Looking for the wind like a needle in a haystack, or on the contrary, praying for it to stop when everything is hanging by a thread… It is this last situation that we experienced a few hours ago Thomas Ruyant (VULNERABLE, 4th), confused in an Argentinian storm as sudden as it was unexpected. For two hours, the anemometer panics, recording up to 60 knots, in a gray atmosphere of the end of the world… In these cases, there is only one solution: the vanishing point. But it is with a tattered headsail that the Northerner emerges, and his emotions are turned upside down: “I’ve never had that! For two hours, between 45 and 60 knots, hell! I don't understand, I didn't see anything on the maps, it's sure it's active around here, but it lasted, lasted! I'm green… come on, I'll get back on track! I have a piece of J2 flapping up there, I can't climb the mast there anyway, the seas are raging!” Thomas Ruyant, Vulnerable.“We can’t wait for it to end”Too much wind behind, not enough in front… It's all a question of point of view in the end! Still in the lead, Charlie Dalin (MACIF Santé Prévoyance), “in great shape” continues to taste “the sweetness of Brazilian life”, but would still like the trade winds to become less timid: “I have rarely had as many variations in wind direction as strong as yesterday: you turned your head and looked at the display, you were in refusal, a few seconds later, you were in a teenager, it’s was crazy. Normally, the wind should start to pick up in the morning I hope, it will allow us to lengthen our stride a little, we will change our pace a little, that's good! We are going to cover a little more ground than what we have done in recent days, and get back to a rhythm where things move a little more!” Charlie Dalin, Macif Santé prevoyance.At daybreak, the wake of Le Havrais, who yesterday climbed the mast to check the wear of one of his runners, was indeed beginning to tighten gently, and to iron the 10 average nodes. But it will take a little more to beat Yoann Richomme (PAPRE- ARKÉA, 2nd), who is obviously not ready to let the wool on his back be eaten away, and also sets off again at a slow stride… enduring, he is not ready to have a point aside, unless it is to better double!
But there are others in worse shape than these two, particularly in the group of pursuers from the South Atlantic, still not close to seeing the end of the upwind. For these, let's dot the i's, the bag of knots is not quite finished, as Boris Herrmann (Malizia – Seaexplorer, 9th) explained to us last night:“From the Falklands, it's not very pleasant, especially there with the seas building up, it hits hard, sometimes we're a little afraid for the boat! We can't wait for it to end because it's a bit eternal, what's really a bit annoying is that the weather models change a lot from one session to the next, so we don't really know what's going on. think ! » Boris Herrmann, Malizia – Seaexplorer. Without ever losing his calm and calm voice, the German sailor, who would still like to find out how to sneak in, ends up getting annoyed:“I think we still have a good week ahead of us with a lot of questions, transitions and lack of clarity! Physically it's hard to make the tacks, because the port foil is difficult to lower, so I grind like crazy to lower it, it takes me a while. There we made, I don’t know, 12-15 transfers? I'm a little tired, angry, that's enough! That's enough, we would like to go sailing normally, here we are like pigs upwind, but hey I'm not going to complain, here I'm going to the bunk, I hope I won't get ejected. Earlier we did a jump which really hurt our backs, which really hit very hard, I hope we won't have many more like that!” Boris Herrmann, Malizia – Seaexplorer.“I pay for it with my nerves”In the hassle, point of reference! This is also the opinion of Isabelle Joschke (MACSF, 18th), asymmetrical since the breakage of one of her foils, who is precisely in the process of fine-tuning: “When I have to jibe for example, I have to immediately change sails, I can't have the same sail configuration on one side and the other, so that changes the strategy, because gybing for two hours, That’s a lot of work! I feel like I'm relearning my boat, I'm testing, I'm trying things, I'm seeing if it doesn't stick too much, if it holds the wave… it's much more demanding, and when I'm sailing on port tack I'm always on the alert! And I'm much slower, I have difficulty achieving good average speeds, my performance has dropped a notch! » Isabelle Joschke, Macsf.The result? “I'm paying for it with my nerves,” tells us Isabelle Joschke, who is also expecting two strong gusts of wind before passing Cape Horn, in three to four days. “We will have to make compromises, choices, and perhaps sacrifices,” explains the Franco-German, who recognizes that “it is not easy to remain calm.”
This is a common point that she also shares with Arnaud Boissières (La Mie Câline, 29th), further back in the fleet, but just as tense. The fault of the icebergs of course, which still reminded his small group of boats that their adventure can quickly come to a standstill if you don't monitor your radars enough! “What intrigues me the most is that I passed not very far from the position indicated by Eric in front of me, but I did not see it on the radar. Everything is on, it adds a little stress, I have been a little slower lately… I have a headsail, the small gennaker, which I have decided to use more. The whole Indian was starting to delaminate, I hesitated for a long time, but just by handling it by hand, it was cracking with fear, that's fair to say! So that’s why I’m a little slower too”. Arnaud Boissières, The cuddly crumb.“I was afraid the nail would come off!” »One thing led to another and the skipper of Les Sables d'Olonne ended up giving up, which didn't help his morale, as he came close to… the point of stitching!“I had a little fart on one finger, with a sheet that slipped through my fingers, and the beginner's move: I wanted to hold on to the sheet when it is stronger than you, so you landed with your finger on the edge of the winch… it bled a little but not much in the end, I was afraid the nail would come off! I have a lot of aches and pains, I noticed it when I was massaging, there's a bag I went with him on the slide, I let myself slide, like at school… I don't know if it's is fatigue, I would say it's more wear and tear! » Arnaud Boissières, La mie cuddlee. Because yes, although our Vendée Globe sailors are made of great stuff, everywhere they start to pull and crack dangerously. “Until now I found that there was a rhythm, and honestly I find that the time is long. It's good to say it to yourself, it allows you to admit it to yourself! Even if I speak to my boat, I speak to myself… Arnaud speaks to Cali, Cali answers him, the boat speaks too,” confides the sailor, who is definitely not happy with his position in the fleet Currently. But we want to remind him that there is no point in running, you have to start on time… and especially on time Nemo! “We are 1,800 miles from Cape Horn, it’s still a bit of a trek, but every mile is a small victory. Earlier I got stressed, I went to the back of the boat, but everything is fine. In these moments, when you have a drop in morale like that, it's the boat that takes over, I comfort myself with the attitude of the boat as it is there, the little comfort that is on board , and it feels good. Come on, I’m going to continue talking to Arnaud there, have a good day everyone, it was Cali!” Arnaud Boissières, La mie cuddlee.A bit of madness in this world where nothing is measured, and which rarely goes into detail. The one thing neither of them want to see on their needles? The point of no return. Find our every day race weather analysis with METEO CONSULT Marine in our special report Vendée Globe and follow the skippers live thanks to the cartography.
