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7:38 PM Thu 15 Jan 2009 GMT
Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) continues to extend his lead again and is now 285 miles ahead of second place Roland Jourdain. For the chasing pack, it has been strongly advised that the skippers heed the severe storm warning covering the Le Maire channel, and the waters to the east of Tierra del Fuego far as the Channel.
In certain circumstance it is not unprecedented for Meteo France and the Vend?e Globe Race Direction and safety consultants to give advice to competitors.
In the face of a severe storm warning they have given a strong advice that the Franco-British trio of Dee Caffari (Aviva), Arnaud Boissi?res (Akena Veranda) and Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar) remain to the south of the island of Tierra del Fuego while the worst of a severe storm is in their north.
The warning in particular emphasizes not just the very strong winds, mean 50-55 knots but gusts peaking at 85 knots, but the very difficult, at times confused cross seas - a swell of 9-12 metres - but also the fact that, as the depression goes over them the wind direction may suddenly become variable and so having a margin of sea room is also advised.
The advice for Caffari and Boissi?res has been to make best speed to the lee of Tierra del Fuego, while for the Bahrain Team Pindar skipper it has been to return as quickly as possible and remain in this area, not to venture in to the waters of the Le Maire channel, the waters to the east of Chile and Argentina to the Falklands until the very worst of the weather has passed.
The worst of the weather is expected to pass between midnight Thursday night and Friday afternoon.
Thompson had passed Cape Horn at 0315hrs this morning and was already at the south east corner, only four miles off the Island del Estados. Caffari was about 122 miles to Cape Horn at 14:30hrs GMT and Boissi?res less than 60 miles from the rock.
Steve White will also feel the effects of what started up in New Zealand waters as a tropical storm, although his position is neither as exposed nor as complex.
Speaking to this morning's Paris based Radio broadcast Caffari sounded both upbeat and resolute, describing her damaged mainsail now as something between a tea bag and a string vest, but she plans now to cannibalise other sails to affect a more lasting repair as soon as the conditions permit.
At the head of the fleet life has become a little easier for Michel Dejoyeaux, some 420 miles to the south east of Salvador de Bahia. As he predicted yesterday he is regaining the distance he lost to Roland Jourdain and is now 285 miles ahead, although the pair have been very even on boat speed today, with Desjoyeaux slowing to just 6.5 knots mid-afternoon.
His second attempt to repair his mast-track has not been entirely successful for Marc Guillemot. The skipper from La Trinit? explained to today's radio vacation that he can still not sail with a full main but can now race with his second reef.
Vendee Globe ranking - 15:00 HRS GMT. Thursday 15 January 2009 - (FRA unless stated)
1 . Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) at 4404 miles to finish
2 . Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement) at 285 miles from first place
3 . Armel Le Cl?ac'h (Brit Air) at 693.5 miles from first place
4 . Sam Davies (Roxy) at 1657.3 miles from first place
5 . Marc Guillemot (Safran) at 2035.1 miles from first place
6 . Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar) at 2482 miles from first place
7 . Arnaud Boissi?res (Akena V?randas) at 2688.5 miles from first place
8 . Dee Caffari (Aviva) at 2729.5 miles from first place
9 . Steve White (Toe in the water) at 3762 miles from first place
10 . Rich Wilson (Great American III) at 4977 miles from first place
11 . Norbert Sedlacek (Nauticsport . Kapsch) at 6643 miles from first place
12 . Rapha?l Dinelli (Fondation Oc?an Vital) at 6654 miles from first place
RDG . Vincent Riou (PRB). 3?me
Brian Thompson, GBR (Bahrain Team Pindar):
The bottom and east end of Staten Island is now 50 miles away and then it is on to the Falkland Islands which are
I was not hoping for this, this is the so called 'good side' of Cape Horn, the Atlantic side, and so this will probably be the biggest storm of the race. So we are getting all ready for that. Luckily we had a storm on the other side of Cape Horn too so I am pretty well prepared. It is going to hit me up near the Falklands Islands tomorrow (Friday) morning when it will kick in, with heavy airs upwind, up to 40 knots.
Then you have the cold front comes through when you will get much stronger, very strong westerlies, which will initially cause a very bad sea state, with the northerlies, that'll be the tough bit, the winds will be very powerful and it will be very turbulent for a while, until it settles.
I guess you have to plan a little bit ahead, because what could happen when you get the cold front is that you could go too fast into the Northerly swell and so just to be prepared to slow down, get the main down perhaps to slow the boat down until the northerly swell dies away. I have the line to pull the head of the main.
I think it might be better for Dee and Arnaud. The centre of the low looks like it will go right over the top of them. So I think they would go from light airs to when they exit from Staten Island to heavy airs downwind. And I will be dealing with the heavy airs upwind because I am not in the centre of the low. I'll get the northerlies before the low and then the strong down wind. As long as the low tracks as it is supposed to, pretty much over Cape Horn, it could actually be reasonably safe for them.
Dee Caffari, GBR (Aviva):
'It is actually quite pleasant on Aviva. It is very nice and we will round Cape Horn but the celebrations will have to go on hold until we survive this next storm. I am actually going to slow down, which sounds a bit odd when you are racing, but I have to do whatever I can to avoid the worst of the weather.
The centre of the low will pass over, and so the possibility of trying to outrun it has gone because of the light winds in the centre of the low, so we will actually experience the west side with SW'lies and so if I can go slow it will be six or nine hours of nasty winds, but not the worst winds, because the worst winds is in the northern section, and then once I am happy and then I can get going again as much as I can with what is left of my mainsail.
On her mainsail: 'It is a cross between a tea bag and a string vest. When I put it up to see if I could get to the Horn before the worst of the weather, on the west side of South America, there is a section now which is just fibres, no cloth at all. And on one section the fibres are damaged.
So when you reef the sail it is almost reefing itself it has kind of got a ventilation system going on, the wind does not really get trapped as easily. What I will do for this depression is make sure that when I have got down to the fourth reef, I will ensure the fibres are tucked away as much as possible. At the first opportunity I have to do a serious repair which I am forming how to do in my mind at the moment.'
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