Day 86: Food is running out!
Joining the radio link-up at noon today are Fabrice Amedeo, Didac Costa and Pieter Heerema. The twelve sailors still racing in this 8th Vendée Globe are encountering some rather favourable weather conditions to rack up some miles on the way home, and even if for many of them they have to start rationing their food, the joy of being at sea is omnipresent. A breath of fresh air despite 85 days of solitude, damage and Spartan living conditions, a positive breath to be breathed in from land!
Day 87: Can't wait to get back on land!
The 12 sailors still racing in this 8th Vendée Globe are not hiding their impatience to make it back to dry land... and at the same time they are a little afraid of this return to a normal life. Louis Burton on his Valley Office will be the next sailor to cross the finish line of the 8th Vendée Globe. He is expected on Thursday morning at around 9am at the Cardinal Nouch Sud! The Hungarian on his Spirit of Hungary should soon be finished with the circumnavigation of this high pressure, which is preventing him from displaying double-digit speeds on the speedometer. Arnaud Boissières (La Mie Câline) is the leader of the group of eight boats still in the South Atlantic. He should enter the Doldrums tomorrow evening, and not stay there too long.
Day 88: The foreign skippers still racing!
There were ten nationalities at the start of this 8th Vendée Globe. Never before seen on this single-handed round the world voyage without stopovers and without assistance. After the retirement of Japanese sailor Kojiro Shiraishi on the descent down the Atlantic and Irish sailor Enda O'Coineen at the longitude of Tasmania, after the arrival of British sailor Alex Thomson in Les Sables d'Olonne, second behind Armel le Cléac'h, Hungary, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United States, Spain, Holland and France are still in the race! And the six foreign skippers alongside the six French sailors continue to liven up the great planetary match...
Day 89: Louis Burton, 7th in the Vendée Globe
The magic of the Vendée Globe has once again worked its magic in Les Sables d'Olonne. In spite of the rain, wind and heavy seas at the entrance to the channel, the public, who came in large numbers, welcomed Louis Burton, seventh in the Vendée Globe, this morning in the warmest possible way. Emaciated but with eyes deeply shining from having experienced his first solo round the world race and having completed it magnificently, the skipper of Bureau Vallée let his joy burst forth: "It was rock'n roll, but I loved it!"... Meanwhile, the 11 sailors still in the race are continuing their long journey, from Nandor Fa, 8th, 1,700 miles from the finish, to Sébastien Destremau, 18th, 4,400 miles further down the course
Day 90: North and South
Of the eleven sailors still in the race, six are now sailing upright in the northern hemisphere and five are still in the South Atlantic. Alan Roura (La Fabrique), who crossed the equator at 13h25 today, will be as spoiled as Arnaud Boissières (La Mie Câline) and Fabrice Amedeo (Newrest-Matmut) were. The Doldrums are opening the door to the trade winds for him. But be careful! These NE'ly winds are muscular, the seas are rough and with an angle close to the wind, sailing will be no picnic. Eric Bellion (CommeUnSeulHomme) told us this yesterday during yesterday's radio link-up: "I was a little scared about the boat, it was going all over the place. It was pretty awful in terms of comfort on board." . In the back, we're gnawing on the brakes and we're being careful. Objective: to return home safely!
Day 91: 90 days of full time sailing!
90 days of sailing 24 hours a day... and a gruelling end to the race for the 11 sailors still at sea in this 8th Vendée Globe. The boats have suffered and the skippers are stressing a little more each day about a possible breakage. Nandor Fa went through hell last night: winds in excess of 50 knots, heavy seas and the fear in the belly that the rigging was loose. The Dutchman Pieter Heerema, 4,500 miles from Les Sables d'Olonne, is encountering mainsail batten problems, just like the American Rich Wilson off Recife. As you'll have understood, anything can still happen at the end of this solo round the world voyage and anxiety is omnipresent despite the joy of being at sea..
Day 92: Difficult conditions
On all fours in their carbon niche, cramped up like in a fairground merry-go-round, unable to make themselves something to eat or sleep a wink under the battering caused by the awful sea, Arnaud Boissières, Fabrice Amedeo and Alan Roura are sailing in "boat-breaking" sea and wind conditions. The North Atlantic has been decidedly uncooperative since the first seven competitors in the 8th Vendée Globe set foot on land. Nandor Fa, ahead of a low, is expected to encounter gusts to 50 knots tomorrow at the entrance to the Bay of Biscay before crossing the finish line during the night of Tuesday to Wednesday. What a gruelling end to the race!
