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9:23 AM Fri 21 Nov 2008 GMT
Lo?ck Peyron on Gitana Eighty leads the Vendee Globe fleet out of the Doldrums into more settled, building winds. Ever consistent Seb Josse (BT) 16 miles behind in second place as Vincent Riou (PRB) moves slightly east and lies third, the best that the 2004 Vend?e Globe winner been since the earliest days of this race. Mike Golding, GBR, (Ecover 3) drops to ninth, losing out to Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement) and J?r?mie Beyou (Delta Dore). Desjoyeaux (Foncia) takes two places overnight to lie 16th.
Moving in to increasing ESE'ly winds Loick Peyron is into his eighth day at the front of the Vend?e Globe fleet on Gitana Eighty and looks set to set the pace into the Southern Hemisphere tonight. With about 190 miles to the Equator this morning, Peyron's lead is at 16 miles over his most consistent shadow Seb Josse (BT). Vincent Riou (PRB) has progressively eased east of Jean Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac 2) to occupy third, but there is still just 32 miles between second and sixth places. The two lead boats are now making slightly west of south, Riou and Dick still taking a small measure of east. The western route has got Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement) established back with the top group again in seventh, regaining 100 miles to lie 64 miles behind Peyron. Mike Golding has had a less profitable night and lies ninth this morning less than one mile behind Delta Dore. Dominique Wavre, SUI, (Temenos II) still holds the upper hand over Brian Thompson, GBR, (Bahrain Team Pindar) as they work towards the Doldrums. Wavre has eked out another 5 miles on Thompson's powerful Juan K design overnight, and leads by ten miles, while Sam Davies, GBR, (ROXY) is still hanging on five miles behind Thompson. Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) has gained two places overnight, moving ahead of Steve White, GBR, (Toe in the Water) and Arnaud Boissieres (Akenas Verandas) and the 2000 winner is now 16th.
News from the Boats.
Steve White (Toe in the Water),now in 18th place after Michel Desjoyeaux has overtaken him, reports the arrival of some strange visitors this morning:
'If I thought it was hot before I was mistaken, now it is really hot! I made the mistake of slowing the boat right down to do a sail change, and as soon as you stop the cooling breeze coming over the deck then it really hits you, it is roasting and the sun is very powerful. It makes it difficult to sleep except for at night, and it takes your appetite away too.
I have had some strange visitors in the past 24 hours - first a small fly with disproportionally large wings, then a moth at the lights at the chart table, a sabre toothed giant fruit fly that went for a swim before it could bite me, and then the daddy of them all, a giant black cricket who was as fat as my thumb and as long as my index finger, not counting his antennae and three pronged forked tail. He was lovely, and sat on my finger for a moment, until I decided he had better take his chances and fly off to wherever it was he had come from. I launched him - and he didn't fly. I felt terrible, either he was flightless and got here by some other means, or he had a real short term memory problem and just forgot to flap. I couldn't keep him really, I don't think I'd have had enough food on board! What's so strange about a few insects I hear you ask; well nothing, except we are 700 miles downwind of Africa and 400 miles from the Cape Verdes!'
Standings at 0500GMT, Day 11.
1- Lo?ck Peyron (Gitana Eighty) 21068.9 miles to the finish
2- Seb Josse (BT) at + 16.1 miles to leader
3- Vincent Riou (PRB) at +26.9 miles to leader
4- Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac 2) at + 27.4 miles to leader
5- Armel Le Cl?ac'h (Brit Air) at + 40.3 miles
Selected international:
7- Mike Golding, GBR, (ECOVER 3) at +71.7
11- Dominique Wavre, SUI, (Temenos 2) at + 177.1
12- Brian Thompson, GBR, (Bahrain Team Pindar) at + 187
13- Sam Davies, GBR,(ROXY) at + 192.2 miles
16- Dee Caffari, GBR, (AVIVA) at + 268.1 miles
18- Steve White, GBR, (Toe in the Water) at + 315.6
19- Johnny Malbon, GBR, (Artemis) at + 347.9 miles
20- Unai Basurko, ESP, (Pakea Bizkaia) at + 383.2 miles
21- Rich Wilson, USA, (Great America III) at + 495.7 miles
www.vendeeglobe.org
by Vendee Globe media
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