Alexia Barrier (TSE-4myplanet) is still suffering from her back injury but is keeping her morale up. She is in regular contact with the race doctor Jean-Yves Chauve and she has already medical appraisals scheduled for her arrival which should be February 27 or 28.

"My back pain is relatively stable, it's not great but I'm only 1386 miles from the finish, and that's all that matters! I can manage with the medications prescribed by the race doctor Jean-Yves Chauve. Currently, I am downwind. I should change the headsail but I am avoiding it, I do the minimum I need to, to move forward correctly and ensure the safety of the boat but really on all fours, crawling, I find ways to get round things. I can't walk on the deck because to walk, I have to stand with both arms to support my back. When you walk on the deck you have to stay stable upright so as not to hurt it and it is impossible for me. But I manage to roll a sail or take a reef, even if I take 10 times longer than usual. I am downwind, the boat does not slam anymore, I I'm lucky. It's doing its own thing on its own thanks goodness it's not like I have to tack every hour. I only have 5 or 6 days at sea, and I am checking the ETA all the time!

I fell on my lower back. The muscles on one side are damaged, that's for sure. I don't know if I broke the transverse bone which is a little rod that holds the ribs at the bottom of the back. It is not known if this is fractured or not. We can't do a scan at sea…not yet!  I know my kidneys are fine, I was able to do a urine test which revealed that I had no blood in the urine. I am taking codeine paracetamol. I wouldn't want the pain to get worse because that would mean taking morphine and then you lose control a bit. I'm not depressed or anything. I will soon have completed my Vendée Globe and that’s all that matters.

I will gybe tomorrow. Currently I have two reefs and J3, I could have a reef and J2 but that's okay. The wind will get stronger, I will take a third reef for the jibe, I will roll the front sail so as not to strain. I had good training in the gybes in tough conditions in the south. It should only ease in the last 24 hours before Les Sables d'Olonne. On that, I'm luckier than Ari!

I have audiobooks, right now I'm listening to Michelle Obama's book, for the third time. Not that the story is great, but I like to listen to a voice reading, it settles me. I have movies but I can't sit and watch them. I reloaded two books on itunes so it's ok! I'm fine when I'm lying in my bunk.”

Alexia Barrier / TSE-4myplane

www.vendeeglobe.org