This is a news archive containing content from our old news system. If you arrived here via a search, you may be interested in our main news section.
Vincent Riou has continued his gains on PRB, making another five miles on the leaders between 0330hrs and 0930hrs GMT this morning, now lying in fifth place.
Christmas is proving long and cruel for those between the Kerguelen Islands and Australia’s Cape Leeuwin.
Whilst Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia), number one on the Vendée Globe Christmas chart for the ninth day running, awaits the south westerly winds which should relieve the leading duo from the tedium and mild discomfort of sailing hard into northerly breezes, those among the lower orders continue their suffering in a sustained period of robust gales with big, confused and angry seas.
Telefonica Blue has filed protest papers with the Race Committee alleging an infringement of the Racing Rules of Sailing by Ericsson 3 for an incident during the leg three of the Volvo Ocean Race. Skipper Bouwe Bekking wrote of the encounter in an email later that same day: 'We were sailing under spinnakers and we were neck on neck with Ericsson 3. They passed us once, but then we passed them again. We had to navigate through an area of shoals, so tricky for the navigators, not to let us run aground.
Michel Desjoyeaux says he has Christmas on ice, waiting until the weather is a little kinder, and taking the gift afforded by crossing the International Date Line yesterday, to pick and choose when he wants to open his bag of presents which the leader says has been winking at him for six weeks.
He has a lead of just less than 50 miles and is about 140 miles SSE of the west extension of the gate. Roland Jourdain is about 40 miles further to the north.
The 'three blondes in a boat' Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson have confirmed they have raced for the last time as a trio following the removal of the Yngling class from the 2012 programme.
Twenty-eight year-old Ayton, 31-year-old Webb and Wilson, 22, who won sailing gold at this year's Olympics, are still considering their options for the remaining Olympic classes open to women.
The International Sailing Federation have opted to introduce a match-racing event in place of the Yngling, where all the boats are on the water at the same time.
Generali skipper Yann Elies, who was rescued in treacherous conditions in the Southern Ocean while competing in the Vendee Globe, has said that his days stranded at sea were the worst of his life.
Elies, 34, also thanked rescuers who plucked him from the ocean last Saturday as well as Australian hospital staff after he underwent surgery for a broken leg.
The rescued sailor described his high-seas ordeal as "the worst five days of my life," according to a statement released by the Royal Perth Hospital, where he is recovering.
There is a distinct lack of festive cheer for the Vendee Globe fleet. Only the chasing pack, Armel Le Cleac'h and Vincent Riou are being given just what they want, strong favourable winds at the moment.
The leaders will once again be slowed by contrary breezes forcing them to fight north to the New Zealand gate while Armel Le Cléac’h (Brit Air) and Vincent Riou (PRB) are the only skippers to be feeling some festive cheer, given a temporary boost: the favourable SW'ly winds for them in excess of 30 knots enables the Vendée Globe title holder Riou to be the fastest this evening covering 400 miles in 24 hours.
A less certain period for the leaders who are due to encounter some stronger headwinds for the next 24-36 hours which will make it tougher for them to get the 200 miles or so north to the gate, and they will in effect end up much closer to the eastern end of it. Michel Desjoyeaux leads by 61.5 miles. Roland Jourdain is second and has lost little over the morning six hour period to 1000hrs GMT.
Torrential rain offered a fitting end to the third leg for the beleaguered Delta Lloyd which, against the odds, crossed the finish line under sail to add a single point to their overall tally.
There was little to smile about as Roberto Bermudez de Castro's (or Chuny) drenched crew motored into the marina at Sentosa Cove having crossed the finish line in eighth place after a 1,950 nautical mile passage filled with disappointment.
Team Russia today announced it has suspended racing upon arrival in Singapore at the end of Leg 3 due to insufficient funds to continue the campaign.
The team has been seeking sponsorship in recent months to secure enough financial support to continue to Qingdao and beyond.
However no sponsorship has been forthcoming and the team has no alternative but to suspend racing until further financial support can be secured.