The fourth racing week of the Vendée Globe is over. It was a rather peaceful week in the Indian Ocean. The last few days have been quite pleasant. I'm actually feeling quite good, I'm really relaxed and trying to do my job here as well as I can. That's our culture as sailors. You don't let yourself drift around. And the girls shouldn't just drop by either.
Take what the Vendée Globe serves
It's very foggy out here at the moment. The girls around me and I texted each other a bit this morning. (Editorial team: Around 20 nautical miles ahead of Boris Herrmann, the Swiss "TeamWork - Team Snef" skipper Justine Mettraux was sailing in tenth place on the morning of 8 December, with the British "Initiatives-Cœur" skipper Samantha Davies a good 20 nautical miles behind him in twelfth). I wished them both a good Sunday and suggested that Sam Davies bake some pancakes.
I don't want to speculate too much about the future development of our group at the moment. We'll take what comes - and what we get. The forecast says that we will make good progress over the next few days. Overall, everything on board is okay. I also think that about the foil box repair. The only question is how much I'm losing because I can no longer adjust the rake (editor: the position of the foils). I estimate it's five to ten per cent of the performance on the port bow.
Upper rudder bearing "makes noises"
My upper rudder bearing on the starboard side is making a bit of noise. I'll have to see how it develops. I hope it lasts until the finish. At the moment I think it will. Overall, even after four weeks, I'm still amazed at how little breakage there is in the fleet. We still haven't had any really tough conditions. Only the two boats at the front of the fleet - for about two days when they were in this low.
Congratulations to Charlie Dalin." Boris Herrmann
Charlie Dalin does a mega good job. Really good and great to see. I'm happy for him. It must feel good. I haven't followed it in detail, but I think they've handled the low very well. Really, congratulations on that. Well done!
It's not quite as cold here as the leaders have experienced. It's better during the day than at night because there's a certain greenhouse effect through the cockpit windows. I have an electric blanket for the nights, which provides a little warmth from below on a low setting. I lie on a thick triple layer. It works quite well. It's quite bearable during the day. You have a thick mid-layer on. And a few layers of jumpers.
I normally eat a lot of hot food. About one and a half meals a day. Well, breakfast is also warm. But that's always the case. I do the same in the tropics. I don't really eat much differently, maybe I have a bit more appetite.
Most important goal: reach Cape Horn by New Year
My most important goal remains to round Cape Horn on 30 December or 1 January. I don't think that will be easy to achieve. Sam and I thought about it together this morning and had a look: How long did it take us in the Ocean Race from Cape Leeuwin to Cape Horn? That was 18 days back then. From here to Tasmania we need another seven days. So we could make it to the Horn in the 23 days we have left. Preferably on 31 December or 1 January. That would be the coolest thing!
We are currently experiencing long days out here, with long daylight hours. We often have winds between 80 and 95 degrees. For days. Even today. And that means that the boat doesn't regulate itself by dropping and levelling off as it does downwind, but that you always have to intervene in the increasing and decreasing winds. The sheets - foil rake and tweaker - always have to be adjusted a little. I also regularly take a reef in and out, so I have a bit of work to do in this situation.
