Vendée Globe. “Albatross play with the swell so as not to flap their wings”, says Paul Meilhat

Currently 8th in the Vendée Globe, after having come back well on the small group led by Sam Goodchild, Paul Meilhat, skipper of Biotherm, confides each week to West France his feelings about his life at sea. Here a 4th chapter where he lets his mind wander in the heart of the Indian Ocean.

“I am in the middle of the Indian Ocean, soon in the north of Kerguelen. This is the third time I’ve been here and the third time there’s been a big depression. This is a place where there is a tightening of the pressure gradient between the Mascarene High to the north and the closer Antarctica to the south. It’s crazy we are closer to Antarctica (1000 miles) than Africa and Australia. This will not be the case in the Pacific where the Antarctic continent is much further south, which leaves more room for depressions to pass through.

The swell is huge, around 5 meters, and I’m trying to find the right angle and the right speed so as not to force the boat.

I’m outside a lot more than on SMA 8 years ago because I’m dry in the cockpit. As a result, I spend a lot of time observing the sea because these are moments when we lose ourselves in dreaming and thinking about lots of subjects, a bit like when we go hiking.

“Albatross play with the swell…”

It is a privilege to be there and observe the flights of the albatrosses who play with the swell so as not to flap their wings. We play on the same playing field, but they seem much more efficient and adapted to me. We who have to constantly change our sail plan while they maintain their incredible scale.

I am also less stressed and much more confident in moving my boat forward and using the autopilot with the right settings. The foils stabilize and help prevent some crashes or trips off the road. You also have to know how to raise them a little to prevent Biotherm from transforming into a crazy horse impossible to tame in the waves.

Gales as long as they don’t cause breakage are bearable, what’s hard is when they come one after another quickly because life on board is still complicated, eating, sleeping, even writing a diary on board are heroic acts. Otherwise, the Tara microscope works well I see that biodiversity is much more present in the colder waters of the south.

Next goal is Australia, it’s still incredible the speed at which we cross time zones almost 1 per day, the sun rises a little after midnight and soon I will be 12 hours behind you. »