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logbooks of the week
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2004-1-15
Hi there,
As forecast last week, today was a really extraordinary day. It’s almost as if I’d lef...
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2004-1-14
Hi there,
I’ve just crossed into another time zone (120°). I am now only 7 hours ahead of you. ...
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2004-1-13
Hi there,
Yesterday, I managed to sail on the beam for twelve hours, which enabled me to make so...
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2004-1-12
Hi there,
Time for repairs on board Adrien this morning. The battens in the mainsail are held ...
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2004-1-11
Hi there,
It’s still the same weather with squalls and a wind, which forces me to head further n...
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2004-1-9
Hi there,
An awful day for heading west today! Moreover, since the last low-pressure area, I’ve...
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Logbook of 2004-1-15 |
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Hi there,
As forecast last week, today was a really extraordinary day. It’s almost as if I’d left the forties behind me! Mild temperatures and sunshine throughout the day, which allowed me to do some drying and also do what I haven’t been able to do for a long time, just wear a T-shirt.
I took advantage of it to give myself a good wash and put away my clothes, which I shan’t see again, until they go into the washing machine!
This fine weather gives me the impression that I’ve almost arrived, but there are still 11,300 miles (20,000 km) to go. Try as I might to fight against this feeling, by telling myself that the Indian Ocean can also be very devilish, as I’ve seen before, this change in climate does make me feel euphoric. Moreover, with 10-15 knot winds all day long, I‘ve been able to make good headway, sailing close to the wind, of course, but it felt great nevertheless!
On board Adrien, I turned on one of the two new wind generators, that I’d brought along as a spare. The port one was no longer charging. Everything is going well then. In a few hours I’ll be passing Cape Leeuwin and will be saying farewell to Australia.
See you tomorrow,
JL VDH
A day with the cuddly toy from Bichette and Philippe of Cap Studio, a frog, which is green all over.
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Logbook of 2004-1-14 |
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Hi there,
I’ve just crossed into another time zone (120°). I am now only 7 hours ahead of you. Moreover, the weather is starting to change, and I’ll finally be picking up some more variable winds that come from somewhere other than the West, like those I’ve been getting all the time!
So I’m smiling a bit now. It’s amazing how much my feelings depend on the weather conditions and on how much headway I’m making. Of course, I never really feel low...unless there’s some major damage. It would be a pity not to feel good with my 18 days’ lead. Besides that, the weather is improving as I move north. The temperature outside is becoming more pleasant, and setting the sails is so much easier.
As a sign that things are improving, I’ve put back out my solar panels on the roof. I’m currently reading « The tribulations of Seaman Maqroll » by Alvaro Mutis (published by Grasset). This type of adventure always fascinates me and I get into the book more than I do in the cinema, as my imagination creates its own pictures.
See you tomorrow,
JL VDH
A day with the cuddly toy from the SAMO company, put on board Adrien by Idée d’image.
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Logbook of 2004-1-13 |
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Hi there,
Yesterday, I managed to sail on the beam for twelve hours, which enabled me to make some headway west. Since then, I’ve been on the port tack towards the north west. The night was rough with gusts up to 50 knots. In this situation, Adrien only has out the little Celerant staysail and the tip of the mainsail with three reefs.
The wind is starting to abate now, and I’m gradually putting back out the sails. I think I’ll be reaching the longitude of Cape Leeuwin, the southwesterly tip of Australia on Thursday. Philippe Monnet, was reaching the antipodal meridian on what will be tomorrow. Then, he headed far north in the Indian Ocean to get some favourable winds to the north of the high pressure area. That was maybe a good solution, because for a few days I haven’t been gaining any more over him.
Following my ecolo speech yesterday, an internaut asked me what I do with my rubbish. Everything which isn’t biodegradable is kept on board, so I already have 5 big rubbish bags full. The sea down here doesn’t see many visitors and so is still a clean place that I’d be ashamed to pollute.
See you tomorrow,
JL VDH
A day with the cuddly toy from Mr Christian Malherbe’s class at the IME Fontaine Bouillant
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Logbook of 2004-1-12 |
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Hi there,
Time for repairs on board Adrien this morning. The battens in the mainsail are held in place on the sliding track mechanism by some screws and locked in place with glued bolts. In spite of that, one of them worked loose and the batten framework got stuck on the second reef in the running backstay as it was being lowered in the wind. I managed to get it sorted out and fixed a new screw in place with some resin... except the weather was bad and it was really pouring down. For the time being, everything has been repaired, but as soon as the weather improves, I’ll take a good look at the track.
The radio station RMC info with whom I do a weekly link-up every Sunday afternoon informed me that some patches of oil had washed up in Olonne S/ Mer. What a crying shame! One day, they’re really going to have to take some extreme measures. Talking about that, I’ve just finished Alain Malardé’s book about the shipwreck of the Erika (published by Carnot), which teaches you a lot and is very dramatic. What sort of planet are we going to leave to our grandchildren?
We’re all aboard the same boat, « The Earth », and we’re still fighting each other militarily or economically instead of looking after our vessel.
See you tomorrow,
JL VDH
A day with the cuddly toy from the Pays de Loire Region International Chamber of Commerce put on board Adrien by Idée d’image.
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Logbook of 2004-1-11 |
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Hi there,
It’s still the same weather with squalls and a wind, which forces me to head further north rather than west. My only two recurrent jobs at the moment involve rolling and unrolling the solent ( for three days now I’ve had two reefs in my mainsail!) and making frequent adjustments to my course to achieve a good compromise between speed and wind strength sailing upwind.
Whenever I mark my position on the chart, I am unpleasantly surprised to find that I have fairly strong currents dragging me towards the east, which for me is the wrong direction, of course!
I’m rather fond of Chinese food and have brought several packets of Asian specialities with me. Yesterday evening, as I was heating my Chinese pork, I had a look at the label on the box. The manufacturer talks about the various religions out there and finishes with some famous proverbs. One of them is: "a little impatience can ruin a big project". I thought it was specially written for Adrien. So I cut it off and put it on my chart table to remind me to take notice of that, when I’m hesitating between speed and safety!
See you tomorrow,
JL VDH
A weekend with Claire ROSELLO’s cuddly toy, a pretty little grey mouse.
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Logbook of 2004-1-9 |
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Hi there,
An awful day for heading west today! Moreover, since the last low-pressure area, I’ve been in squally weather. These squalls, where the wind reaches 30/35 knots, follow one another every quarter of an hour. Between the squalls, the wind goes down to 15/20 knots and Adrien makes slow headway, as she doesn’t have enough sail out, but I don’t really want to add anymore. I don’t want to take any risks, when the wind starts gusting again.
In a few hours, I’ll be reaching the longitude, where last year on the 64th day of my race, the mast came down. Since the start, I’ve been struggling hard to keep ahead of my previous attempts, which I’ve so far managed to do. I was even 2.5 days ahead of last year’s attempt just after the Horn. I lost a bit again in the Pacific, but still remain a dozen or so hours ahead.
Now, in this direction, uncharted waters lie ahead of me. In spite of the absence of a « pacer » to motivate me, I’ll be sailing Adrien, as if Philippe Monnet was just behind me, while remaining cautious.
See you on Sunday,
JL VDH
A day with the cuddly toy from the WFD company (Cap Argent, Debladis) put on board Adrien by Idée d’image.
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