The systems are working wonderfully

by admin on November 19th, 2012 at 10:49 am
Hello, everything is going ok here….I have been trying to make up distance to the west but in the end I had to gybe before I would have liked since I was starting to head higher than 270, so I have gybed and now the heading is good. I hope it doesn’t shift to the north.

The charging systems in these latitudes is working marvelously and I think in another three days I will have the batteries to 100% capacity which will make me feel much calmer to face the south.

I have also used the ‘hydro’ (generators) but only when sailing over 15 knots and only at night, more than anything else to maintain the batteries.

Best wishes from ACCIONA 100% EcoPowered. Bubi

Thinking about the equator.

by admin on November 18th, 2012 at 7:03 pm
Javier Sansó and his ACCIONA 100% EcoPowered has get back to the racing. Now it´s time to think about the equator and the doldrums.

Mail from ACCIONA 100% EcoPowered:

Hello everyone. I really needed a day like today – calm and fast at least from midday onwards. I made the most of the day to organize the inside of the boat a little and dry my clothes out. I have used more foulies than I thought I would this first week. I have to do a recount of everything but I think I am going to have to do a little washing with some clothes like the thermal shirts; I have used four and I shouldn’t have used more than two, but hey it’s not serious. Anyway just in case I am going to rinse them in some fresh water to get rid of some of the salt or they’ll never dry out.

I made the most of day to eat well and rest a little. I really needed to sleep and I have slept two hours with a little check outside in between, and I feel like new.

As far as tactics are concerned, right now I don’t have any competitors sailing near me so it is going to be a pretty standard route south, at least until I get to the doldrums and there I’ll have to see which longitude to take. One point is that the doldrums at this time of year are at latitude 5 North.

We then cross the whole South Atlantic until we get into the Indian Ocean, but that is about two weeks from now and I hope to have got closer to at least a few of the boats ahead of me by then.

Bubi from ACCIONA 100% EcoPowered

Hi everyone!

by admin on November 17th, 2012 at 4:12 pm
Greetings!

Yesterday was a very full day indeed. As you know I had to go to find some sheltered water in Tenerife to be able to go up the mast without too many waves, as this would have made it very complicated to climb to the top of the mast. The problem was that once situated behind Tenerife there was absolutely no wind at all and a real swell. So after two frustrating hours waiting and trying to get closer in to land, I made an attempt to go up the mast with quite a large swell, the boat almost drifting and without any kind of steering.

Each time I went up a metre I was like a sack of potatoes swaying from one side to the other, but lucky to be able to be more or less facing the mast and not with my back to it. When I was half-way up the mast the automatic pilot alarm went off – it had lost my heading. I’d imagined this might happen as there was hardly any wind and the Solent sail was hardly doing anything. The worst thing was the sea state which made everything more complicated. ↓ Read the rest of this entry…

ACCIONA 100% ECOPOWERED NOW BACK SAILING UNDER FULL SAIL

by admin on November 17th, 2012 at 1:54 pm
Javier Sansó is back pursuing the leaders of the Vendée Globe, after suffering damage to his main sail on 14th November.

After finding the conditions to allow him to undertake the repair operation safely in the lee of the island of Tenerife, Sansó was able to swiftly recover the main sail halyard from the top of the mast and ACCIONA 100% EcoPowered was back sailing under full sail at 21.00 h (Spanish time) on 16th November.

ACCIONA 100% ECOPOWERED HEADING TO THE LEE OF THE CANARY

by admin on November 16th, 2012 at 11:42 am
After 32 hours of sailing without a main sail, and having studied the weather conditions Javier ”Bubi” Sansó is heading to the lee of the islands to undertake repairs to his IMOCA.

The skipper from Mallorca has chosen to sail to the Canary Islands seeking the shelter of the coast with gentler sea and wind conditions than he has been suffering, and to be able to go up the mast, recover the main sail halyard and get fully back into the competition.

Sanso explained the operation he is going to undertake: ”Greetings from ACCIONA 100% EcoPowered. Today has been pretty entertaining preparing all the material to go up the mast tomorrow in the shelter of the Canary Islands. I just need some sheltered water without waves for a few hours and I think I’ll be back again 100%. I’ve been able to sleep a full 2 hours… a real luxury! “

Even though Sansó´s sailing conditions are still harsh Bubi is very satisfied with the performance of his energy systems: ”The weather here is more similar to the South Indian Ocean than the north of the Canaries but well, that’s what we have. The energy generator systems are working perfectly in spite of the harsh weather conditions. I’m sailing just with a foresail and it’s a little strange to see this red and white bird with just one wing. But she’ll soon be able to spread both wings again. It’s just a question of a little more time and we can get back sailing again with full performance. Best wishes from Acciona 100% EcoPowered.” Bubi