With the finish now seemingly within reach for Alexia Barrier after 105 days at sea, one must stay vigilant in this final leg of the race off the coast of the Azores, all just a few cables’ length from her home.
If the Northern Hemisphere anticyclone settles in the south of the Azores, as is often the case this year, it’s because the train of depressions has taken its place. “In winter, these depressions that form on the East Coast of the USA or in Canada move very low and can follow each other at a rapid pace, with only 36 to 48 hours between two frontal passages,” explains Christian Dumard, weather consultant for the Vendée Globe. “This rapid succession of depressions generates residual swell in the North Atlantic. Wave heights are sometimes similar to those encountered in the Great South.”
Currently, Alexia Barrier is facing a rather rough sea with waves about three meters high, which is not very comfortable given her physical condition. “I’m doing the minimum, just to move forward correctly and ensure the safety of the boat. Yesterday morning it was operation gybe off the Azores. A maneuver I dreaded a bit because of the pain I’m experiencing. By going very slowly, it went well. My back pain is stable, it’s not great but I’m only 1,000 miles from the finish, and that’s all that matters! I’m managing with the medication prescribed by the race doctor Jean-Yves Chauve.”
In the meantime, it’s makeshift solutions on board the boat. “I move around on all fours or by crawling, I find tricks! I can’t walk on the deck because to walk, I have to hold on with both arms to relieve my back. When you walk on deck you have to brace your core to not fall and it’s impossible for me. But I manage to furl a sail or take a reef, even if it takes me 10 times longer than usual. I’m on a run, the boat isn’t pounding anymore, I’m lucky. It moves forward on its own, it’s not like I have to tack every hour. I only have five or six days left at sea, I will have exams to see what’s wrong when I arrive.”
No time to rest, the “Penguin” is charting its course towards Les Sables d’Olonne, well steered by its brave skipper who grits her teeth, once again demonstrating her fighting spirit and her ever-growing desire to complete her first Vendée Globe.
