Clarisse Crémer, getting ready to navigate the Atlantic solo on L’Occitane en Provence
In three days, on 30th November at 12:00 (local time) and 5 PM (French time), more than thirty IMOCA boats will set sail for the start of the "Retour à La Base," a solo crossing connecting Fort-de-France, Martinique back to mainland France. This return leg could prove to be much more challenging than the outward journey; navigating solo, facing difficult winter weather conditions and they are all vying for a tick in the box on the road to qualification for the Vendée Globe 2024.
Among the competitors, L’Occitane en Provence has a clear objective: completing this race with the boat in prime condition. After a remarkable 9th place finish at the Transat Jacques Vabre with Alan Roberts, Clarisse Crémer prepares for another stint at sea with a dual objective: continuing the qualifying process for the Vendée Globe while gaining experience solo on her new boat. After just a few days of respite between the two races, she is already gearing up to set sail again: “I still feel like I've just arrived, it's hard to believe that in 3 days I'll be setting off on a solo transatlantic journey. »
Among the most challenging sporting competitions in the world, the West to East Atlantic crossing undoubtedly holds a prominent position, especially when undertaken solo and right in the heart of the northern winter. « This race is quite unique and a first for a lot of people to set off again on a solo transatlantic race, so soon after a double-handed transatlantic race. I'd already done something a bit similar after the 2019 Transat Jacques Vabre, I set off again single-handed just a week later, but that was on a delivery trip. So this is a bit different. Inevitably, there's a bit of apprehension and it's quite hard for the body, because we don’t have time to fully recover. At the same time, there's also a fair bit of excitement because this is my first solo race since the last Vendée Globe. So I can't wait to get back into it. I’ve been working a lot with Alan on the boat during the transatlantic race and on getting me to have more confidence in the boat. I think that did the trick. The team worked like crazy throughout the week to ensure that the boat was capable of completing a second transatlantic race. I’m really happy to have them on my side.” explained Clarisse, as she was about to check the weather and prepare routes.
If our skipper is ready, so is the boat. The shining dark blue and yellow IMOCA 60 which sleeps in the bay of Fort de France, will be ready to set sails again in a few days after intense days of work from the technical team under a heavy sun and heat. « We were pretty happy when we got the boat at the end of the race - there is always a going to be a couple of surprises at the end of the transatlantic race but for us it was not to bad - none the less the team have had to push very hard to turn the boat around and they have done a fantastic job getting it ready for Clarisse to start the race this week» explained Pete Hobson, technical director of the team.
The officially announced distance between Fort-de-France (Martinique) and Lorient (Morbihan) is 3,463 nautical miles, but Clarisse anticipates a much longer journey. At the latitude of the Antilles, prevailing winds from East to West compel boats to avoid the direct route to prevent sluggish progress. They will need to head North in search of depressions off Newfoundland. These weather systems create challenging conditions characterized by powerful wind gusts, torrential rains, and impressive swells.
Follow the boat during the race on the tracker here : https://retouralabase.geovoile.com/2023/tracker/
