Vigo (Pontevedra)
Updated:05/12/2020 18:46h
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The forty roaring Atlantic have taken their toll on the Vendé Globe fleet, in seven days three IMOCAs have had to withdraw from the regatta (“Hugo Boss”, “Arkea Paprec” and “Initiatives-Cœur”), and all three were have taken refuge in the South African port of Cape Town.
Sam Davies was the last one who had to throw in the towel despite himself: “… Unfortunately I alone could not repair the damage, especially in the keel, you have to get the boat out of the water to do it. I must leave the Vendée Globe … “.
Technically «Initiatives-Cœur» is already out of the race after mooring in Cape Town, the regulations clearly say that it is a round the world sailing, without stopovers or outside help. This does not mean that it is an impediment for Sam Davies to decide to go around the world if he can get his team to repair the boat and be ready to face the rest of the route to Le Sables d´Olonne:
“It is too dangerous to enter the South Seas with all these strangers. You really have to inspect everything. I think that is also the magic of the Vendée Globe: the regatta stops, but I hope the adventure does not end. I have always said that my mission is to go around the world in this boat. For me, but also for Initiatives-Cœur, for the sponsorship of cardiac surgery. If I can fix the boat and go, I am motivated to do so. This is the bright side of the story, I still have a neck, I still have my keel! I have all the pieces, I have a great team. It will probably take time, it’s a great job, but I’m still sure to give it a try, like Isabelle Autissier did. I think it’s a very good example, trying to move on anyway “.
The motivation of Sam Davies, wanting to go around the world outside of regatta is due to the implication that she has with her sponsor’s project in the performance of cardiac surgery in children from countries without resources. Let’s not forget that in addition to being a great navigator, she is also a mother. And also personally she needs to close a psychological wound: “If I can get off again and continue with this great project anyway… I was so scared that I have to get back to sailing fast or I will have trouble doing it again. If we can get away with it, I’ll be terrified that this will happen to me again. In my opinion, I’m not going to go very fast, but I have to get back together after something like this. “
On this twenty-seventh day (05 December 2020) of the Vendée Globle, a total of thirteen participants are already in the “east” of the Cape of Good Hope meridian, and there are still fifteen IMOCAs that sail in the waters of the South Atlantic. .
Those who sail in the waters of the Indian Ocean go at full speed in the footsteps of the leader Charlie Dalin with the «Apivia», which today Saturday is 640 miles from the French islands of the Kerguellen located at 49 ° 15´ South and 69 ° 16´ East. Who ride on the back of the great storms that move from west to east spitting loud vitos and mountain waves. Like Dalin: “When you go surfing, you squeeze your butt.” Well, that, sailing in the southern seas requires a lot of effort on board: “… when I tried to put more cloth, I ended up with too much sail. The state of the sea has been messy as usual for a while; it is also the main problem because it prevents you from accelerating. The intensity of the wind ranges between 30 and 40 knots of intensity. The concern is the crossed sea. The wind alternates between the southwest and the northwest, so you sail perpendicular to the swell. So as soon as you catch a wave, most of the time it ends up stuck. When you go surfing you squeeze your buttocks a bit … “.
The “Apivia” is still flanked by “LinkedOut” to the north and “Bureau Valle 2” to the south. And about a hundred miles aft of these sails the group of hunters formed by Damien Seguin (GROUPE APICIL), Yannick Bestaven (Maître CoQ IV), Jean Le Cam (Yes We Cam!), Benjamin Dutreux (OMIA – WATER FAMILY), Boris Herrmann (SEAEXPLORER – YACHT CLUB DE MONACO), Isabelle Joschke (MACSF) and Giancarlo Pedote (PRYSMIAN GROUP).
On board the “MACSF”, Isabelle Joschke remains stoic, facing the camera, despite the strong waves that are shaking her boat. The Franco-German sailor demonstrates her ability to excel on a day-to-day basis as fatigue builds up and conditions don’t help: “The last 48 hours were hellish, the sea was rough and the wind was very unstable.”
In a few hours four IMOCAs will cross the length of Buena Esperanza, including Armel Tripon with the “L’OCCITANE EN PROVENCE”.
See them
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