The Pacific Ocean has never lived up to its name so badly. It is endless, violent, exhausting, both for the sailors and the boats. “It’s very simple, says Sébastien Marsset (Foussier), in the middle of the peloton. I don’t have much time for myself: it’s been a long time since I was able to pick up my book or do a crossword puzzle.” The depressions follow one another. The weather is gray, waves several stories high are breaking. Only the soaring albatrosses seem to be jubilant. There are several races in one. When Charlie Dalin (Macif Prévoyance Santé) and Yoann Richomme (Arkea Paprec) prance in the lead off the coast of Brazil, being separated by only 20 miles after fifty days at sea (37 km), 25 competitors out of 35 have not yet crossed the famous Cape Horn, braved bad weather and cold, dreaming of a finally calmer sea and a benevolent sun.
In a video message recorded when passing the “hard milestone”, Yannick Bestaven (Maître Coq V) announced Monday December 30 that he was stopping in Ushuaïa. Shaggy and bearded, with the appearance of a wanderer, the title holder, prey to an avalanche of technical problems like Murphy’s law, could not continue like this. During the last edition, he crossed Cape Horn in the lead without even seeing it. Small consolation, this year he was able to see it for real, and is preparing to celebrate New Year’s Eve on the farm of Tierra del Fuego with his technical team, before attempting to repair it to head back to Vendée, alone but outside race.
The four seasons in three months
A solid third off the coast of South America, Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil) exclaims without filter and with banality: “I was able to take a shower after more than a month, it felt really good. It’s incredible how quickly things have changed, in two days… Already, last night I was hot, while the night before it was still cold. Everything changed very quickly, it’s impressive!” Vendée Globe sailors readily admit that they go through four seasons in less than three months.
For this New Year’s Eve, these hyperconnected men and women, who can call at the office or at home, will not be embarrassed. To think that thirty-five years ago, during the first Vendée Globe, satellite communications did not exist, and the only means of communication from sea to land was through Saint-Lys, the maritime radio station on the air. decametric. When you managed to reach your correspondent, not only was the sound often terrible, but all the ships in line and waiting for the station to establish the connection could hear the conversations. Another time.
Nice dishes
Libé called Yoann Richomme this last day of the year. The weather was stormy, the sea calm, the sailor serene as if he were on a cruise. “Well, it’s not bad. We live our little life in the Atlantic. I’m shirtless and in a swimsuit. Off the coast of Rio, it’s a bit like the doldrums. The wind keeps moving. It’s tricky. We have a bit of a headache and eye pain. My boat is fine. I’m tinkering a little on the worn ropes, but I have all my sails and appendages (rudders and foils, editor’s note). Knock on wood… Charlie (Dalin), Seb (Simon) and I had favorable weather conditions from the South Atlantic, unlike the others, which allowed us to get away to the Indian then the Pacific. I’m still really waiting for the trade winds!” The new Cape Horners return to the Atlantic, when the fleet behind has already woken up with jet lag, nice dishes although freeze-dried, plus some sweets including a small bottle of champagne.
Source: www.liberation.fr
