After difficult first days of sailing in the North Atlantic, the British Samantha Davies (Initiatives Coeur) has made up a good part of her gap at the front of the 10th Vendée Globe fleet.
As the unpredictable Doldrums approaches, she talks about Tuesday, in the second episode of her logbook for AFP, the “welcome little break” of the weekend, linked to weak wind conditions, which allowed him to go on the attack again.
“Today, I am much less exhausted than when I started. After a few days of very light wind, it is slowly returning and I am happy to find some breeze again. I escaped the big squalls that shook a lot of competitors… well I went through a few, but it wasn't hell either.
“This period of quiet time gave me a welcome little break. I took the opportunity to tinker, do a little maintenance and frankly rest. The departure was more intense than usual, between the emotion and the stress accumulated over three weeks in the village.
“It took me a little time to settle in and get into the rhythm. Now I sleep better, I eat well and my autopilot does the job really well. I can confidently let him steer the boat, which is a big relief.
“The start of the race was not easy for me. It wasn't really a speed problem, but rather a positioning problem. I sailed quite a bit +upside down+ compared to the strength of my boat. It was frustrating, but I did pretty well in the end.
“I opted for a less extreme route, neither fully west nor fully east, perhaps a little slower. But in the end, I haven't done that many miles and I think it's the right strategy to avoid burning out and wearing out the boat. Everything is working out.
“In recent days, I have sailed a lot alongside Clarisse (Crémer). I was happy to be right next to her. It's better than finding yourself in a group of five boats fighting each other, it's more tiring. Just one is perfect for not feeling too isolated. We crossed paths twice. Once I go behind, once I go in front. It's not always easy to communicate, but we give each other news via WhatsApp from time to time.
“We have a discussion group with the girls competing in the Vendée Globe, we share jokes, we talk about everything except the race, and we have a good laugh.
The Doldrums? “I don’t really have any apprehensions”
“I can sleep pretty easily at the moment. I sleep in short periods of 40 to 60 minutes, depending on the time. At night, the body recovers better, so that's where I try to maximize my sleep time, even if it's more or less easy depending on the conditions.
Sailor Sam Davies aboard his sailboat Initiatives Coeur on the day of the start of the 10th Vendée Globe / Loic VENANCE / AFP
“I don't really have any apprehensions about the Doldrums, it's a necessary step, which I know well now (she's on her 4th trip around the world, Editor's note), so I remain calm. As Jean-Yves Bernot (French meteorologist specializing in offshore racing, Editor's note) said, you should not try to win over your competitors in this area, you must above all do everything possible to avoid losing ground.
“For several days, I have been working on my trajectories to optimize this passage. Even my chosen trajectory from Madeira was influenced by the Doldrums. This is a fairly uncertain forecast area, so you have to watch out for thunderstorms that develop very quickly. In the end, we endure a little. The main thing is to have recovered well before entering, and from that point of view it's done. »
Testimony collected by François d'Astier
