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Arnaud Boissières has been making good progress towards Les Sables d’Olonne given the wind conditions he has had and is now under 300 miles to the finish.
At 0330hrs (GMT) this morning he was 313 miles from the finish and had been making 9.1 knots. His speeds have been generally good as he crossed a little high pressure area but he has still to reach the main high which is centred over Brittany. This will give him headwinds of around 10 knots. So we might be assured he will in by Sunday and possibly late Saturday.
BRP’s Evinrude E-TEC outboard engines have been ranked highest in customer satisfaction with two-stroke outboard engines in the U.S. in the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Marine Engine Competitive Information Study.
This is the third time in five years that Evinrude engines have been ranked the highest in customer satisfaction among two-stroke outboard brand manufacturers in the U.S. in the study and comes during the brand’s 100 year anniversary celebration. Previous high honours were awarded to Evinrude for two-stroke direct-injection engines in 2003 and in 2007, when Evinrude ranked the highest in a tie.
Arnaud Boissières is north of the latitude of the finish now and still climbing as he looks for the best route through the wall of light winds which protects the Bay of Biscay at the moment.
His speeds have slowed now from around 11 knots during the night to about seven as he heads on a course towards Brest. He is coming under the influence of lighter winds now and should start to see 5-10 knots NE’lies though the breeze does seem very unsettled. Akena Vérandas has less than 450 miles to sail now.
Leg 5, Day 5 and as the sun rears its head in the Pacific Ocean, the topic of conversation on board has defaulted to those old favourites – food and clothing.
Cracks are also appearing in the monotony of rapid reaching as navigators contemplate lighter airs and chew over a favourable entry point to The Doldrums.
Telefonica Blue’s Simon Fisher, clearly relishing the freedom of an above-the-deck role versus a previous life chained to a keyboard in the bowels of the navigation station, had a novel take on the sameness of the sailing but added that relief is at hand.
This Spring, 23-year-old Sarah Outen will set out from Australia’s west coast on the greatest endurance challenge of her life, when she attempts to make history by becoming the first woman to row the 3000 miles of the Indian Ocean.
Sarah's voyage is in memory of her late father, Derek Outen, who throughout Sarah’s life lived with rheumatoid arthritis until his untimely death in 2006.
For this reason Sarah has chosen Arthritis Care as her charitable partner. Having experienced first-hand the effect arthritis can have on her own family Sarah is keen to make a positive difference to the lives of other people with arthritis.
French sailing legend Michel Desjoyeaux onboard the IMOCA Open 60 'Foncia', stormed ahead to convincingly take first place in the 2008-09 edition of the Vendée Globe. Fully rigged using optimized Navtec Z-system PBO rigging, 'Foncia' endured the most grueling offshore racing conditions to win one of the worlds toughest sailing events. Navtec Performance Rigging, a division of Lewmar Marine, featured on over half of this year's Vendee Globe fleet. 2nd placed Armel LeCleac'h on 'BritAir' used Navtec's Z-system PBO and 4th place Sam Davis on 'Roxy' relied on Navtec Bi-Conic PBO for their standing rigging.
Two nuclear-armed submarines from Britain and France collided while on separate patrols in the Atlantic Ocean but there were no injuries or radioactive leaks, naval officials said on Monday.
Analysts said a major disaster could have resulted had the underwater collision ruptured the hulls, set off conventional ammunition or started a fire, although the chances of a full nuclear explosion were virtually nil.
The nuclear-powered submarines collided earlier this month but there was no damage to the vessels' weapons, said First Sea Lord Admiral Jonathon Band, head of the Royal Navy.
Finding funds to finance growth is key if Pearl Motor Yachts is going to reach the crest of the wave.
Iain Smallridge thinks his Pearl Motor Yachts is poised for expansion. He wants to add new models, increase output and tackle new emerging global markets, particularly in Russia and the Far East. But to do so he needs to find a serious injection of funds.
The problem is that the 10-year-old, Stratford-upon-Avon based business has only this year, for the first time, turned a profit. Margins are low and competition from big name brands such as Sunseeker and Fairline intense.
Dee Caffari made history today when she became the first woman to sail around twice around the world in different directions, both against and now with the prevailing winds and currents.
While her achievement of 2005 was impressive in itself, finishing sixth in this epic Vendee Globe race today, crossing the finish line at 13h 12' 57" GMT dwarves that feat, considering her first solo race in an Open 60 was only in November 2007. Just three years ago, Dee Caffari sailed around the world against the prevailing winds and currents taking 178 days 03 hours 05 minutes and now on 16th February 2009, the British sailor has done it again, but this time from west to east in a race… A remarkable performance as only fifteen solo sailors have accomplished this feat in less than 100 days aboard a monohull.
Brian Thompson, GBR, (Bahrain Team Pindar) crossed the Vendée Globe finish line of Les Sables d’Olonne this morning at 08h31"55' hrs GMT to secure a very creditable fifth place in the solo non stop around the world race which started on Sunday November 9th. Eléments associésSkippersBrian Thompson
Thompson, who fought to contain a keel problem through the final hours of his race, completed his first solo ocean race on IMOCA Open 60 in a time of 98 days, 20h, 29m,55s, holding off the ongoing attack of his compatriot Dee Caffari (AVIVA) who is due to finish later this morning.