I have now passed the Equator

by admin on January 29th, 2013 at 6:29 pm
I have now passed the Equator and am into the Northern Hemisphere and sailing quickly. I am making a good heading northwards and the weather is looking quite good up to the Canary Islands. After the Canary Islands and until the Azores it will get a little complicated and from the Azores to Les Sables d’Olonne the route to take is a little uncertain, whether to go all around the Azores and try to cut through Finisterre. It’s not yet sure.

On board life is good. I have enough food and we are making good speed to the north. The weather right now is not too good, it’s a little cloudy.

The charging systems are perfect. The hydro-generators are practically 24 hours a day in the water to charge energy because it is very cloudy here -..no problem at all!.

In two days and with the battery power I have I could get to Les Sables d’Olonne. There are very good expectations here on board ACCIONA 100% EcoPowered.

I would like to congratulate François Gabart and his whole team

by admin on January 28th, 2013 at 3:18 pm
First of all I would like to congratulate Francois and his whole team for an absolutely spectacular job and of making this sport even greater. I would also like to send my congratulations to Armel; both of them have attracted thousands of people to watch the Vendée Globe. My sincere congratulations to both!

It is quite incredible that I only have 12 to 14 days before I finish, having already sailed around the world in this very special and experimental boat. It’s now up to me to be sensible until the finish and try not to make any mistakes. ↓ Read the rest of this entry…

ACCIONA 100% ECOPOWERED BECOMES THE FIRST ZERO EMISSIONS BOAT TO SAIL AROUND THE WORLD.

by admin on January 25th, 2013 at 8:52 am
• On 21st January ACCIONA 100% EcoPowered with Spanish skipper Javier Sansó, completed the first zero emissions sail around the world. A true milestone for eco-efficiency in offshore racing.

• “We are proving that the road to eco-efficiency is 100% reliable” stated the Mallorca-born skipper.

On Monday 21st January, at 22 h 25 minutes GMT, ACCIONA 100% EcoPowered crossed the area surrounding the Island of Trinidad for the second time, and exactly the same spot that he passed on 27th November, over 60 days ago.

It is a true milestone and one that marks the very first sail around the world for the only 100% zero emissions boat in the race. It is also a triumph for renewable energy, reaffirmed as a real alternative to diesel engines, and with a sound performance that has enable the completion of this non-stop round the world race.

“Today has been a day of celebration for ACCIONA 100% EcoPowered. At 22H GMT and 25 minutes on 21st January we crossed our own trail from the descent down south, which means ACCIONA 100% EcoPowered has now circumnavigated the world with eco-efficient energy and is the first to have achieved this without stopping.”

This achievement however has not distracted the skipper from Mallorca, whose main objective is still to reach Les Sables D’Olonne, and finish the Vendée Globe, “The round the world lap has been completed, but the competition isn’t over yet. The Vendée Globe is still underway and we still have 3948.3 miles to go until the finish line.”

I hope to get out of this area in about 24-30 hours

by admin on January 24th, 2013 at 5:10 pm
Hello everyone from ACCIONA 100% EcoPowered,

It looks like I have found a private Doldrums just for me before I even get to the real Doldrums. I hope the next 800 miles to the equator are not going to be like this because it could be a really long trip….

I have been sailing for three days with winds that never top 8 knots and just don’t ever actually shift eastwards as the reports are saying they should. It looks like I am going to have these conditions for another 24 hours with light winds ranging from 2 to 7 knots. ↓ Read the rest of this entry…

I have read what happened to Jean Pierre Dick

by admin on January 23rd, 2013 at 3:40 pm
I have been sailing for a few days as if it was dinghy sailing because I don’t have any wind information. The boat’s electronics haven’t been going well since Cape Horn and for three days nothing has been working. ↓ Read the rest of this entry…