Vendée Globe, week 6: The frustration of the competition
After nearly six weeks at sea, Clarisse Crémer continues to impress with her consistency, her infectious happiness at being single-handed in the most remote corners of the planet, but also with her tenacity that stands up to any setback, and her fighting spirit that speaks volumes about her ambitions. Or the perfect blend of passionate sailor and fierce competitor, making her an ultra-complete athlete and human being who hides nothing of her daily life.
Would the Pacific be so in name only? After crossing the Indian Ocean in just over 10 days, which turned out to be rather mild, Clarisse Crémer entered the third ocean of her round the world voyage on Sunday night, as she passed the latitude of Tasmania, to the south-east of Australia. A South Pacific Ocean full of promise, while a bracing front bringing fresh winds was supposed to enable the skipper of L'Occitane en Provence to lengthen her stride and catch up with the leading group. The classic principle of a rubber band that stretches and relaxes, typical of the southern seas, with gaps opening and closing according to the weather system. But that was without taking into account a technical glitch at the worst possible moment, a stroke of bad luck and the domino effect that ensues. On Monday night, Clarisse suffered damage to the hook on her mainsail, with serious consequences: ‘I was on the edge of the front and I was giving it everything I had to stay in it and get away at full speed with it. Frankly, it was tough, there was a 5 metre swell, 40 knots, life on board was awful and I absolutely had to keep up an average speed of 19 to 20 knots. It was hard, but I could do it, and I believed I could! I had my pass to catch up with the chasing pack... And my mainsail hook incident happened just when there was everything to lose. By the time I'd tried all the reefs 50 times, finally lowered my sail and changed the hook, I'd been going for 3 hours at 8 knots instead of 22 and that was it... I'd missed the front.
After having eaten her fill in a ridge of high pressure, then having battled in stormy seas, with only the hope of catching the right train to keep her going, Clarisse had to pay a heavy price. I'm having a bit of trouble swallowing the pill,’ she admits, ’because at Cape Horn, Justine will have a 4-day lead over me. It's a bit hard to accept, in terms of performance and competition, it's frustrating! When you feel that you were so close to holding on to something and that it has nothing to do with your level, that it's just bad timing... It's the competitor in me that's ultra frustrated! She was used to a mentality that was exemplary in its stability, capable of putting everything into perspective and overcoming adversity. This time, Clarisse cracked. Disappointed, angry and above all exhausted, the skipper couldn't hide her rage, a testament to her determination not to be a mere figurehead. But everything passes in the end, especially once you've put your head down and swallowed your regrets. ‘I'm able to put things into perspective quite quickly, I don't let setbacks ruin my life, I'm able to enjoy myself despite everything’ she added after a few hours sleep, reinvigorated and back on the attack, driven by her eternal duel with Samantha Davies!
Everything's better for two
Because it's undeniable that sailing together helps you to move forward. For nearly 20 days now, L'Occitane en Provence and Initiatives-coeur have been sailing side by side, in a veritable pas de deux, in search of lost airs. Forced to head north because of a vast zone of high pressure well established under New Zealand, to avoid being trapped in very light winds, or even none at all, the two competitors are in contact and putting things into perspective, waiting (impatiently) for the weather to turn in their favour: I am having a little chat with Sam! We were right next to each other a few days ago, to the south of Tasmania, and we started chatting because she could see me! We were barely a mile apart. It's often in slightly rotten conditions that the competitors talk to each other. We were saying to each other: ‘Oh dear, I'm squeezing my buttocks! We were both in a bit of a bind, but she was more philosophical about the front! She was a bit more accepting of the fact that she wasn't going to be able to catch it. After that, we talk about our meals (yes, they're probably not the same exchanges as between Seb Simon and Charlie Dalin!), we talk about what's going well on board, what's not going well.’ While the situation isn't likely to improve in the immediate future, due to some very tricky weather, morale is high and life is finally almost a little sweeter!
Between the ballet of dozens of albatrosses and ‘grapefruit-coloured’ sunsets, Clarisse regains her wisdom and takes her pain in patience: ‘I didn't really like the part under New Zealand 4 years ago either,’ Clarisse remembers, ‘because I had to slow down to let a depression pass. It keeps its promises, it's always a place where the weather is a little different from the rest. It's not these lows that arrive from the south and take you away, there are things that come down from the north and that changes things quite a bit. I have more or less the same memory of a place that's a bit of a trap, where a lot of things happen, and unfortunately for me it went wrong in the wrong direction. When I say that, it's all relative: everything's going well and I'm still in the race!
Cape Horn for New Year's Eve?
For the time being, the conditions have calmed down and the speeds with them, as the blue and yellow IMOCA continues to head eastwards... upwind! A curious scenario in the middle of the Southern Ocean, but one which shouldn't last. I've got three nights upwind, and then things will start to open up slowly, and I'll be able to start reaching again,’ predicts Clarisse. It's going to start again in the mode we're used to, but unfortunately, I'll never be in front of a front between now and Cape Horn, so that means an average speed which isn't necessarily very high, in heavy seas, with a lot of wind and a lot of gusts’. So no speed records on the programme, but perhaps a double-cap for New Year's Eve? ‘I could round Cape Horn on the morning of the 31st or 1st, which would be a nice New Year's present, that would be cool, but I'm not looking ahead, I'm looking ahead to tomorrow, which is already good! Tomorrow will see the return of the strong wind upwind, and on the wrong side, port tack, as the sailor can no longer trim her starboard foil. But I'm fine,’ she says reassuringly. Upwind it's always less stressful, because you don't have sails that can fall or roll badly. I'm probably going to have other problems, but overall, upwind sailing isn't very stressful, so I'm relaxing a bit.
Slacking off in an IMOCA is certainly not synonymous with true relaxation, but Clarisse will nevertheless be able to fill up on energy, by getting in some good rest phases, and taking care of her boat. Yesterday I tinkered for 9 hours straight and then I ate well and slept well,’ she says. I'm finally able to really have different phases on the boat: phases when I'm resting, phases when I'm working flat out, phases that are a bit harder - like when I was in the front - when I'm putting my back into it because you know it's only going to last for a while. Overall, I feel great! I've barely had time to watch films or read. Yesterday I didn't even listen to a minute of music, I was really into working on the boat. These are great days because they allow you to get on with a lot of things. And then I'm happy to see that Tanguy has been able to carry out his repairs, because that always adds a little stress... I have to admit that yesterday, when I was a bit down in the dumps having lost the front and still having a mainsail down, to see that Tanguy has blown a bulkhead and that he's telling me he needs 48 hours to fix it... It's a bit of a double whammy!
All in good time, and with tomorrow being another day and Clarisse now halfway through the race, there's still a long way to go and just as many opportunities to write her story, in her own way!