Terrible sensation the one to feel as your boat shakes resoundingly in all their structure when crashing in a wave to more than 30 knots without knowing if it will recover or if the impact has left dangerous sequels for the integrity of its structure. The boat brutally accelerates until it later crashes with brutal energy few minutes in another wave. Then JeanLaCam “… you ask yourself if the boat is not going away to undo in the following shock…” “The waves are enormous and the life on board is simply infernal…” Imoca 60 are simple toys against the brutality of the furious ocean. Skipper finishes as estresado as the structure of the own boat. Each impact hurts in deepest of itself when listening and feeling the pain carbon fibers fighting not to undo. You do not even stop of preguntarte when it goes to last the horror while you do not stop watching the anemometer and the track that accelerates to become to restrain with following golpetazo.

Finally, when the things calm is when you clear the suit to you of neoprene for the survival and begin to study the new maps of meteo and the position of your competitors in regata. Sebastian Josse also had to live a total search on its boat with the put crosspieces good in the water when succumbing to an unexpected gust of wind of more than 65 knots.

For Michel Desjoyeaux the things are lived equal on evil. “… The Pacific not mola much…” it commented in one of his interviews. With wind blows of 60 knots and a sea confused cruzado and in which you must avoid holes of 8 meters and all this decorated by a temperature that clears 6º centigrades. The winds and the waves do not understand of good less reasonable reasons and are everything. It is sailed to the limit of the possibilities. To accelerate removing more rag is pure recklessness more, but to reduce candles means to undergo bad weather by the stern that can still worse be. It is necessary to look for the best balance to maintain the type and the rate without making undergo too much to your machine. A small error can become a catastrophe quickly. A failure can lead to more serious other, and in the South Pacific you must remain well kind in addition to the ice and growlers to the drift.

Nocturnal navigation, Navigation kamikaze

In night closed without moon but with bad sea the things are still worse. It is not possible to anticipate itself to the pantocazos. The violence of the impacts is terrible and you must intuit the wind changes, gusts of wind and the waves. It is necessary to watch continuously not to cross violently the boat to the sea. To choose the candles for the nights is a delicate and complicated work. Or you reduce rag for prepararte for the 50 knots of quedarte at risk short or you go and you take then it clearly! When the wind happens of to 25 40 knots the low boat from 22 to 12 knots of track, with the competitors on the lookout.

And every time you have to be more kind to acercarte to little frequented Sea of Ross that bathes the Antarctic and where continuously it comes off icebergs its barrier glacier. Half of the Sea of Ross is occupied by a thick ice layer that frequently is broken to form all type of dangerous icebergs to the drift. And this 24 hours of 24 hours without rest, non-stop.

The Cape Horn and the Straits of Drake are others of the places that create “liking”. The bottoms rise quickly, and with strong winds the things are put very ugly. During the Vendée-2009 the fleet separates in two groups, first of which it attacks by the North route (Armel and Riou) whereas the others pass more near the Antarctic continent (Desjoyeaux, Jourdain, Josse, LeCam)

Hell in the South Pacific

To 1,500 miles of New Zealand an authentic hell unties that hunting completely to the fleet of the Vendée. Passed the 40 rugientes the things are put than worrisome more. Sébastian Josse at night supports 65 wind knots in half when it knocks down the boat to 110º being in this it jeopardize position during several interminable minutes. Meanwhile Jean the Cam is surprised by a wave in half of a chaotic and confused sea that makes overturn its Imoca 60 violently. The sea is authentic “break-boats”.

And to top it all it snows and it hails with gusts of wind of 65 knots, doing of the frozen balls authentic projectiles shot to near 100 kilometers per hour. The sea is horrifying making honor to its frightful reputation. Jean Camp declares to Him by radio from its VM-Materiaux “… It is an authentic hell! …” Vincent Riou answers in its PRB “… is reason to traumatize itself, which we contemplated is truly impressive. I have not been able not even abrir the Christmas presents by fear that these leave flying by the cabin…” the depressions are chained with others until generating a monster in the sea. Holes of 8 meters and rompientes chalks of 2 meters of height.

Marc Guillemot (Safran) is able to arrive at the island from Auckland located 250 miles to the south from New Zealand where it repairs the track of his mast spoiled in one of these storms. For it searches near the coast protected of winds and climb until the wood top. Raphaël Dinelli makes the same in the islands of Steward to repair the halliard of the major in its Fondation Océan-Vital.