Vendée Globe – tales of weed and rope

Now that they have had some decent sleep and some food, the skippers are telling us a little more about their experiences during that rough ride through the Bay of Biscay, and particularly about the incidents that lost them time.

Several of them got caught aback or did involuntary tacks more than once on account of big windshifts.

Some deliberately avoided pushing their boats too fast in order to reduce their chances of damage. A wise move, since all three dismastings were blamed on the shock loads from very heavy landings.

Others got things caught around keels and dagger boards – sometimes it was weed, but in Jonny Malbon’s case it was 60 feet of rope. After heaving to, he was very relieved to be able to fish the bight up with a boathook and slice it in half.

None of the skippers needed to don scuba gear and dive overboard, thankfully. No joke at the best of times, but worse in cold water and heavy seas after more than 24 hours without sleep or a decent meal.