2004-2005
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Ocean Planet Vendée Globe Update:
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Position 43 58N, 08 09W, @ 13:27 UT
300 Miles to Go!!
Well, 309 to be exact. We are right off the northwest tip of Spain, just past Cape Finisterre. Of course Les Sables is dead upwind, so we’ll likely sail almost 500 miles to get there….
It was a rollicking time last night, as there was a good northerly wind, and we blasted across the Cape’s shipping lanes without much fuss. Dodging the fishing boats this morning was relatively more hectic.
Now we are sort of parked, flopping about with two reefs and the staysail waiting for the changing wind to sort itself out. There are rain/wind squalls everywhere making it hard to put up more sail. I just tacked away from the northern tip of the Cape, and I was hoping to lay it but we were headed as we neared the land.
Fantastic view of hills, though, just before we tacked over:
Ah, the nearest squall is hitting us now….wind! Not too much, about 18kts. So we are moving again, but who knows how long it will last? Whatever, no big deal! The only bad thing is that there is still a good chop and swell, so as soon as we are moving the pounding starts!
A good number of Ocean Planet supporters are in Les Sables now getting ready for our arrival and to help tidy up the boat. It was fun to call the Team on the Iridium phone and catch them at our favorite hangout, Cafe Cuisine. Conrad from Hellomoto was there, and I was able to congratulate him on a great race!
Yikes, just got in… the squall is now up to 30kts with HAIL and I had to deal with that. Good thing I resisted putting up more sail while we were flopping…..;-)
More tomorrow as we close in on the end of this very long trip!
Be sure to check out today’s Race Report by Brian Hancock – a Bruce Schwab exclusive!
Bruce Schwab, Skipper
USA 05/Ocean Planet