It's as if the sky is falling on his head again. After a first hard blow last Tuesday, when her mainsail hook car decided to give out, preventing her from catching the front which was to take her to Cape Horn, and allow her to catch up with the group in front, the troubles continue for Clarisse Crémer. However, she had accomplished the feat of succeeding in mourning this missed opportunity, with music, favorite biscuits and the Coué method, by repeating to herself “We are happy! » over and over again, although it is “hard to see the others go from the front”. Happy to still be in the race and ready to celebrate the Holidays, this Monday she indulged in a session of trying on Christmas headwear, on the other side of the world, as she passed the archipelago of Antipodes. Admitting to herself “a little out of phase”, stuck in a ridge, surrounded by an eternal grayness and tossed around in a sea that is always very heavy, the skipper even had fun with this discrepancy, ensuring that “ridiculousness does not kill” and remained “the least of (her) worries”, busy as she was fighting against the cold and preparing to face the violent depressions which had planned to mark her route towards the South American continent.
Blue Thursday and Christmas blues
With her “morale at zero weather-wise”, Clarisse Crémer thought her luck would finally change on Tuesday December 24, like an early Christmas present, when she managed to permanently repair her mainsail attachment system… and reworked wind allowing it to make a direct course towards the East: “We're off again, we're going at 23 knots of speed! » Enough to recharge the batteries, and morale, before being “knocked down” by a violent depression, which she had well anticipated and knew how to negotiate. But that was without taking into account a water leak at the swan neck, the junction area between the mast wiring and the interior of the cockpit, which flooded its two on-board computers… “As is always the case case with Murphy's law, I had my two PCs out, she explains. Because at the start of the race I had PC problems, I had them installed one on top of the other, ready to be exchanged. And like a bell, I didn't re-store the spare PC later, so that it would be ready to use if the main one acted up again. I hadn't thought about the water leak there, I admit. As a result, both took on water and I no longer have an on-board computer. Nor navigation software. »
No gifts at Point Nemo
While the weather conditions are getting stronger and she is navigating in a very unstable wind, between 25 and 35 knots, which is expected to get even stronger between 30 and 40, Clarisse is sailing “on the iPad”, like a pleasure boater, using software that is much less comprehensive than its usual software, Adrena. “I feel a bit like I'm sailing blind, I don't have my bearings and I have to be careful to respect the prohibited areas and to be extra vigilant with regard to weather forecasts. I'll get used to it, I'll find subterfuges if necessary, but what's hard is that it's a real pleasure for me to do my routings, and I find myself at 20% of my usual meteorological thinking skills. » Unable to carry out detailed analyzes and to think about the best strategy to adopt, forced for the moment to go where its summary application will tell it, the performance aspect is not the only one that Clarisse cares about . Safety is indeed at the heart of its concerns, while the storm is lying in wait and repairs will be on the agenda for the next few hours.
“Quiz of the day: what activity would you dream of doing on an IMOCA, at Point Nemo, in the middle of the South Seas, with 30/35 knots of wind and 5 to 6 meters of swell? » Despite everything, “Clacla” is ironic, definitely endowed with a foolproof sense of humor. “I chose electronics! It’s totally appropriate! » Because the hope remains for the skipper and her team to “resuscitate” one of her two computers, by combining different elements and processors, for a “two in one” PC. “I'm trying to dry the one that took on the most water but which was not lit at the time and which therefore has a small chance of still being alive, she hopes. I took it apart and put it in a warm place in a bag with the engine air outlet. Very fine craftsmanship isn't normally my cup of tea, but then, on a boat like that… it's pretty cool! »
When Benji replaces Sammy
Small consolation in all its adventures? Benefiting from the company of Benjamin Dutreux, returned to his transom, when separating from his partner Samantha Davies who opted for a route to the North in order to avoid the worst of the storm: “I am happy to have someone nearby. I had the impression that there were also a lot of waves from the North, maybe a little less wind, but a lot of waves too. In any case, I no longer have the tools to choose the best route, this is typically the kind of decision that I can no longer make. » Could the prospect of passing Cape Horn for the New Year, just after celebrating its 35th birthday, heal the wounds, in more manageable conditions, by day and in sight to top it all off? A reward worthy of the efforts made, which we wish the sailor would be well deserved!
