“Can’t Wait to See How This All Ends”

Violette Dorange (Initiatives-Cœur) : “Honestly, this finish is fantastic. I think it’s the first day since the start when we haven’t had fifteen thousand manoeuvres to carry out. It’s much calmer. The sea is flat, the boat is gliding along at between 15 and 20 knots and, for once, we can almost catch our breath. And strategically, there’s so much happening. Ambrogio is just ahead of me, Elodie still has her penalty to serve, Sam has been slowed by the light winds after building such a huge lead... There are so many possible scenarios and I really can’t wait to see how this all ends. What’s quite incredible is that after eight days of racing, significant gaps and sometimes very different strategic options, we could ultimately arrive almost together. That promises a great battle right to the finish. On board, it gives us extra energy. When your competitors are this close, you want to give everything all the time. Ambrogio is very close. I can’t see him yet, but we’re not far off. I find that incredibly motivating. Clarity of thought is also going to be a major factor in these final stages. Usually, during the last hours of a race, you sleep very little. You’re excited by the finish, focused on your rivals and that’s often when small mistakes happen. I’m going to try to stay vigilant about that. Fortunately, I managed quite a few naps during the night and recovered some of the fatigue accumulated over the past few days. I’m feeling pretty good. As for the standings, the situation is quite crazy. With Elodie’s penalty, the battle for the podium has completely reopened. For the victory, I still imagine Sam has enough of a cushion to stay in front, but with this weather, it’s best to remain cautious. For Elodie, a lot will also depend on when she chooses to serve her penalty. There’s inevitably a strategic element to that kind of decision. For my part, I’ve practically been racing side by side with Ambrogio since the Arctic Circle. I hope that continues all the way to the finish and that I can keep up the pace—or perhaps even go a little faster. I still have the handicap of missing that sail, the MH0, so I’m mainly delighted to have remained in the fight. Honestly, I thought I would lose more ground and perhaps even see Francesca coming back at me. In the end, that hasn’t happened. So I’m staying focused on the boat settings and I’ll keep pushing right to the finish.”

Ambrogio Beccaria (Allagrande Mapei) : “Last night the wind was already very unstable, but today it’s even worse. That said, it’s starting to smell like land. It’s warmer, even if a rather grey atmosphere has settled in. You can feel that we’re getting closer to home. The weather scenario is really interesting. For Sam, it’s probably not the most enjoyable situation because he’s stuck out in front in the light winds. But even if he spends several hours almost stopped, I think he still has enough of an advantage to hold onto first place. Honestly, I’m looking more behind me than ahead. I know the boats in front will reach the windless zone before we do. My main concern is Violette. We’ve been battling for quite some time now. Covering another competitor is always easy to talk about but much harder to apply. Should you follow your rival or continue sailing your own race? If you cover too closely, you can miss an opportunity. And it’s not necessarily my strongest point! I generally prefer building my own strategy. With Elodie’s penalty, second place does indeed seem to be between Violette and me. That said, there’s still a long way to go and around fifteen miles separate us. We need to stay focused and keep sailing well. At one stage around Ireland, I had more than sixty miles in hand. Then Violette came back incredibly strongly and since then we’ve remained close together. Upwind, she was extremely impressive. The fatigue is beginning to take its toll as well. The manoeuvres are no longer as fluid as they were at the start of the race and you have to save energy wherever possible. Last night, despite a few naps, I struggled to stay truly sharp. That’s probably one of the major challenges of this finish: preserving enough freshness to manage the final weather transitions properly. As for the finish, my routings suggest something like 22 or 23 hours. But honestly, I have the feeling we’re going to finish much more tightly grouped than expected. It’s a bit like a broom sweeping the fleet along. The boats behind keep moving quickly until they reach the same light-wind zone as the leaders. In the end, everyone gets compressed into the same area. It’s quite funny when you think about it. We’ve spent days analysing the options around Ireland, the detours, the trajectories, the gains and losses of miles... And it’s possible that a large part of the race will be decided again in the final hours. But that’s also what makes this scenario so fascinating. You have to keep thinking, keep positioning yourself well and accept that the weather files still aren’t telling the whole story. As for me, I can’t wait to arrive, take a good shower and see you all again in Les Sables d’Olonne!”

Nico d’Estais (Café Joyeux) : “Honestly, last night was difficult. I’ve had a pretty intense twenty-four hours. I was already under pressure from Arnaud Boissières behind me and yesterday I broke the tack fitting of my headsail while sailing at nearly 18 knots. After that, I had to manage the repair and go out onto the bowsprit in the middle of the night to fit a new tack. I’ve worked incredibly hard and right now I’m exhausted. I think it’s been almost thirty hours since I last slept. My only wish now is for the wind to fill in properly so I can trim the sails and grab a few naps. The breeze is actually starting to return. My real objective now is simply to reach Fastnet. Between here and there, there are still plenty of transitions, light-air patches and manoeuvres. It’s not the easiest section. But once Fastnet is behind me, I should connect with a more established south-westerly flow. The wind will free, we’ll be reaching and the sea should be relatively flat. On paper, it looks much more enjoyable. I’m also keeping an eye on Cali. He’s got a boat that performs well and I know I can’t relax. Until yesterday evening, I’d managed to extend the gap a little. But during the night, with all my issues, he probably clawed some of that back. At one point, I even spent nearly an hour effectively sailing backwards because of the adverse current. In the end, I’m realising just how much this race resembles a mini-Vendée Globe. There are problems, of course, but that’s part of the game. In the moment, it’s never enjoyable, but I like solving those problems. That’s how you learn. That’s how you build the character needed to one day contemplate a round-the-world race. I genuinely think it’s part of the learning process. And if I can keep Cali behind me all the way to the finish, that will already be a great personal victory. After all, the young lad has five Vendée Globes to his name!”