A transatlantic race on an almost new production yacht
On December 30, 2018, Stéphane Mifsud left Hyères for the French West Indies to deliver diving equipment. His mission: to introduce people to the underwater environment by providing equipment and to help collect waste accumulated in the coastal area following the passage of hurricanes.
For those who don't know him, Stéphane Mifsud is a multiple world champion in freediving and has held the mythical record in static freediving for 11 years: 11 minutes and 35 seconds! To make this odyssey a sporting one, he decided to leave alone on his sailboat "11-35 Explorer", a Bénéteau Océanis 55 standard, bought new a year earlier, and without any specific technical preparation.
Diver before being a sailor
Departing for a trip with stopovers, Stéphane finally did not stop and made the crossing in one go (26 days in January 2019) and on the return in April 2019 (27 days).
"I am not a seasoned sailor. I've only been sailing for two years. My questions for this journey were above all personal: what are my capacities as a sailor? How will I hold up mentally and physically? What will be my sleep management? But I had very few doubts about the quality and resistance of the equipment
"Surrounded by specialists for routing, technique, electronics, communications and medical, remaining in permanent contact thanks to satellite communication. Alone on the ocean, I felt supported
"After 10,000 miles of sailing, I am able to make a technical assessment and draw conclusions for my next challenges."
The technical and human assessment
"The boat suffered little despite the difficult conditions. To cross Gilbratar on the outward journey, I was faced with a succession of fronts with seas, currents and strong winds. The same thing happened on my return, in the Gulf of Lion, just before arriving in Hyères, where I had to sail against winds of 50 knots. It is certain that in these situations, I pulled on the boat
"The Océanis 55.1 proved to be a good performer: 7.5 knots average speed over the whole course. It is safe, and only suffers from a few small bumps on the way back. I noticed some play in the starboard helm (not in the port one), probably due to wear of the shaft. The hood has torn due to the sheets scraping. The stanchions have also taken some play. Small detail, the locking system of the oven gimbal broke.
The running rigging was the least able to withstand the trip. The genoa and mainsheet wore out quickly. I even have a genoa sheet that broke, unluckily just when I was passing by. I gained a nice hematoma on my thigh which made me suffer a few days.
Several of the piano's wedge cleats are no longer locking due to wear on the cam and tips.
Finally, the mainsail travelers did not withstand my somewhat extreme sailing (wear and tear bordering on breakage)."
The return of experience
"If I had to do it all over again, I would entrust my boat to a professional for specific preparation for intensive sailing to gain serenity. As for the questions about my capacities, a better sleep management is necessary. I was subject to hallucinations after 4 days of sailing due to lack of sleep with only 3 times 40 minutes per 24 hours As a seasoned athlete, Stéphane has been able to rely on a strong mental and physical capacity to endure these moments and successfully complete his 55-foot boat.
"From this experience, I would say that this boat has a soul, it brought me back to port and I learned a lot from this extraordinary adventure," says Stéphane.
Stéphane's advice.
If you are planning to cross the ocean, here is Stéphane's advice:
- specific preparation by a professional
- a good communication system with the earth
- prepare physically according to your sporting ambitions
