News From The Classes

Conrad Colman (NZL/40 Degrees): “It is a beautiful sunny day, calm conditions, not too bad at all. It is quite nice. I have more than a little catching up to do, but unfortunately I am down on power, the big problem is that I broke two very valuable sails, my AP reaching gennaker and also my big spinnaker. I did that very early on in the race and so I have been making do with what I have for most of the time and so I have been slower than the rest, and strategically I have been to the north and unable to get south. I spent three days putting the big kite together and it ripped somewhere else. So the original repair was on the luff and the foot and I used up all the material that I had to repair kites with, and then I put it up and a few hours after that it ripped down the leech, So that is irrepairable. I started this project a few months before the race and did not have an opportunity to buy new sails, and I am paying for it because the old stuff is breaking Strategically after the first week I was in a good position, the boat was in one piece and for a while I was feeling pretty confident about my ability to come down from the north and be up with the leaders. And so I think there was a good chance then of me still being in the top ten at this point. Whereas now mid-30’s it is quite difficult mentally, as well as physically after having done all those repairs because I have ended up in a position in the fleet that I don’t quite think I deserve. But that is ocean racing. I think it will be very difficult at this stage to come back because given my sail situation, and the boat, given the tools for the job I myself as a skipper think I am competitive, but that is life at the moment.” ALSO IN AUDIO SECTION >>>>

e Marco Nannini (ITA/GBR, Unicredit); “ It has been varied, I made one big mistake going too near the high. I was in about tenth position and that cost me a lot. Since then it has been very challenging because the weather conditions have been confused, and so it is very rare to have more than a few hours of the same conditions, and so it is continually stack-unstack, ballast-unballast, reef-unreef, and change course, so it is very, very challenging to keep the boat speed up. As a person at the moment I feel fantastic, not a care in the world. (audio is in audio section)

Pete Goss (GBR, DMS): “ We are tootling along nicely on the good ship DMS, we could do with a little more wind but that has often been the case lately but I am having a great time, I have really enjoyed it so far, it has been everything I’d hoped for, and some more. I was always going to be different! There was a big decision if you go north or south, I chose to go south and I don’t regret the decision at all but it is apparent the northerly boats, that was the way to go, but you can’t win them all. But I am quite happy with the race I have had, I am really enjoying myself, and for now it is just the final sail in to Guadeloupe. I’ll keep on sailing as I am, keep on pushing as I am and the wind should back and gybe and get the spinnaker up, and we should have a nice sail up the island. (audio is in audios section)

Franck Cammas (Groupama 3), quotes: On ranking this win among others: “All victories are good but I’ve never experienced a finish like this, either the weather on the water or the welcome here.” “This victory it was not really expected, we prepared very well but I did not really know how it would unfold on the boat, so it is hard to know how to rank it in the list. But certainly I am very proud to be able to add my name to those who have won it before me.”

Thomas Ruyant (Destination Dunkerque “It is starting to feel a little long now! And so I need to just find some patience. I am getting towards the finish but it is still slow. I have not got the spinnaker out yet. It will not be very fast. I am not completely relaxed about it because the conditions are far from simple. What can say it is that you have to work very hard being at the front of this fleet, it is a demanding stressful thing, but it is cool. I think my ETA will be around the 18th or after depending on the winds around Guadeloupe.” Damien Grimont (Monbana): “It is nice to be in slightly more peaceful sailing conditions, after Annapurna! So it is down to a battle for the podium between Noblet, Manuard, Jorg and me and there is everything to play for with 500 miles still to go. When you see that I made 40 miles again on taking the right tack at the right time, then it shows there are still options. And conversely you can say that if you mess up a manoeuvre then you will pay a big price. If you want to gain on the shifts then you need to be well placed and positioned to do so. We will fight until the end. The end of the road will be thrilling.” Sam Manuard (Vecteur Plus): “I’d like to get third place. I am a bit closer to the wind and bit more isolated from the more squally stuff, so we will see if that pays off. I have never had any problems of motivation or moral, everything is good. I right in the race and it is all going well. Sure, I am a bit jaded and tired, accumulated tiredness, so I try to go at a sustainable rate and to save a little bit back for the finish which will be difficult. I spend some time looking at the weather, even if my overall strategy is fixed.”

I must admit i've had a tough 36 hours with a few bits and bobs going wrong, a wrap while furling the solent, tangled sheets, a split pvc cover on the inner forestay that ripped off three hanks on the staysail and for a very long time it looked like i had to climb the mast as the sail was stuck, so last night i needed to relax. And sailed myself through an electric storm.

Crossing the finish line at 06h31m04s (CET/Paris(05h31m04s GMT) Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) took sixth place in the IMOCA Open 60 class, some 2d 00h 18m 08s after class winner Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement). The southern routing, one which also cost him dearly a year ago in the Transat Jacques Vabre, worked for the Ultimate class but this time it clearly did not work for the double Vendée Globe winner with his new VPLP/Verdier design. Desjoyeaux has had time to analyse his result and the way forwards, making ready for the Barcelona World Race which starts 31st December. “It would have been good if they had left us some wind for the finish because in the end it was bit too long at the end. Everyone says it’s a good trick to head off to the sun, but I went too early. We had looked at it and there were good chances of passing over the top, but it was on the Monday morning I took the decision. That was the best routing on the morning, I was on a good shift on the left with Kito and I wanted a trip to the south, I had wanted to go there for a while. I did what I wanted. From time to time you try things when you don’t know if they will be good or not so good. I expected to have 50 miles of deficit in the south of the Azores amticyclone and it was 150. There the mass was said.

Water water, EVERYWHERE!!!! It has become apparent that in the rush to get ready I forgot two vitally important items, a towel and talcum powder. This has meant that I have been unable to keep dry those parts of my body that one should reasonably expect to keep dry between the ages of 48 months and 190, or 95 years if you prefer.

Lionel Lemonchois duly completed the second measure of a pair of Route du Rhum-La Banque Postale 2010 doubles, today when he triumphed on a second consecutive edition of the race. In 2006 Lemonchois smashed the course record by four days, winning on Gitana 11 in 7 days 17 hours 19 hours 6 seconds, just under half the time that it took on this very different but courageous race on Prince de Bretagne.

Lionel Lemonchois (Prince de Bretagne) passed Basse Terre mark on the SW corner of Guadeloupe at 15:06:20hrs (CET/Paris) this afternoon Monday and so has just over 25 miles left to complete the second Rhum double of this ninth edition of the Route du Rhum-La Banque Postale, on course to win the Multi 50 Class after triumphing overall on Gitana XI and setting the outright race record in 2006. Behind him Lalou Roucayrol (Région Aquitaine – Port Médoc) is back on course for second with a lead of 32 miles on Loïc Féquet (Maitre Jacques).