News from Les Sables d'Olonne

Objectif 3 pulls out, scrutineering nearing completion

This morning the skipper of the monohull Objectif 3 came out of his silence to announce his retirement from the Vendée Globe. In fact, following a difference of opinion between the French skipper, Charles Hedrich and the owner of the boat, the sailor announced this morning that he would not be coming to Les Sables d´Olonne and would not be taking the start of the Vendée Globe 2004. He was therefore withdrawn from the event by the race management earlier today.

Better news for the Austrian Norbert Sedlacek (formerly Austria One) who has just closed a deal with his partner Brother, enabling him to prepare his boat in the best possible conditions. The 60’ Austria One now bears the name Brother.

The whole fleet will have received a visit from the scrutineers by this evening. The aptitude of the boats prior to the start of their loop of the world is put to the test. Sylvie Viant, President of the race committee had no major problems to announce aboard the monohulls: "The sealing can now begin which involves immobilising various pieces of the onboard equipment: the interior liferafts, the batteries, the survival water tank (9 litres), the keels, and finally the sealing of the motors which will be done the week prior to the start. The whole of the fleet is more or less ready which is fairly satisfying nearly 3 weeks from the start."

Roland Jourdain skipper of Sill-Veolia commented: "I'm aching to get out to sea. Here the pressure is beginning to rise. On the otherhand the welcome is incredibly warm and there's a crazy amount of people here! It’s great but there are a lot of things that need to be done. The head will only really be clear after the start. The three coming weeks are certainly not going to be the easiest despite the good atmosphere and the good humour that reigns here."

Skipper of Hellomoto, Conrad Humpreys is also settling in: "I feel both nervous and extremely happy to be in Les Sables d’Olonne. It´s the realization of six long years of training and preparation. I am very impressed by the line up in this 5th edition of the Vendée Globe and I am very proud to be part of it. I´m impatient to leave. My boat is ready. Even the provisions have been loaded!"

In contrast it is all go with Anne Liardet and Roxy: "We’re pretty rushed because we only managed to get financed ten days ago. Since then we’ve had to set everything in motion: the sheets, changing the running rigging, finalising the scrutineering, testing the whole electronics system… That all represents an enormous amount of work and requires a lot of energy. But my team are bearing up and we fully believe we can achieve this."