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logbooks of the week
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2004-3-4
Hi there,
Yet another fine day with some great wind conditions. Last night, I put back up the ...
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2004-3-3
Hi there,
I’m currently leaving the trade winds behind me. This morning, I didn’t find any fly...
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2004-3-2
Hi there,
I reached the latitude of the Canaries and had a look at the weather. I decided not t...
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2004-3-1
Hi there,
What a great weekend concerning the distance I covered! I can feel it in the air, as...
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2004-2-29
Hi there,
The North Atlantic is currently allowing me to take back what its southern half and t...
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2004-2-27
Hi there,
I’m making my way back to civilisation, and the urgent warnings to those at sea are fa...
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Logbook of 2004-3-4 |
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Hi there,
Yet another fine day with some great wind conditions. Last night, I put back up the solent, I even took in a reef, as we were surfing along a bit too fast for my taste and today, it’s perfect. I’m sure Adrien can feel that she’s almost home! My lead over my predecessor increased once again by more than one day. So, in short, you can guess, everything is going well and I’m feeling great.
Taking into account the latest weather forecast, I can confirm that I’ll be finishing on Tuesday, so I’ve taken the decision to head back to Les Sables d’Olonne for Thursday evening’s tide. So I’ll be at Nouch sud (off the harbour entrance) at 5 p.m. Of course, I’ve given myself a little bit extra time to make sure I can get there by then. Adrien can only move along thanks to the wind, and for practical reasons I had to take this decision a week in advance. A lot of things could happen between then and now, if nature has her way!
I’m often asked whether I’m scared of being back on dry land. Not at all! I’ll be really pleased to be back in civilisation. My passion for single-handed yachting has been well and truly satisfied over the last four months. I’ve been well prepared for this glorious finish for a long time, as it’s something I had been dreaming of for 4 years without managing to do it, and the day I achieve my goal, I shan’t be afraid of the crowds or the media awaiting me!
See you tomorrow,
JL VDH
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Logbook of 2004-3-3 |
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Hi there,
I’m currently leaving the trade winds behind me. This morning, I didn’t find any flying fish on the deck, the sea temperature fell to less than 20 degrees, the skies are overcast and a cold front will be passing over me tomorrow. I’m starting to get some warm clothes back on and the nice shower I had yesterday will certainly be my last one before getting back into the habit of the extraordinary comforts of the bathroom back on dry land!
The wind has dropped off and gone around to the south, but I haven’t been slowed down as much as Philippe Monnet was in this area, where he had his worst two days, with just 57 miles today and 73 miles for the day after tomorrow. So it’s a chance for me to gain a little more time, as I’ve made up for my losses in the Doldrums and my horrendous day covering only 37 miles. I have never had such a wide lead over him.
My ETA for the finishing line is getting more and more precise for Tuesday 9th, more than 28 days ahead of the record. 4 whole weeks, I couldn’t have dreamt of anything better... but I haven’t done it yet. I still remain very, very cautious. Last night, my SIMRAD radar, which is always left on, as I don’t have any electrical supply problems, warned me there was a cargo ship passing 2 miles away from us. So I need to keep an eye open!
See you tomorrow,
JL VDH
A day with the final cuddly toy from my little menagerie: a pretty little pink mouse...that came from Jeannine, the christener of my speedy little ADRIEN.
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Logbook of 2004-3-2 |
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Hi there,
I reached the latitude of the Canaries and had a look at the weather. I decided not to take the long way and go as initially planned via 41N/26W. The distance given is therefore the direct distance (as the crow flies) to the finishing line to the north of Ushant.
Yet a few more miles gained over my predecessor. The wind dropped off a bit last night and didn’t get above 10 knots, but fortunately, upwind, I can still make good headway with such a light wind. Everything returned to normal at sunrise. The sun has come out from behind the clouds. It’s heating up some water for my shower this evening. The really big difference in comparison to yesterday is the heavy swell from the NW, probably resulting from the low-pressure areas, which are passing to the north.
I’m taking as much advantage as possible from my trade winds before hitting some cooler climes. The ETA seems to be getting clearer, for Tuesday or Wednesday for the finishing line and therefore, for Thursday or Friday for my return to Les Sables d'Olonne.
See you tomorrow,
JL VDH
A day with the "Nounours" cuddly toy from Aurélien and Tiphaine in Saint Agathon.
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Logbook of 2004-3-1 |
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Hi there,
What a great weekend concerning the distance I covered! I can feel it in the air, as it is much cloudier, the sun has hardly been out, the sea temperature is falling off rapidly, and the wind is becoming a lot less steady.
I wasn’t going to finish my trip at the pace of the last few days! I do still have some flying fish landing on the deck, but I haven’t put back out my fishing line for sea bream. It really was quite tasty! It seems astonishing to me that I can say that I’ll be finishing next week. The notion of time, when you are at sea, made it feel like it could have lasted months and months more...I’d got into a routine and was used to doing certain things.
After crossing the finishing line, I’ll take on board the two members of the team with whom I crossed the same line 4 months ago, and I’ll put in directly in Les Sables d’Olonne according to the tides two days later (I’ll leave myself a little margin, as I’ll be relying on the wind).
See you tomorrow,
JL VDH
A day with the cuddly toy, a little bear who « holds on to the tiller and to the wind », given by Hugues AUFRAY, the patron of ADRIEN
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Logbook of 2004-2-29 |
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Hi there,
The North Atlantic is currently allowing me to take back what its southern half and the Doldrums took away from me! In fact, the NE trade winds are powerful to the same extent as those in the south were weak. I would have liked the opposite, as with a wind coming from behind I need more wind than with a beating wind. But I shouldn’t complain too much, as in 5 days, I’ve gained back one and a half days over Philippe Monnet!
The forecasts are very encouraging and I think I may well reach the finish sometime between Wednesday 10th March (28 days ahead at 8 a.m.) and Friday 12th March (26 days ahead at 8 a.m.). That would allow me to be back in Les Sables d'Olonne at the weekend or at best with Friday evening’s tide and at worst with Sunday morning’s... which is an extraordinary and very pleasant chance occurrence! As planned, I did some touring around the Cape Verde Islands yesterday. I got quite close and sailed on the windward side of Fogo to avoid losing the wind off Santiago. These volcanic islands are very high (2829m) and I took the same photo as I took on the way down with Fogo’s crater emerging out of the clouds. Indeed, I passed between these two islands on the outward leg, so crossed my own path from the 17th November 2003. It had been quite some time since I’d seen houses, roads and cars. So you can see, I’m slowly readapting myself to getting back to civilisation!
See you tomorrow,
JL VDH
A day with Boulgom, the cuddly toy from Bernard, Pauline, Jean Philippe, Pierre, Anne Laure and Mariette.
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Logbook of 2004-2-27 |
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Hi there,
I’m making my way back to civilisation, and the urgent warnings to those at sea are far from encouraging. 4 containers and some red and yellow tubes are floating around on the route I shall be taking as I enter the Bay of Biscay.
It’s at times like these that I’m happy to be sleeping in an aluminium hull! I can still remember the tragic accident that happened during my first trip around the world to Smith, an American, who had a magnificent boat made of plywood. We were in the middle of the Atlantic, alongside each other at nightfall... and several hours later his boat sank in just a few minutes, when the hull was ripped open by the corner of a container that he only just managed to see ...from his bunk. He got out of it by the skin of his teeth, but he lost everything, as like me, he wasn’t insured. Insurance companies aren’t too keen to take on round the world sailors!
I’m now making headway and beginning to make up the two and a half days I lost around the Equator. I’ll be crossing the latitude of Dakar tomorrow, and will be thinking of the people, who work for the Adrien Group, which does a lot of work there. Then, I’ll be a tourist enjoying the delights of the Cape Verde Islands. I hope a siren won’t try to lure Adrien. If she does, I’ll have to do like Ulysses. I’ll tie myself to the mast!
See you on Sunday,
JL VDH
A day with the cuddly toy (a little blue lamb) from Pierre, who prepared my medical supplies...which I haven’t had to use!
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