Another dismasting

Vincent Riou's yacht, PRB, has lost its mast not far from cape Horn. Riou and Jean Le Cam, the fellow competitor he rescued are safe. This means the fleet has shrunk once more and Sam Davies moves in to 4th place (although still technically 5th when Marc Guillemot's redress is taken in to account). Michel Desjoyeaux, meanwhile has extended his lead. It looks a two boat race now between Desjoyeaux and Roland Jourdain. But can they go all the way? Expect more twists and turns in this extraordinary race.

Capsize

There cannot be a skipper in what remains of the Vendee Glove fleet today, who has not been contemplating the nightmare of a southern ocean capsize, after the rescue of Jean Le Cam yesterday from his upturned boat, VM Materieaux.

I'm only just catching up on the drama as I was in the air all yesterday, heading for Singapore. While the good news is that Le Cam is safe after hours of uncertainty, it is far from clear just now whether Vincent Riou, whose, boat Brit Air, was damaged in the rescue, will be able to continue the race.

It looks like Le Cam escaped from a hatch in the bottom of his upturned boat before he was winched out of the water by Riou on PRB. There were shades of the Tony Bullimore rescue in the 1997 race.

A tanker was soon on the scene and stood by Le Cam's upturned yacht but the crew could not reach it. Riou, however,was able to get to the scene in time and make contact with his fellow Frenchaman.

There will need to be an investigation of the incident but it is clear that the capsize happened after the loss of the bulb on the canting keel. When the race is over the organisers will need to take a long hard look at their rules on keel designs because too many keel failures are endangering skippers in top flight ocean racing.

Mike Golding lost his keel near the end of the last Vendee Globe race and keel damage put paid to Dominique Wavre's race in December.

Two areas need to be examined: the hinge design that allows the keel to cant and the bulb design. Unlike traditional flared keels that can ride over a collision, the torpedo shaped bulbs can sustain juddering impacts if they hit a submerged obstacle such as a chunk of ice, a container or a whale. If these designs are increasing risk it might be time to revert to something with proven seaworthiness. There has to be a balance between speed and safety and skippers should not be sailing on tenterhooks in fear of a capsize that could happen without warning. Keel design is raising increasing concerns and needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

Catching up with the Volvo Ocean Race

I'm flying to Singapore in a couple of days and wish I was looking forward to it. I hate long flights. I'm travelling there to catch up with Volvo Ocean Race and to sail with the crew of Puma.

In the last race I sailed on ABN AMRO during the in-port race out of Portsmouth. Spectators are allowed to stand at the stern of the boat. This time, as it's a training run, I'm hoping I will get more of a chance to look around the boat.

But I'm under no illusion that there will be a chance to pull on any ropes beyond a turn on the grinder, perhaps. It takes some time to get used to the workings of a powerful boat like this. While principles are the same as those on a cruising yacht it's like stepping out of your saloon car and in to a racing car. There's a steering wheel and pedals but don't expect anything else to be familiar.

I went on the grinder to hoist the mainsail on Bahrain Team Pindar and even with two of us it took forever. I think about that when I read about the Vendee skippers putting reefs in their mainsails. Still, it keeps them fit.

I'm disappointed to be missing the London Boat Show at ExCel although I always find these shows overwhelming. The best bit about them is the opportunity to meet people. Looking at the dates (9th to the 18th of January) I might get to the end of it. One good thing about the Singapore trip is that it will give me new leads and new ideas. I just wish it wasn't so far away.

Rounding the Horn

As I'm writing this Michel Desjoyeaux is just about to start rounding Cape Horn in the Vendee Globe. It's a big day for the race because this is a place that stirs the heart of every sailor.

It brings back memories for me. Twelve years ago I rounded the horn from east to west in the BT Global Challenge race. Some might regard it as an ignominious rounding as I was in my bunk when we crossed the exact co-ordinate. It was during the night, there was nothing to see and frankly there seemed not much worth celebrating with thousands of miles of ocean to cross before New Zealand.

The Vendee sailors might view it somewhat differently. Some are heading there for the first time and all of them will be boosted psychologically once they have "turned the corner". One who will not make it is Jonny Malbon who has retired on Artemis because of his deteriorating mainsail. It's a tough end to what has not been a great race for Malbon.

Desjoyeaux, of course, could find his way round with his eyes closed. His boat seems to be sailing well and he doesn't report any problems. But then he prepared well. A lot can go wrong still and something probably will, but I wouldn't bet against him at this stage, unless I happened to be Roland Jourdain who knows the lead is well within his grasp. The more he can pressure Desjoyeaux, the more chance there is of forcing an error. But such pressure works both ways, as those following understand. Anything can happen in this last long haul northwards.

Looking after Chuck

As the leading Vendee Globe skippers bear down on Cape Horn in preparation for the long haul northwards, Jean-Pierre Dick on Paprec-Virbac II is heading northwards in to calmer waters after damage to his second rudder ended his race.

Just half of the starting boats are left in the race and many of those have problems that are hampering their progress. I understand the mainsails on Jonny Malbon and Dee Caffari's yachts are deteriorating rapidly while Steve White has been struggling to repair his gooseneck - the bit that attaches the boom to the mast.

In spite of electrical problems, Brian Thompson on Bahrain Team Pindar has improved his speed over the past two or three days but Sam Davies has found herself in a pocket of slack winds. Davies has been one of the stars of this race, always upbeat and cheerful, always looking at the glass-half full. I'm sure that this attitude, added to her strong engineering skills, is helping her maintain consistency in a race where the "hares" keep falling by the wayside.

A few weeks ago there were a dozen yachts in front of her. Now there are five, all top class French racers. I don't expect Sam to have the raw speed to overtake them, but if she can keep her boat together, and one or two of the others in front have problems, a podium finish is not beyond her.

In her latest log she writes: "I used to be a "bow chick" (numero 1) on fully crewed boats, so I'm used to the tough jobs up forward whilst speeding along. But the difference now is that there is no back-up behind me, and I am no longer trusting a skilled helmsman not to "wipeout", "chinese gybe" or "stuff it" on each wave. I just have Chuck (the nickname she gives to her autopilot).

She also includes some new year's resolutions:

* Sail around the world.
* Take a photo of Cape Horn.
* Stop eating the Nutella out of the pot with my fingers.
* Do not fall asleep with the motor on charging the batteries.
* Sponge the bilges every day.
* Brush hair more than once a week.
* Eat more BUT eat less chocolate.
* Cancel the above resolution as it is impossible.
* Catch up some miles on the leaders.
* Be nice to Chuck, the autopilot.
* Take no risks.

The first one and last one are probably the most important reminders for anyone seeking to complete a round-the-world race. It's not bad advice for the potential winners, either.


During this mid section of the race I have been impressed with the way that Roland Jourdain has hung on to Michel Desjoyeaux. Every time that Desjoyeaux has looked like breaking away Jourdain has raised his game so that he remains just a few hours behind.

Stop press: sailors racing

The British newspaper coverage of the Vendee Globe race has been scant. Apart from a few news stories of the "British heroine goes to the aid of stricken sailor" type when Sam Davies - who happens to be young, pretty and female - diverted her course to help Yann Elies, there have been very few reports.

I was surprised, therefore, to find a report on page 11 of today's Daily Telegraph, focusing on Jonny Malbon in 13th place just 4,000 miles behind the leader. Then I noticed it said "special report" with "in association with Artemis, The Profit Hunter" at the end of the report. I don't like this kind of advertorial as it is dressed up to look like a piece of journalism when in fact the journalist is simply pandering to the wishes of an advertiser.

Then again, I would question the news values of British sports editors who have studiously ignored one of the most dramatic of sporting events. Why does this happen? I would list several reasons:

Xenophobia: there is a parochialism about sports coverage that, in this case, is magnified since the best round-the-world sailors are almost all French.

Obsession with football: this really does not need any other explanation.

Perceived elitism: it's not easy to be a round-the-world sailor and most of them rely on corporate sponsors. That most have not enjoyed privileged backgrounds but have worked for years to get the chance to enter this event does not seem to influence such judgements.

Technical terms: sailing is a highly technical sport and sailing writers must try to balance a desire for specialist information and terminology with non-specialist interest among a wider audience.

A world apart: This kind of sailing is so different, so extreme, that it's difficult to make comparisons. Even accomplished dinghy sailors cannot imagine the conditions in which this race is undertaken unless they have experienced them at first hand.

Sport versus adventure: Some editors and, indeed, some sailors, still equate round-the-world sailing with the "big adventure," that getting around the world is an achievement in itself - as it is. But the Vendee is a full on race. Mike Golding has sailed round the world many times. But his ambition is to win the Vendee and for that he must sail at speeds that will test any weakness in a boat. Some top "round-the-cans" sailors sometimes disparage endurance sailors, possibly out of envy. It is a different sport with different demands and they should understand this.

It's not just editors who must reflect on their prejudices. Sponsors must examine their expectations too. I am sure that none of them issue orders to the sailors to simply get around the course, although I am sure that many are dispirited when a boat fails early in a race.

Having said that, I have no doubt that Aviva, the sponsors of Dee Caffari, and Caffari herself, are looking for a finish in the Vendee. Caffari is a fine, gutsy and likeable endurance sailor, but she is not among the fastest female sailors in the world. Her status relies on having done something first. She was the first woman to sail around the world single-handedly against the winds and currents. If she finishes this race she will be the first to have done so in both directions.

Other sailors shouldn't begrudge her sponsorship but learn from the way she has positioned herself. Caffari delivers value to her sponsors, not by winning, but by sticking to her game. She is still learning and two round-the-world events must command the respect of her fellow sailors.

Sam Davies demands even more respect. Caffari has the advantage of one of the new generation of faster boats but Davies is 800 miles ahead of her in an older boat. In turn, Caffari is 1,600 miles ahead of Jonny Malbon, also skippering a well-sponsored modern boat.

None of this is to disparage the achievements of Malbon and Caffari, but simply to put their performance in context with that of superior sailing at the head of the fleet. It seems unfair to write this from the comfort of an armchair when all these sailors are giving their all in the world's most inhospitable seas. But those who sail understand these differences and so should a wider audience.

It is more difficult to pass judgement on Brian Thompson who has been struggling with a high performing new boat, spending more time below deck than above in the past two weeks, making repairs. But unless he can improve on the speeds he set earlier in the race, he too will know that he must work harder to get in to the French-dominated big league.

Thompson does not strike me as a "crash and burn" competitor but as a dogged performer intent on going the whole way. He is one of the fleet's nice guys and I want him to do well. But I'd like to see him going a bit faster. How can I say this of a family man when sailing is so dangerous? The danger is a given. Thompson and the rest of them are there because they choose to be there. They put themselves on the line and know that their times and performances will be scrutinised in the data logs. They look at the same data and they know, in their hearts, that Michel Desjoyeaux is a sailor apart. Even Golding said that and Golding can match the Frenchman for speed.

The British might look at the elite French squad system that prepares its sailors for these events but you can't say that of Steve White, the British skipper of Toe in the Water, who got to the start line in an underfunded yacht through the generosity of a handful of supporters. Yet today he is 800 miles ahead of Artemis.

For this reason the Telegraph should have refused the Artemis shilling and told the story as it should be told. Its readers deserve better and so does sailing.

Mystery tortoise and the Vendee hares

It's been more than a week since my last note on the Vendee Globe and a lot has happened in the interim.

Looking at the rankings nothing seems to have changed as the distance between the leader, Michel Desjoyeaux, and second placed Roland Jourdain, is much the same.

But there is no longer Sebastienne Josse trying to stay in touch. A big knock down did for his boat, BT, and he was forced to retire. Derek Hatfield is another retiree after losing his top spreaders.

Brian Thompson has lost a lot of distance on the leaders after spending time making repairs to cracks in his fore peak, but his speeds seem to be climbing again.

Other skippers who have lost time with boat problems include Marc Guillemot and Jeane Pierre Dick. So many boats have been damaged or retired that Samantha Davies now finds herself in 7th place on Roxy.

The four Frenchmen between Davies and Jourdain must be hoping now that a mechanical failure among the two leaders might present them with some opportunity. I can't see either Desjoyeaux or Jourdain slowing their pace. The closeness of the two boats means that they can't let up and the harder they press, the more chance there is of a mechanical failure.

That seemed to be Josse's theory, however, and, even after reigning back a little, he was still caught by heavy weather. Desjoyeaux has sailed almost faultlessly so far and those behind must be asking asking themselves whether he can keep going. He seems to thrive on pressure, sailing fast but steadily.

It's good to see that the two women skippers are still in the race with a fleet almost halved from its starting strength due to retirements.

Meanwhile Pete Goss and his family crew on Spirit of Mystery made Cape Town safely on Christmas Day after experiencing their first seriously heavy seas. There will be many more like that on the leg to Australia.