“I’m terrified of going in there”: Violette Dorange slows down to avoid depression in the Vendée Globe [Vidéo]

“It’s a decision that is not easy to make. » The brain of Violette Dorange (DeVenir) has heated up in recent hours. As she approaches Cape Horn and is in 28th position in her first Vendée Globe, the skipper has decided to slow down the pace to avoid a strong depression.

“I have run through all the possible scenarios and I don’t see it”

“At Cape Horn, we have a cold front passing at the same time as us with 30 knots and five meters of waves,” she explains. But in reality, we always have more. People say it’s doubled, so 60 knots. And the day after the (estimated) passage of Cape Horn, there is a depression passing and there is no escape: to the south, there is the ice exclusion zone, and if I want to try to take shelter behind Cape Horn, I have to arrive in time and it will be dangerous. I’ve been looking at the situation for three days, I’ve run through all the possible scenarios and I can’t see it. I’m terrified to go in there. This morning (Monday), I broke down. I don’t feel like going into the depression with 40 knots of wind and gusts up to 58 knots. »

“I prefer to make the move”

Dorange thinks she will lose “around two days” and “the hard-won places in recent days” but she does not lose sight of her main objective: “Maybe I am wrong and it will pass but I prefer to make the move and not find myself in dangerous situations. My goal is to arrive. » Sage, the youngest of the Vendée Globe!