For his first participation in the Vendée Globe, Guirec Soudée is drooling at the helm of his IMOCA with daggerboards. Manhandled in the Indian Ocean, caught in heavy weather approaching Cape Horn and soon under the influence of a nasty disturbance expected near the Falklands, the skipper of Freelance.com speaks frankly to Voile Magazine.
Voile Magazine: Not too hard this end of the Pacific, it must be starting to take a toll on the sailor and the machine?
Guirec Soudée: “I’m approaching Cape Horn there, and I’m talking to you from my bench. Wait, the alarm has just started to sound, that means I’ve passed 40 knots on the anemometer… Physically, it’s going well, the boat, for its part, is a little tired necessarily. Besides, I have my J2 which is currently out of use, but I was able to make repairs down at the clew on each side, large cupboards in three patches each time on each side. And I also have the lazy jack that farted yesterday, so I’ll have to take care of that too.
To make matters worse, I’m going to take a small cartridge when I arrive at Cape Horn, they’re still announcing gusts of over 50 knots, so I won’t be surprised to get 60. So, it’s going to happen under storm jib. At the moment, I have my J4, three reefs in the main and I won’t be long in rigging the storm jib. And then as soon as I pass Cape Horn, boom, the wind should die down. I’m going to take advantage of this to take shelter, hoping that there is no sea because I have to climb the mast to finish repairing my J2. Added to this are the two ballast tanks in the middle which blew and the loss of a hydro which was torn off…
Anyway, I have lots of little things, nothing that stops me from continuing but there are definitely things that make me a little less efficient. With the J2 less and my little gennaker loose, there are edges on which I progress less well than my friends, but listen, that’s how it is, that’s the game… After me it’s fine, there I I’m able to rest well, so that’s cool. It’s just the moment where I crashed on my bench, where I still hurt myself a lot. Even though things are much better, I still have a lot of pain in my neck. I have some good little after-effects. But now it’s cool, I’ve regained mobility in my left arm.
But apart from that, where I really hurt myself, I’m feeling sorry for myself, even if I’d obviously be happy once I’ve passed Cape Horn, to get closer to home. The thing is, after passing the Horn, there is a big “dep” planned for January 9, and to tell you the truth, there are even several boats that have decided to slow down. The weather forecast is 50-60 knots in the Falklands with 6-7 meters of water and it’s not very deep in this area so I don’t really know what it’s going to be like. So, it’s sure it’s not great but it will be downhill. We will have to anticipate well, prepare the boat well…”
Voile Magazine: You had to face a big gale and big seas before Christmas, moments that you also shared in an impressive video. Did you scare yourself? What navigation techniques did you adopt to stay safe in these conditions?
Guirec Soudée: “Yes, before Christmas, I had a big windstorm after the Kerguelens. At the anemo, I saw 72 knots but hey I may have had more because it was when I was looking. It was really strong, I had between 50 and 65 constant and it wasn’t going down so it was quite impressive. I had 4 reefs and the storm jib and at one point I even had to roll it but under mainsail alone, the boat didn’t respond very well.
When there are big seas like that I put myself three quarters aft, or even a little more luffed, like 135/140° from the wind but not below 140°. In fact, I’m too afraid of going headlong in the surf because the boat in these conditions often goes into overspeed, it’s out of control and that’s where it becomes dangerous. I was afraid for the boat, I was afraid of doing something serious. Already, the wind was so strong at one point that I couldn’t even go outside, it was carnage outside. There, you obviously think about your personal safety.
The boat was speeding, it was becoming uncontrollable, that’s where it becomes dangerous!
I did speeds of over 30 knots on several occasions, that had never happened to me. It was crazy, the speed it was going, how it was hitting. It was the sea, above all the problem… The wind was not a problem in itself, even if it was very windy of course. What you need to do is just be well prepared and not let yourself be surprised, because there was a time when the sea was too big to go from D3 to D4. No choice so I struggled when changing the sail because it was already starting to get really seay. Conclusion, I should have done this maneuver a little earlier. That’s where it was ultimately dangerous…”
Voile Magazine: You are 24th in the ranking this evening, are you in your sporting objectives or are you experiencing this Vendée Globe above all as a human adventure?
Guirec Soudée: “I am actually 24th in the ranking, after being 27th for a while then 22e not long ago. But what’s cool is that I’m back in the match, that’s what counts. Obviously my priority is above all to finish the Vendée, to do something good, clean. But obviously there is the competitive spirit that is there, that’s for sure. So, I was late, I managed to come back, then I was with them. Afterwards you see without my little gennaker, they left again. I managed to come back and still gained quite a few places.
So, there are times when I manage to sail quite cleanly and then I get screwed a bit at Cape Horn because I am too low compared to the others. I should have stayed higher to have a better angle and the wind is not like the files and so I have to luff. I am 90° from the wind, 95° in 40 knots, the others, they are 110-120° from the wind, obviously they go much faster and what’s more, I had to bear down quite a bit to manage my lazy problems. bag.
Afterwards the road is long, all the way up the Atlantic, we’ll see what happens. It’s true that 22 was a number that suited me well, 22 is my department, it’s the number of my boat, well, that’s it, I don’t put too much pressure on myself, you see when I can accelerate, when I see that everything is in place for me to move forward well, well I go there, when it doesn’t, well it doesn’t. I don’t want it to make me sick, I don’t want it to be an obsession.
With my boat, we’re in the mix, we’re full of daggerboard boats, and it’s cool to be able to pull the wool over our heads, to compare speeds a bit, look at the options, and to discuss with each other . There’s a great atmosphere within the fleet, it’s so nice. »
Voile Magazine: It’s a tough battle at the front of the race, so are you more Charlie Dalin or Yoann Richomme?
Guirec Soudée: “Yes, it’s the big battle ahead. Well listen, I want to tell you that the best wins. I know Yoann Richomme better personally, plus I talk with him about the Vendée. Both are great guys but it’s true that I have more affinity with Yoann, so I’ll be happy if it’s Yo-Yo who wins, he deserves it for his first Vendée.
Honestly this guy is a machine, he’s impressive and so nice too, he’s full of quality and so it would be cool if he could win this Vendée, in any case he wouldn’t have stolen it. He has just arrived in the IMOCA class, he is tearing everything up, so it would be so cool, it would be a great story, so there you go, I wish him to win and if Charlie wins, that’s great too , he’s someone I really like as well. »
Voile Magazine: Would you like to be in the next edition? If so, rather IMOCA with foils or fins?
Guirec Soudée: “No, I’m not sure, I don’t think I will be in the 2028 Vendée Globe. If I continue offshore racing, I would rather like to change support. But then it’s certain that when you see IMOCAs like Yoann’s, it makes you want foils. But they had good conditions, if I’m not talking nonsense, they didn’t have more than 25 knots, a little slap to 30 at one point, but they were always ahead of the fronts.
Frankly, they had ideal conditions. Behind us, we really suffered… When we listen to Jean Le Cam who says that he has never seen an Indian Ocean in such a state. I also spoke with “Kali” (Arnaud Boissière), he has done five Vendée Globes, and the same, he has never seen an Indian Ocean like that, and even then he was in the north. In the south of India, I got smashed, really… The Pacific much cooler except the arrival at the Horn there. Afterwards, it’s normal, a Horn has to be earned if we want it to stay in our memories. This will be my second visit to the Horn but solo this time because the first one, there was Monique with me…”
