Dominique Wavre (SW, Mirabaud) :
I’m sailing up-wind, there is a lot of raining, black sky and the sea is very aggressive. Yesterday was awful with wind coming in every direction. I didn’t sleep at all.
It’s the worst South Atlantic sailing I did since I’m a sailor. Nothing to be happy about since we’ve crossed the Cape Horn.
We try to navigate properly, it’s the only thing we can do to keep the faith.
At night it’s very difficult because you don’t see anything.
Javier and I are still fighting in very difficult conditions. Furthermore the weather forecasts are not very precise and it’s difficult to navigate.
Armel Le Cléac’h (FRA, Banque Populaire):
I’m fine. We are in the last week of the race. It’s great to know that it is almost over. The conditions are smoother and it’s not bad.
The wind will be smoother in the next hours. We are getting into the anticyclone. After that things should go quicker. We’ll have to remain focus and vigilant.
About my position on the west, we’ll see how it goes. François is going to slow down but will find some more wind before us. I hope I’ll manage to keep a greater speed. But it will be difficult. I’ll try to remain careful. There is no use to do crazy things just to win a few miles. The wind and the sea are going to be hard. So, we’ll see...
I’m not sure there will be that many people on the water in Les Sables d’Olonne because the weather won’t be nice.
The boat is doing ok, everything went well since the beginning. The boat manages to follow its journey despite the difficult conditions.
Unfortunately I don’t have any magical sail for the finish. I hope my sails will hold until the end.
Arnaud Boissières (FRA, Akena Vérandas):
I’ve just found some more speed. I’m sailing north, alongside the Brazilian coast for the last time. I haven’t seen many things besides fishing boats and oil platform.
There a little sea coming from behind, so it’s great at the moment.
As for my sailing alongside the Brazilian coast, it’s complicated because there is a lot of finish boats. It’s a bit stressful. As a result, I didn’t sleep much last night. But the good news is that I managed to earn some miles.
Alex Thomson (GB, Hugo Boss):
The next 24 hours will be a little slower for me as the wind is further forwards and I am virtually sailing upwind now. Another day of this and then the wind will start to free me and I can start to go faster. Macif and Banque Pop will slow today as they hit the high pressure but the route should clear for them and they will be first to the westerly’s. My route through the high will also be slow but there does look like there is a way through which is comforting. The computer says I will arrive on the 29th but normally it will be a little later than that.
Temp has cooled a lot already and it is much more comfortable onboard.
