Winners and losers

As Michel Desjoyeaux begins to savour his Vendee triumph it might be an idea to assess the fortunes of other competitors as a race like this has many winners and losers when you look at its impact on their careers. For some it will not be evident yet since some changes will only occur in time. But here is my assessment of twenty of them. The rest either retired early or simply didn't register enough as racers:

Michel Desjoyeaux: an obvious winner, his reputation is enhanced and his future can only be defined by his remaining ambition.

Sam Davies: Another big winner, came to public attention in the UK, and popular with race followers, should help her get a a state of the art boat if she chooses to do the race next time.

Jonny Malbon: Failed to enhance his reputation and will leave a question mark for sponsors. Will Artemis stay with him in the long term? On the other hand he has built a good relationship with his sponsor who knows that his boat probably needed longer to establish itself.

Brian Thompson: Looked after his boat and enhanced his reputation as a reliable sailor. But does he have the potential to challenge the fastest French skippers in the long run?

Alex Thompson: Can he shake off the reputation of a "crash and burn" sailor? He needs to finish more often. While he came second in the Barcelona round the world race he was sailing with the immensely experienced Andrew Cape.

Mike Golding: Has nothing left to prove as a round the world sailor, but does he believe that? He knows what it is to be beaten by a Frenchman. Has it happened once too often? Sponsorship assured so he can go on as long as he feels.

Roland Jourdain: his already excellent reputation has not suffered, could easily have won and would have liked to have pushed Desjoyeaux harder in the later stages had he not suffered keel damage. Should be back next time.

Jean Le Cam: Will want to return one more time because he knows he can win it.

Yann Elies: Still young, will have learned a lot, will almost certainly want to come back. His retirement was cruel bad luck.

Marc Guillemot: A fine seaman, again with nothing to prove. A top five spot looks to be his. Again he may question whether he wants to come back in four years' time.

Loick Peyron: Knows he can win this race, still young enough, so I'm sure he'll be up for another go. Sponsors know they will get value for money.

Jean-Baptiste Dejeanty: Has youth on his side but needs to improve to keep his sponsors happy (and possibly to keep his sponsors).

Vincent Riou: A past winner, would have chased Desjoyeaux all the way to the line had he not damaged his boat going to the aid of Jean Le Cam. His reputation is secure and he will be back.

Steve White: Steve who? Some may have asked this before the race but not any more. He gambled everything on this race, scrambling together his entry at the last minute. If White set out on a wing and prayer that prayer must surely be answered with some solid sponsorship in future. He deserves it.

Dee Caffari: In spite of her previous circumnavigation she was one the least experienced skippers in the race at this level of competition but has done herself a lot of good, preserving her boat so far (if not her mainsail). Her sponsors should be happy.

Dominique Wavre: He was 53 when he set out. A fine sailor who acquitted himself well before his retirement, but will he want to return in four years time?

Sebastien Josse: Probably pushed too hard but will have learned much and should be back with confident sponsors. Could win this race next time.

Armel Le Cléac´h: This is a great result for Le Cleac'h who may yet secure second place in his first Vendee. In showing he can race fast and preserve his boat, he has to be a hot tip for the future.

Raphael Dinelli: Simply doesn't have the pace to win. Is it enough any more just to take part?

Bernard Stamm: Did enough to confirm his reputation as a solid performer. Will probably want and should get the sponsorship for another crack at the 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.

Heavy weather takes its toll

Bernard Stamm's boat ran aground in heavy weather last night so his Vendee race is run. I expect he'll be keeping Dominique Wavre company for quite a while until technical help arrives. Someone saw the funny side.

The top five followers are just about holding on to Jean-Pierre Dick but they're having to sail fast to do so. Expect another breakage soon among the front runners. It's not a question of "if", but "when" and "who"?

Down the ranks, Sam Davies is still charging on Roxy, 90 miles ahead of Brian Thompson. Jean-Baptiste Dejeanty, on the other hand, has slowed right down. He was among those caught in the heaviest winds over the past two days, suffering a series of technical problems: autopilots, torn genoa and damaged mainsail halyard on Maisonneuve.

Over the past 48 hours, all of those at the rear of the fleet have suffered two big depressions with winds of 45 knots, gusting to 60 knots. That's a lot of wind.

It was noticeable that although Loick Peyron is under jury rig and out of the race (although he has not yet been posted as officially retired) he was making better progress in the last session than Steve White in Toe in the Water and has maintained consistently faster speeds than Pete Goss, slowly heading for Capetown in his Cornish Lugger.

Another one bites the dust

Dominique Wavre is heading for the Kerguelen Islands after damaging his keel on Temenos II. He was back in the top 10 and pushing hard at the time.

The good news is that he is just just 150 miles from the Islands. The bad news is that the keel is swinging freely. If it were to fall off he would be struggling to keep the boat upright. It looks like his race is run.

Canting keels are a constant worry in this kind of racing. They have become a feature of modern design but there needs to be a continuing debate about their use, something I discussed here.

Meanwhile Steve White has had to retrace his course, frustratingly, as he missed an ice gate. Mike Golding finds some time for reflection, including a conclusion that Desjoyeaux is the man to beat. Loick Peyron might have been many people's favourite at the start after winning the Artemis Transat earlier in the year, but his challenge is over.

Golding moves in to second place

While Mike Golding has moved in to second place in the Vendee Globe, his highest position so far in the race, he and the rest of the following pack have actually lost ground on the leader Jean-Pierre Dick who managed to pull 50 miles ahead in the past day.

Fifty miles remains a narrow margin and Golding's more southerly course may help him to pick up distance on the northerly boats that have had the best of the wind in the past day or two.

The tactics among the leaders appear to be those of staying with each other and covering any possible breaks. Michel Desjoyeaux, having charged to join the front runners, seems to be pacing himself for now, regaining his strength ahead of another push later on.

Golding has spoken of sticking close to the leaders ahead of a charge up the on the final stretch, a feat he performed outstandingly in the last Vendee, but I am sure he too he will be looking for a possible break.

Meanwhile Bernard Stamm draws ever nearer Brian Thompson. While Golding showed in the last race that distances of 700 miles on the leaders can be made up from this stage, I think that those behind Dominique Wavre in 11th place may be looking at best now for a position in the top 10.

If Samantha Davies can do that in Roxy, she will have excelled herself as the boat is slower than many of her rivals. In the same way, Steve White, is still punching away after losing a sail on his under funded boat. Jonny Malbon, trailing White on the well-funded Artemis, seems to be having a pretty miserable time, having twisted his ankle to add to his woes. He is one of a number of skippers to have passed icebergs. I wouldn't have expected them so far north.

Imagine trying to grab an hour's sleep when your boat is speeding along at 20 knots at night with the possibility of an iceberg out in front. Yes, the boats have radar but some of these bergs are quite low in the water and you can't watch the radar constantly.

By the way, I cannot understand why the mainstream press is ignoring this race. Perhaps it's because the Vendee's own web site covers it so well. But I'm sure if more was done to bring it to the attention of the public there would be a lot more interest. Unfortunately, as in the past, the press only gets interested when there is life-threatening drama and no-one wants to see that happen.

The Vendee has already suffered two deaths in its history and no-one should be under any misapprehension that better boats and better communications have made the race safe. The boats are much faster than they were in the past and speed brings added risk. It's one tough race. You have to really want to be there.

No respite in the Vendee

Mike Golding has progressed well in the Vendee Globe so far, focusing only on the leader during any section of the race. But now, perhaps, he will need to focus on someone else. Indeed the whole fleet, including race leader Jean-Pierre Dick should be watching one man, Michel Desjoyeaux.

Desjoyeaux on Foncia has jumped two places in the last eight hours putting him neck and neck with second placed Roland Jourdain, just 35 miles behind the lead. If anyone can break away from the pack it is Desjoyeaux. The way he has driven his boat from a position 40 hours behind the fleet after a problem forced his return at the start of the race, has been the hallmark of a true racer.

Golding and the rest of the French skippers at the front of the pack have the class to stay with him but will they be able to match his single-minded drive and willingness to force the pace. Some will be worrying about yesterday's dismasting of Loick Peyron. How much should they push their boats with nearly 16,000 miles still ahead of them?

There may be no choice. Two skippers further back deserve a mention for the way they are trying to haul their boats back in to contention - Bernard Stamm, who is catching Brian Thompson, and Dominique Wavre. Both could yet figure in the final mix.

Peyron's misfortune is a sharp reminder to the front runners that, however well engineered their boats, this kind of racing will expose any weaknesses. These are sailing boats maintaining power-boat speeds in the world's most inhospitable ocean. The weather readings are forecasting 40 knots winds in the next day or two. There really is no respite.

Wavre back in the fight

It's great to see Dominique Wavre - forced to return soon after the race start - fighting his way back in to the following pack as the Vendee fleet heads in to the Doldrums. Sam Davies is doing well too, overtaking Brian Thompson who must be disappointed to find himself in 13th position behind a much older boat as Mike Golding shifts in to 7th place less than 90 miles adrift of the leader,Loick Peyron.

I would expect the leaders to be very close just now to the latitude reached by Pete Goss in Spirit of Mystery but I can't see his weblog as I post this note. I have posted the link anyway so you can see for yourself when the blog is fixed. Vendee links are in the right hand side-bar.

Thompson may be struggling now but his boat is powerful enough to pick up steam as the fleet heads south in to windier waters. His challenge now is to keep in touch in the light winds. The leading Frenchmen are going to take some catching but Golding isn't letting go. The race has been remarkably open so far, the lead changing hands often without anyone getting too far ahead. As the fleet leaves the Doldrums it may give someone the opportunity to make a break. We shall soon see

French skippers dominate early Vendee running

It's still very early days in the Vendee Globe race, but as the boats approach Madeira with nearly 800 miles already covered it's disappointing as a Brit to note that the top 10 places are held exclusively by Frenchmen - and this is without Michel Desjoyeaux who is putting in some strong times after returning to the start.

The next four places are held by British skippers, two of them women. Sooner or later I would expect Mike Golding and Brian Thompson to begin mixing it in that leading group although Thompson must still take a four hour penalty he incurred as a result of a rule infringement just before the start.

The British women, Sam Davies and Dee Caffari are sailing exceptionally well. Davies has a second generation boat, less powerful than many others in the field including that of Thompson who still trails her.

While Caffari's boat, Aviva is a more powerful third generation yacht, identical to Golding's Ecover 3, she has much less experience in downwind racing at this level. To be keeping pace with Golding shows just how much her technique has improved in the past year.

It's no surprise, however, to see Davies doing well as she trains with the elite French squad. The squad system seems to be paying off just now but there is still a long way to go. All the same, you wouldn't be betting just now against yet another French win. I still think that Thompson has the power and Golding the experience to mount strong challenges but they cannot afford to let the leaders move too far ahead.

When leading boats begin to pick up new weather systems ahead of the rest it can really split the field. So tactical decisions over the next two or three days could prove crucial. Keep an eye on Dominique Wavre. He's been putting in some blistering times after his early reversal.

You can click on the Vendee Positions link in the right hand side bar to keep up with the times.