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9:36 PM Fri 6 Feb 2009 GMT
'I'll be crossing the line before lunchtime on Saturday,' the skipper of Brit Air promised on today's radio session. Finally crossing the line will be big relief for Armel Le Cl?ac'h, who has been suffering since the Azores from the effects of a low-pressure system, which he has been battling with after he went east round the Azores high pressure system.
It would be an understatement to say that he had another challenging night in the Bay of Biscay. But the sailor from Morlaix in Brittany, who has second place within his grasp is not one to gripe and complain, even if the conditions were hellish. He lost the protective cover on Brit Air, which slides over the cockpit was swept away in the night by a violent wave and the mainsail car was ripped off its track.
With winds averaging 35 knots (gusting to 45 in squalls) and 5 to 6 metre high waves on the beam, Armel le Cl?ac'h has chosen to sail cautiously towards the French coast, and the finish.
With the Annapolis based Farr design house claiming their first ever win in the Vend?e Globe courtesy of Michel Desjoyeaux's Foncia, the Finot-Conq designed Brit Air was sailing with three reefs in the mainsail and no headsail. This configuration enabled Le Cl?ach to grab a few short naps this morning. Second place beckons with his morning finish and he will relish the steak and chips he is looking forward to at the finish.
Battling it out for third place on the water, Britain's Sam Davies, on Roxy and Marc Guillemot are also looking forward to finishing.
For the moment, the advantage seems to be tipping back in favour of the French skipper, who has managed to get around the Azores high via the west.
Sailing downwind in a 25-knot southwesterly wind, the VPLP-Verdier designed Safran was sailing at 15 knots boat speed, while Roxy was still tacking upwind close to the high-pressure area in fading winds. They are both expected to reach les Sables d'Olonne sometime after 13:00 on Tuesday 10 February, although Guillemot considers this to be rather optimistic.
Dee Caffari, GBR (Aviva) considers there will be further opportunities for her to close more miles on Brian Thompson, GBR (Bahrain Team Pindar) as the pair negotiate the high pressure system that has been the tipping point for the duo in front. Caffari, who has regained more than 250 miles to be 125 miles behind Thompson this afternoon, said today that she expects there to be a further three more slow areas on their path to Les Sables d'Olonne.
Caffari commented 'I am much better, I have a much happier sea state and so I am a lot happier. The last 48 hours have just been hanging on to survive, it has been really, really uncomfortable. I have not seen that size of waves since the Southern Ocean. And we have been crashing into them and falling off these big waves, it has just been horrible.'
'I think it is juts the noise more than anything, it sounded horrible, but I had a good look round this morning and she still seems to be in fine fettle, so we are good to be pushing on.'
Armel Le Cl?ac'h (Brit Air):'Right up to the finish it's going to be rough. We had yet another rough night, although it's a bit calmer than yesterday afternoon and there have been some heavy squalls.'
'So around 2-3 this morning I took in three reefs and that's all I have up. With only 200 miles to go to the finish, there's no point in going crazy. The wind is going to strengthen again this afternoon, but is set to ease off a bit during the night. The seas are going to be rough tomorrow at the finish for the motor boats. I should finish in around 24 hours.'
'To be precise, I'm 208 miles from Les Sables and at an average speed of 8.5 knots, I should finish just before noon GMT. I didn't get much sleep in the night, as I was in the shipping lane. I saw around ten cargo ships heading south, so I needed to remain alert.'
'Yesterday, I suffered some damage. The protective cover over the cockpit was broken off by a huge wave and has now sunk somewhere in the Bay of Biscay. I had a problem too with my mainsail head car, which came off the track. If the winds ease off, I'll try to take a look, otherwise it will remain hanging there. The real problem is the rough weather is lasting a long time, as the low has been moving slowly with me and is now centred over Brittany.'
'I've got just one meal left and am running out of gas. So everything was calculated correctly. Traditionally when I finish, I always have steak and chips. I know that's not really anything special, but it's the tradition, when I do a transatlantic race or the Figaro. There are a lot of great images from this voyage, but personally I think the image that will stay with me is Cape Horn, which was great, as we rounded in reasonable conditions. Then there was also the emotion of Jean's rescue.'
Samantha Davies (Roxy):'I hope it will be five days and not six now. I have 10-12 knots of wind and I'm still sailing upwind. The seas are starting to calm, but yesterday there were some squalls with heavy seas and the wind quickly got up to 32 knots. Yet another rough night. It's starting to calm now, but I hope it won't calm too much. I'm likely to have calms this afternoon and evening, but I hope that by the end of the night, the wind will pick up again.'
'I'm going to be working hard to make sure I don't get slowed for too long and come out quickly on the other side of the high-pressure area. I'm avoiding looking at Marc's position, as that doesn't change anything. I'm trying some witchcraft, but I'm not sure it will work. I twitch my nose and things like that. Although I like Marco, I don't like the idea of losing any ground, so even a mile lost and I feel a bit stressed. '
'What I'm missing most is my bathroom. That may surprise you, but I'm a real girl. The tough life on board isn't much fun for a girl. Being without warm water, beauty products and warm towels is just not nice. I've been dreaming of spending hours in a nice bathroom ever since the start. I used to use washing-up liquid for my hair, but my hairdresser made me promise to take some shampoo with me for this Vendee Globe.'
Marc Guillemot (Safran):'I've just lowered the big spinnaker and hoisted the smaller one and am beginning to reap the benefits of my option.
'So I got away from the high without too much pain. Just a few hours of light winds and this morning, the wind picked up in the right direction and it should be getting better and better. I'm pleased to be through that.'
'When you are sailing, you always have doubts. I always try to tell myself I am doing the right thing, even if the very best sailor has moments of self-doubt. You have to stick with your options. If you don't believe in what you are doing, there's no point in working hard. My routing is more optimistic than me as it shows I could arrive on the tenth sometime late in the afternoon, but I personally think the eleventh would be more realistic. I think the eleventh is fine, as Armel will be beyond my reach in any case, and Samantha will be behind.'
'I'll do my best to finish early in the morning, but we're not there yet. Sailing under reduced sail will be less and less of a problem, as I get closer to the finish, as that configuration will be well adapted to the conditions ahead. I'm going to have to learn how to take in reefs again, as I haven't had much practice recently.'
Vendee Globe ranking - 15:00hrs GMT. Friday 6 February 2009 (FRA unless stated)
1 . Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) finished after 84 days 3 hours, 9 minutes
2 . Armel Le Cl?ac'h (Brit Air) at 286 miles to finish
3 . Sam Davies (Roxy) at 1698 miles to finish
4 . Marc Guillemot (Safran) at 1897 miles to finish
5 . Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar) 2114 miles to finish
6 . Dee Caffari (Aviva) at 2240 miles to finish
7 . Arnaud Boissi?res (Akena V?randas) at 2747 miles to finish
8 . Steve White (Toe in the Water) 3545 miles to finish
9 . Rich Wilson (Great American III) at 4997 miles to finish
10 . Rapha?l Dinelli (Fondation Oc?an Vital) at 6245 miles to finish
11 . Norbert Sedlacek (Nauticsport - Kapsch) at 6699 miles to finish
RDG . Vincent Riou (PRB). 3rd equal. 30 boats started.
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