Vendee Globe- Sedlacek stuck in the Doldrums as White has a near miss

by Vendee Globe media on 25 Feb 2009
Steve White, GBR, (Toe in the Water) had a close encounter with a cargo ship last night which he admits was a little too close for comfort as he sailed in busy shipping traffic off Cape Finisterre.

The British skipper emerged unscathed and is making fair speed across the Bay of Biscay now, trying to hike north in the contrary, Easterly winds as he makes for the finish line in Les Sables d’Olonne where he is now expected Thursday.

White is expected to stay on the same tack now up to about the latitude of Lorient, where the breeze is likely to bend to a more favourable northerly direction, but the weather files also suggest it will be lighter, so nothing about his final approach seems to be falling in his favour. Once again he voiced his frustration today, saying that every time he tacked the wind had changed to be more against him.

'It’s like pulling teeth. I just want to get in.' White said today.

His VMG remains consistent at around 6-8 knots, although he said today that with 30 knot winds off Finisterre the seas were as big and awkward as he could remember, only the second time he could recall not being able to stand up on the foredeck of his Open 60, and having to work on his hands and knees.

At 1430hrs this afternoon White had a direct distance of 267 miles to Les Sables, which in reality is closer to 330 miles with winds still mainly Easterly to 25 knots.

Rich Wilson’s weather conundrum is just the type of cerebral challenge the American skipper would enjoy sitting at home toying with, in theory, trying to find the optimum routing around the high pressure system to his east, but with a high pressure ridge also to squeezing him to the west. Two hundred miles to his west there is the option of express downwind travel to the north, but from there he then has a long, long way back to the east to get to the French coast. Unfortunately this puzzle comes towards the end of Wilson’s highly commendableVendée Globe and in reality is just the kind of challenge he could be doing without when all he wants to do is be able to point the bows of the Great American III at Les Sables d’Olonne and get finished.

He is into lighter breezes in the high pressure ridge at the moment and so should be getting more chance to rest and recover a little, but still with a difficult regime of sail changes.

Conditions remain rough for Raphaël Dinelli. The skipper of Fondation Ocean Vital is having to battle upwind in 25-30 knot trade winds and heavy seas. He will be heeled over and shaken about for the next four or five days.

Conditions are very different for Norbert Sedlacek, AUT, (Nauticsport Kapsch) at the rear of the fleet. Unfortunately for the Austrian skipper, the Doldrums are stretching out as he climbs towards the Equator. Sedlacek said today that he was not enjoying the stress of the Doldrums but was looking forward to getting across the Equator tomorrow (Wednesday). And having access to a fuller sail selection now that he has replaced his headsail halyards has been a godsend, even though he has been slowed to three to five knots for much of the day.

Steve White, GBR, (Toe in the Water): ' I had a bit of a long night with a lot of ships around Finisterre, I had to call several of them to get them to alter course for me. So I am quite tired and nearly got run down as well. I came as close as I ever have in my entire life to getting run down. It was the closest I have ever been to a ship which was not at anchor I think. An under arm throw with a tennis ball and I could have put it on its deck.

'I called him up and he obviously had not seen me and it took him five minutes to respond, and then when he did respond I said ‘what are you going to do?’ and he cam back and said he was going to turn to starboard and come down your starboard side. I thought that was rather odd, cos if he had turned to port he would have gone under our stern which would have been a much better thing to have done, he did an alteration to starboard which was big but it was not big enough, and I got headed and it finished up with us bow to bow and an angle of about 90 degrees and I baled out. I dumped the traveller all the way down because there was about 30 knots of breeze because the boat would not bear away, and as I crouched down to see I could see he had turned as well I had no idea that a ship that size, 160 metres, could turn so quickly and the bow was blown around and I saw his nav lights change underneath the boom, then I pushed the buttons on the pilot to come back up again, we both turned into each other effectively. Anyway I missed him he came under my stern and I called him up and said: ‘that was rather close wasn’t’ it?’ and he went absolutely berserk, and I thought which bit of the rules of the road have I not understood whereby you are supposed to get out of the way and I call you and ask what you are going to do, you tell me and you still end up hitting me.

'But I am going to report him. You can’t let people get way with that.

'All the others I called there was no problems, decent alterations and kept clear. They will insist on crossing in front of your bow and then of course if you get headed ten degrees, then it looks like you are on another collision course. Most of them had enough sense to make a big enough alteration t get out of the way, but I was pretty uncomfortable for a while. I must admit. On a 12 mile range I reckon I had nearly 20 ships at one point.

'Now it is empty. I am blissfully alone. I have two ships at 12 miles I am going in towards Biscay and then up towards Ushant. Meantime I’m just going to get me head down and dry my feet out in my sleeping bag.

'I suspect that the weather will continue to do what it has done all the way in, every time I tack it will head me. It will be dead easterly until I get over the continental shelf and then there should be a bit of north in it.
Oh crikey I am ready to get in now. It has been liking pulling teeth. I thought getting through the Azores was bad enough, but now every time I get knocked and knocked and knocked and I think I am going to go now, and so I tack it knocks me again.

'The sea state last night I actually think it is only the second time that I have been up on my hands and knees, because the sea state is such that I could not stand up.

'I was right inside the shipping lanes at Finisterre, inside the traffic separation scheme.

'It is showing tomorrow evening (Wed) but I have not looked at any weather yet, but tomorrow tea time unless something incredible happens.'

Norbert Sedlacek, AUT, (Nauticsport-Kapsch): ' Last night I had a little bit of wind from the SE’ly but now I am just starting to get some NE’ly and so I will bring the Code Zero up and I’ll see if I can catch the Equator tomorrow. I am still in the Doldrums at the moment, it gets better and better every hour. The night was OK till about one o’clock in the morning, and then there was nearly nothing, and then came the NE’ly but there is just F1-F2 beaufort and so just very light winds. It is really hard work. You need to change the big sails a few times every day and it is tough. I am trying to get the Code Zero up.

'I am looking forwards to the Equator to open my second last box of presents, I will have a nice French pate and a little bottle of champagne, and then make the last leg home. It is hot and you work the whole night, and I can’t really sleep. I have no electronic wind system and so every few minutes I have to jump out and take my spotlight and shine to my telltales to see the wind direction. Even in the Doldrums here you need to catch every little wind that you can get. It is a little bit stressy but the heavy showers are over.

'The cracks are not good. I think I got the cracks when the genoa 1 broke a second time in heavy weather when the furler broke and the sail was jumping in the heavy winds for I don’t know how long, maybe half