Day 29 – "Morning, after a few painful hours last night where the wind died right down to about 6 knots, I’m back in the breeze again this morning and am up and running. It’s quite gusty, as high as 28 knots at times, so no Sunday morning relaxing for me as I’ve been busy putting reefs in and taking them out again.
It seems as though the four in front have been slowed too, so I have managed to hold on to some of the miles I made up on the way to Crozet gate. It also looks as though I can stay ahead of the secondary low which I thought might over take me. We’ve got about 900 miles to go to the Amsterdam gate and with the wind back up it should be a fast few days, I hope so!
After the battle getting up to the Crozet gate I am concentrating on getting myself back into top condition now and making sure I’m eating some proper meals again – such as the porridge I just had for breakfast this morning."
Alex
Mike Golding is back on track now.
"It’s been a bit of a rubbish night... Compared with Jean Le Cam, I don’t seem to have done so well. I kept getting headed and he seemed to be lifted so I seem to have lost a bit to him.
But I am back on track now.
Looking ahead, it is not quite the rosy routing that it looked like yesterday, but it is still OK, it’s good. I can still see Armel really getting away after the next gate by a long way, but we need to wait and see on that one.
I am very near to the gate now, about 32 miles to the eastern mark. It won’t be a gybe as such, just a bear away but it will be good to change the sailplan and get going again. As soon as I bear away, I should be able to open up a few miles on Jean again.
It is always good to put a mark of the course behind you. They do become a big preoccupation, though. It was like this last night. You are working towards a mark which is 150 miles away and you are struggling because you are being headed and you are not getting to sleep because of that. That does not feel like a round the world race, but an offshore race."
Mike
From : Alex Thomson / Vendee Globe
Credit : A.Thomson
It seems as though the four in front have been slowed too, so I have managed to hold on to some of the miles I made up on the way to Crozet gate. It also looks as though I can stay ahead of the secondary low which I thought might over take me. We’ve got about 900 miles to go to the Amsterdam gate and with the wind back up it should be a fast few days, I hope so!
After the battle getting up to the Crozet gate I am concentrating on getting myself back into top condition now and making sure I’m eating some proper meals again – such as the porridge I just had for breakfast this morning."
Alex
Mike Golding is back on track now.
"It’s been a bit of a rubbish night... Compared with Jean Le Cam, I don’t seem to have done so well. I kept getting headed and he seemed to be lifted so I seem to have lost a bit to him.
But I am back on track now.
Looking ahead, it is not quite the rosy routing that it looked like yesterday, but it is still OK, it’s good. I can still see Armel really getting away after the next gate by a long way, but we need to wait and see on that one.
I am very near to the gate now, about 32 miles to the eastern mark. It won’t be a gybe as such, just a bear away but it will be good to change the sailplan and get going again. As soon as I bear away, I should be able to open up a few miles on Jean again.
It is always good to put a mark of the course behind you. They do become a big preoccupation, though. It was like this last night. You are working towards a mark which is 150 miles away and you are struggling because you are being headed and you are not getting to sleep because of that. That does not feel like a round the world race, but an offshore race."
Mike
From : Alex Thomson / Vendee Globe
