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logbooks of the week
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2004-3-10
Hi there,
It was really cold to be out sailing yesterday! After a crazy day spent with the medi...
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2004-3-9
Hi there,
We’re just off Penmarc’h (the SW tip of Brittany) with a 30-knot head-on wind. Luckil...
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2004-3-8
Hi there,
Today is the final day of my record attempt! I must really offer my sincere thanks t...
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2004-3-7
Hi there,
Had a bit of a stir in the night. The radar alarm woke me up. I jumped out of bed, ...
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2004-3-5
Hi there,
With the cold front passing over me last night, I was quickly plunged back into the m...
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Logbook of 2004-3-10 |
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Hi there,
It was really cold to be out sailing yesterday! After a crazy day spent with the media with the phone ringing non-stop, I was finallly able to get some rest last night on the two occasions I wasn’t on watch, which meant two four hour complete sleeps. How great it felt to know someone competent was keeping watch and I could sleep without worrying at all!
This morning the wind dropped off, and we deliberately slowed down, in order not to arrive too early. I’m planning to draw up a technical report about my adventure. I had thought of doing it during my sail back down to Les Sables d'Olonne... but it’s going to have to wait for things to calm down a little. As soon as it’s finished, this report will automatically be sent to everyone on my mailing list, and it will appear on the website.
This will be my final message before I write my usual summary on Friday. I don’t really know what I’m going to be doing in the near future or even in the long term. I still have Adrien at my disposal for another year and a half, and I’m planning to have some more adventures aboard her. Not around the world, of course, as that’s all over now. But there are other challenges that can be attempted without venturing into the Southern Seas.
See you on Friday 19th March,
JL VDH
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Logbook of 2004-3-9 |
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Hi there,
We’re just off Penmarc’h (the SW tip of Brittany) with a 30-knot head-on wind. Luckily, I decided to give myself some extra time to reach Les Sables d'Olonne. I’m completely overwhelmed by the interviews and media covering my adventure. Today’s message will therefore be very short. As the pressure comes off me after my arrival, I’m feeling tired and am going to take advantage of not being alone to get some rest before the celebrations. As planned, I’ll be arriving in Les Sables d'Olonne on Thursday 11th March at 5p.m.
See you tomorrow for a longer bulletin!
JL VDH
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Logbook of 2004-3-8 |
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Hi there,
Today is the final day of my record attempt! I must really offer my sincere thanks to all my partners, who stuck with me to the end, allowing me to finish 29 days ahead of the record: The ADRIEN Group who have been supporting me for 13 years, ALCAN/PECHINEY Marine for Adrien’s aluminium hull, AMIENS METROPOLE, where I was born, CELERANT CONSULTING, Les SABLES D'OLONNE, COTTEN, SIMRAD, BSI, NORDIC MAST, Pierric TAFFET, LOCAVIA, LEROY MERLIN, SANI CHAUFFAGE, SOLLAC, COUSIN TRESTEC, ARMOR LUX, ELTY SERMI, VOLVO PENTA, ENPC (The National Editions of the Highway Code), MON CLOCHER.COM, ANDERSEN, NAUTOS, BOERO, OLDHAM, SIKAFLEX, PROXON, SANYO and I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone, as it’s thanks to the association of all these partners that I have been able to succeed in this challenge. Of course, I won’t forget in these thanks all those, who worked on ADRIEN : Gilles VATON’s Office, the GAMELIN shipyards, the POLYPAT shipyard, ARNO Dunkirk, VRIGNAUD foundry, SIMRAD, VOLVO PENTA, BSI, NORDIC MAST, ANTAL, HARKEN, FACNOR and the INCIDENCES sailmakers, NORTH and TAROT.
Finally, there are all my assistants, who are also largely responsible for my success: Bruno GINOCCHIO, Giovanni BRUNO, Emeric PERAUD, BLEW STOUB, Jean BILLIET, Jean Marc BOLLMANN, Yann LE LIVEC, Eugène DOUSSAL and Pierre REYNES plus a few temporary volunteers.
I’ll finish this long list of thanks with those, who deal with all the PR concerning my challenge (at the moment they really do have a lot of work to do!) RIVACOM, SEA EVENT, IDEEDIMAGE.FR, Didier PIRON, the printers, JOLY. If I’ve forgotten anyone, please excuse me, as I’ve already given 55 names. There is just one more person that I must thank, who was there everyday to give me good advice about the weather and who will be in Les Sables d'Olonne for my arrival. I’m talking about Pierre Lasnier of METEOMER, who also advised Philippe MONNET.
So you can see, I’m really far from being alone.
See you tomorrow,
JL VDH
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Logbook of 2004-3-7 |
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Hi there,
Had a bit of a stir in the night. The radar alarm woke me up. I jumped out of bed, but couldn’t see anything. I went back down and had a look at the screen. There was no doubt about it. There was definitely something out there three miles away. Try as I might to see what was going on, even with the binoculars, which enable me to see fairly well at night, I still couldn’t see a thing. It was clear there was something ahead of me, and it didn’t seem to be moving. I drifted off a little and could just make out in the light of the full moon about 100 metres away on the windward side of Adrien a crab pot marker or net marker buoy that must have broken loose (as out here the sea is around 4000 metres deep). On top there was a little radar reflector. What a relief! But even if I had hit it, it wouldn’t have done any damage to my aluminium hull.
Indeed, my main worry at the moment is avoiding any possible accidents. Apart from that, life on board has changed somewhat. I don’t have any free time left, as alongside the usual jobs, I have a lot of work to do with the media!
My arrival off Ushant looks more and more likely to be on Tuesday morning. However, the arrival in Les Sables d'Olonne planned for Thursday at 5 p.m. is definitely on. And I’ll be very happy to see everyone, who can be there to welcome me home!
See you tomorrow,
JL VDH
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Logbook of 2004-3-5 |
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Hi there,
With the cold front passing over me last night, I was quickly plunged back into the month of March as experienced in Europe. With the 35-knot winds, 2 reefs and the solent out, it was especially the sea spray, which reminded me how salty and how cool the sea is at the moment.
It’s true that in the trade winds, it was rather more pleasant. The conditions are good and the arrival off Ushant is still planned for Tuesday. Fortunately, afterwards I have two days to get back down to Les Sables d'Olonne, as Pierre Lasnier (Météomer) has forecast light winds for my return to my homeport!
I’d like to thank all those following me on my trip via the web, and all those, who have left me messages, which are always very friendly. I must admit that between my work on board, the media and everything that has to be put in place for my return, I don’t have a lot of time because of the success of my adventure. So for the next two weeks, please don’t be surprised if I only reply to urgent messages. Especially when there are questions like « Are you finishing in Brest or La Rochelle?», which are rather annoying ! I’m going to have to wait for things to calm down a little.
See you tomorrow,
JL VDH
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