“If my mast should fall, it will be tonight, because I am now sailing on the side where I suffered the damage, but if my repair holds, it will last until the end,” happily predicted Violette Dorange, from the Indian Ocean, clinging to her 25e place (out of 40 starters, 4 of whom have already abandoned) in the 10e edition of the Vendée Globe.
Friday December 20, on the evening of her fortieth day at sea, the 23-year-old skipper breathes with ease and satisfaction on the phone with The Worldafter around ten hours of work which gave him “restored confidence” in Becomeits 18 m monohull with straight fins.
Thursday December 19, the day after passing Cape Leeuwin (southwest of Australia), the youngest in this solo, non-stop and unassisted race, she said, “a little excited” during the passage of a front with 30 knots of wind (more than 55 km/h). And she almost paid dearly for it.
“I was under FR0 [petite voile de portant utilisée dans la brise] with two reefs [réduction] in the mainsail and I decided to keep this configuration as the wind increased; I was frustrated in recent days at going a little slower than my competitors in front and behind, so I wanted to attack,” admits, sheepishly, this incorrigible sailor, yet wisely adept, until now, at conservative navigation.
When the wind suddenly increased to 50 knots (more than 90 km/h) in the last squall, Violette heard “two abnormal booms” successively produced by the partial tearing of its FR0 and by the rupture of the ring holding one of its runners (textile cables stabilizing the mast), while Become lay down briefly, like a wounded animal.
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