beginning of the end… 04/01/2009	Bilou has started 2009 in top gear!!! Still nicely placed in the wake of the leader Michel Desjoyeaux, 63 miles ahead of him, he started to head down towards the legendary Cape Horn yesterday evening. 1 Jan. 09 – Happy New Year! 01/01/2009	74 miles at 05:00 yesterday morning, 55 miles at 16 :00, then 109 miles again and this morning, 94 miles at 11:00. Over the course of the rankings and timings, the distance between the two leaders varies considerably. Yesterday, a small windless area which Bilou ran into left him watch Foncia speed away from him again. When all is said and done, the number of miles conceded by Veolia Environnement remains relative and Bilou tried again this morning to make up lost ground before going through the East Pacific Gate and finally have Cape Horn in his sights. 31 Dec. 08 – To the sound of an accordion 31/12/2008
On Day 50 of the race, the same distance exists between Roland Jourdain and the fleet leader, Michel Desjoyeaux i.e. less than 100 miles. 29 Dec. 08 – Between two Gates… 29/12/2008	Despite his misadventure yesterday, Roland Jourdain is getting ready to go through the West Pacific Gate, in the wake of Michel Desjoyeaux, who, in the rankings issued at 16:00, is 85 miles ahead of him. 28 Dec. 08 – Closing in on the gate... 28/12/2008	If the wind calmed down a bit last night and is now blowing at a good thirty knots, unlike the 40-50 knots of the previous days, the lull hasn’t given Bilou much respite. The Veolia Environnement skipper, still in second position, had, it’s true, had a rather brusque wake-up call last night as he was awoken by a breaker…inside the boat. 27 Dec. 08 – What a nightmare! 27/12/2008	The leaders of the Vendée Globe fleet are attempting a softly, softly approach towards accessing Ice Gate number 5 located to the East of New Zealand. 25 december Xmays on the sea ... 25/12/2008	Nobody really felt like living it up on Christmas Eve as the weather forecast for the following hours was not exactly the best. 24 Dec 08 – Christmas Eve threatens to be a bit on the rough side 24/12/2008