Those at the rear of the fleet have suffered 45 knot winds gusting to 60 knots in two successive lows, giving them no time to recuperate.
Jean-Baptistse Dejeanty has a number of problems that have caused him to slow down until the weather improves and his team decide what he can do about them. Jonny Malbon twisted his ankle badly a couple of days ago, and Vincent Riou is also nursing a weak leg - not much fun when there’s no-one else to do the dirty work on the foredeck.
Vincent Riou raised another concern: He says the ice is much further north than in the last Vendée Globe. Are we seeing a global warming symptom that will force the organisers to move ice gates further and further north in years to come? What about Cape Horn?
Bernard Stamm arrived in Kerguelen, but even with Dominic Wavre on board as an extra hand, could not pick up the mooring he had been allotted, and ended up running ashore.
Meanwhile, the girls are both proud of the way their boats are handling the heavy weather (although Dee claims to have been huddled fearfully in a corner during some of the hairier bits) – Sam Davies seems to revel in the wild stuff, and actually recorded the greatest distance sailed for14th December.
