TJV: Caffari and Thompson battle for position in the Transat Jacques Vabre

by Kelly Russell

After a difficult night onboard Aviva, Dee Caffari and Brian Thompson have entered the final 500 miles of the Transat Jacques Vabre. The British duo is battling to regain seventh position, having lost a place to Arnaud Boissières and Vincent Riou onboard Akena Verandas.

At 16h00 Dee Caffari and Brian Thompson, onboard Aviva, were in eighth place, 5 miles behind Akena Verandas in seventh. Three Open 60s have now successfully completed the course, Safran, Groupe Bel and Mike Golding Yacht Racing.

Dee Caffari and Brian Thompson’s diary entry received on 25 November 2009 at 1238 GMT:

“A little later than usual as we had a full on night and only now have the ability to email. We all gybed for the finish line just before dark last night and had a full on night blasting towards the line cutting down the miles rapidly. It was a wild ride too. A maximum wind speed of around 27 knots and a big swell in the seas made life like a roller coaster ride. Once the moon went down we have several hours in darkness where you could not see the waves and every now and again the bow would drop from the horizon down into a huge surf and at speeds in excess of 23 knots. The motion would make your stomach drop and you knew just a twitch of the wheel at the wrong time could spell disaster.

Concentration was paramount for Brian and I driving and we took it in turns at 40 minutes each. We were relieved when the sun rose this morning and you could see what was going on with the waves and the boat. Aviva wants to be a little rocket ship and we are trying to let her be, but it is hard work for us. Still we are just about to break the final 500 mile barrier so all is good and we are having second helpings of porridge for morale.”

Aviva Ocean Racing
Transat Jacques Vabre