Vendée Globe - Manu Cousin this morning, 'I am keeping my fingers crossed'

Manuel Cousin (Group SÉTIN) was on this morning radio session this morning. He told us about life on board, his repairs and his thoughts about finishing.

"I'm going to have a lot of things to do. I have one key gybe to do and to watch out for the TSS. It blew hard last night, but the wind was quite stable. I tried to rest on my boat, on my pilot and it was a good night. This morning there are still 30-35 knots and it should build again during the day. Everything has to hold out for another 24 hours, after that it will be a bit easier. I should arrive on Saturday morning at the latest, otherwise everything is fine on board, I have my fingers crossed!

Psychologically there is a bit of a maelstrom of mixed feelings in my head and the way I'm finishing up is difficult, I wish I could finish with some feelings of fun and enjoyment in my head. I took a lot of this kind of stuff but had some fun too in the Vendée Globe but time never seemed to drag like now.

Now I start to imagine my finish a bit but not too much either. All the sailors I know well who have finished are saying be careful until the line is crossed. You don't like to think of the worst, but I'm a pretty cautious person so I stay focused on what needs to be done, that keeps my mind quite busy. I take it one day at a time. Obviously I can't help but think about it a little. I still have my inflatable globe that I track my race on every week and which reminds me of how amazing the whole journey to get here was. You always expect a lot, that's the beauty of sport, but in reality it never turns out the way you really think it will be.

I do a lot of monitoring on the boat, especially on the rudders and more recently on my keel jack. I keep my fingers crossed because for now it's holding. I do a little more laminating again from time to time when I see that it requires consolidation. I listen to my boat, I know its noises very well because I know it well so with each noise I watch what happens. It’s a lot of stress. As Jean Le Cam said so well, I'm trying to help my boat get to the finish line.

I'm also adapting my settings a lot because I don’t want to heel too much otherwise it might strain the keel too much. It is holding on to the axis thanks to the repairs but I still have to be careful. All of this keeps me busy and the days go by very quickly.

I look forward to seeing everyone again to seeing my loved ones again and coming full circle in this Vendée Globe! "

www.vendeeglobe.org

Cover photo © Manuel Cousin / Groupe SETIN