The issues seem to be resolved aboard TSE-4myplanet after spending about ten hours at a standstill to perform a complete check-up of the boat.
A pause which offered Alexia Barrier a Christmas gift of being able to glimpse in the distance small pieces of land belonging to Australia, proof of an upcoming passage near Cape Leeuwin. “The last time I had seen a piece of land was a long time ago when I passed near San Pedro Island a little before the Equator. I had observed the lighthouse at night which was about thirty miles away,” she recalls.
Weather-wise, it’s clear blue skies and especially, the days will start to lengthen. Nevertheless, the nights remain very chilly and are expected to warm up before the ascent after Cape Horn. But the conditions didn’t stop Santa Claus from stopping by the pink and black IMOCA: “We had a magnificent sunrise and the contrast between the life of a land-dweller in France and ours in the race was quite amusing. I got a lot of chocolate, books, and very nice notes from my team. These are touching gestures. My chef who took care of my provisions had prepared freeze-dried guinea fowl with foie gras and a delicious chocolate and pear cake.”
As for the race, with the accumulated delay, the boats ahead have escaped more than 300 miles, which is about 24 hours in advance. Therefore, a new strategy will need to be implemented to try to catch up with them in the coming days and make up for lost time to achieve the goal of completing this world tour in 97 days. In this regard, half the time has already passed and there are still a little over 25,100 km to cover.
