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Vendée Globe - ''It is better to be prepared'' Yannick Bestaven

Fonte: Vend

Data: 31/12/2020 10:00

Still leading the fleet, Yannick Bestaven has put on the turbo in the last few hours in preparation for his passage of Cape Horn expected this weekend... With a boat in good working order despite 53 days at sea, the Frenchman from La Rochelle is already looking aheadto the Atlantic.

I've got a small front which is passing over me: there's a bit of wind (27 knots)! That's also what I've come to look for to make the most direct course towards Cape Horn. I've got a northerly wind on a rather nice sea with some good speed, but behind the front, the wind is shifting to the NW so it's naturally going to take me back up north: I should hold a nice curve along the Ice Exclusion Zone line.

For the passage of Cape Horn, we'll have to look at the timings: I should still be quite South, but it's not fixed yet as there will be quite a bit of wind with strong gusts and a rough sea. There is a big Pacific swell, but that's fine! It's not a disorganised as it was in the Indian Ocean... The boat is gliding instead of stopping on each wave.

53 days at sea, puts a bit of a strain on you physically and mentally. For sure I can't wait to get out of here to have a little more calm and balance. We have to take into account that we have had some unusually bad weather in the Southern Oceans and it took us a long time to cross them... It's time for it to stop and go back to more temperate latitudes: dry out the boat and myself to have some energy to attack the last stretch in good shape.

I stayed on UTC time and now it's getting dark here: we must be 8 to 10 hours behind Greenwich. New Year's Eve is not going to be all drinks and fireworks, the bars are all closed anyway! It's going to be an evening like any other. I'm going to call my family and friends on shore who are going to celebrate New Year's Eve, but that's it. I just manage things on a daily basis and New Year isn't going to change the way I sail or the weather we are going to have!

Twenty knots on average is a lot, especially as our "little" foilers are not very pleasant in these conditions. But it's nice to be covering the miles! I am holding up and I spend a lot of time in the lookout seat or in the bunk. But you have to hold on! It's not that cold as I've had to get used to it. It's not too wet in the boat but I keep it all stops and starts we we used to have in the Indian Ocean...

I've never spent this much time at sea: it's starting to be a lot of days, even if I don't see the days go by. I've got used to the environment and I'm starting to get to know my boat well. I go around the boat for check-ups as because everything is starting to have wear and tear, which is normal. It's better to prevent things than to cure them. But the boat is still 100%. I am keeping an eye on the weather forecast for Cape Horn. As for the chasing pack, it's a good thing that we can finally extend the lead from the front! That wasn't the case before... It would be good to build a little bit of a cushion ahead of the slower climb back up the Atlantic.

The foils are really the boat's turbo.”

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Cover photo © Yannick Bestaven / Maitre Coq IV