Newsletter #18: week 3
Where is the wind?
"Patience is not simply the ability to wait - it's how we behave while we're waiting." Joyce Meyer
One sure thing about this third week at sea, there will not be any record speed records as the wind has been everything but steady. It has been quite hard watching the leaders escape with perfect conditions while the weather gods decided to punish the rest of the fleet with frustratingly light and shifty conditions.While one might think that the hardest time for sailors are during storms, the moments of calms are actually the worst. It is important to remain vigilant to catch the profit from the slightest breath of air that ripples the water, all the while fighting the urge to be lulled to sleep in the gently rocking boat! Tight racing on the high seas This edition of the Vendee is remarkable for two reasons, the close racing in various groups and the relative lack of abandons. Conrad has sailed within a couple of miles of Stephane Le Diraison, crossed tacks with his old co-skipper Nandor Fa, crossed Kojiro by less than 300 metres and now has Fabrice Amadeo on the same tack less than 2 miles away. Ocean racers often spread out and one of these encounters would normally be remarkable but to be match racing solo after three weeks at sea is truely unprecedented! For those watching the tracker, pull up a chair and make some popcorn because the boys are doing their best to put on a show! Ready to tackle the South! "The positive side of the quiet week is that it allowed me to rest and check all the systems on the boat, from the tip of the mast to the bottom of the bulb!" After 22 days of racing both Foresight Natural Energy and her skipper are doing well. The bags with GILL wet weather gear are coming out of storage and summer clothes are going back to theirs. Bring it on !!
This week's figures:
1530 nm 19 212 nm to go Highest speed: 14,5 knots Highest number of nm per day: 315 Tracker: http://tracking2016.vendeeglobe.org/hp5ip0/
