Regatta: Vendée Globe: Isabelle Joschke in attacking mood in fifth place

She is the daughter of a French mother and a German-Austrian father, was born in Munich on 27 January 1977, but grew up mainly in France: "MACSF" skipper Isabelle Joschke is currently causing a stir in the Vendée Globe. The 43-year-old, who studied classical literature in Paris, has worked her way into the top five with perseverance, good positioning and a lot of fighting spirit. She once learnt to sail in an optimist on Austrian lakes. As one of six women in the starting field of 33 boats in this ninth edition of the Vendée Globe, she has been the most successful skipper in the field since Samantha Davies retired at the age of 43.

Just two years after discovering her passion for ocean sailing at the famous sailing school Les Glénans, founded in 1947, Joschke won the mini Fastnet with none other than France's sailor of the decade Franck Cammas. Although the really big triumphs have yet to materialise, Joschke has proven to be persistent even after setbacks - one of her best qualities. Observers also attest the petite sailor a high degree of determination and strong management qualities. Her work is now bearing fruit after a rather subdued Vendée Globe start and the tiring struggle with a series of technical problems around 2000 nautical miles before the Cape Horn Passage.

The day before, Joschke von See had reported on her recent rise to fifth place in the rankings: "The time differences change so quickly from day to day that nothing is set in stone any more! I'm no longer synchronised. While I'm so cold, I no longer wait until I'm hungry to eat. It's more down to how I feel because there's no real idea of whether it's breakfast or dinner anymore. I do everything according to how I feel. And I try to give my stomach a break during the night. There's really no risk of getting fat here, considering how cold I am; I think I'm losing calories instead! Then there's the physical activity on board: even in light winds there are manoeuvres to be done. There's always something to do on board."

Joschke is currently a strong figurehead of the Horixon Mixité association, which she co-founded to promote gender equality. With her modified Verdier VPLP design on foils under sail number FRA 27, she is among the leaders in this Vendée Globe edition, but remains respectful in her handling of the material. "We've all had scary moments in this race," said Joschke shortly before Christmas, "when 20 knots of wind suddenly turn into 40 and the boat is simply not ready for it... That has consequences for a sail, a sheet, the load on a boom... In these temperatures, they are real hardships. The wind is slowly dying down. In these conditions I will sail around the high in the south, in not too strong downwind conditions." Joschke has done a great job with this part of the task so far on the course for Cape Horn. She already knew before Christmas: "The weather forecast for the next ten days is rather mild. Tactically, it won't be easy. It's never easy to choose the right course in unsettled winds." However, she has managed this brilliantly recently.

Yannick Bestaven remains the leader on the 50th day at sea, having extended his lead over Charlie Dalin to just under 90 nautical miles on his 48th birthday. The "Maître Coq IV" skipper had once again positioned himself well for the expected low-pressure area, which released the leading group from the slow tactical doldrums after almost 1500 nautical miles. Bestaven sailed downwind on Monday morning along the ice edge at about latitude 53 degrees south. At the time, Isabelle Josche was almost 350 nautical miles behind her compatriot - as were Jean Le Cam ("Yes We Cam") and Boris Herrmann ("Seaexplorer - Yacht Club de Monaco"). The 61-year-old Frenchman and the 39-year-old German continued their thrilling duel with Joschke on 28 December. After 50 days at sea, the duo were separated by a tenth of a nautical mile! In fourth place shortly before passing the longitude of Point Nemo was Damien Seguin, only around 50 nautical miles behind third-placed Thomas Ruyant.

Boris Herrmann's mission has not changed: "I want to reach Cape Horn in one piece. At the moment, my boat is 100 per cent okay. You probably can't say that about many of the other boats. So let's get through this week without losing too many miles, but certainly without breaking. Please!" Herrmann was also in the mood for a little banter, although he felt "mentally a bit tired": "Some of you might have to go back to work on Monday. How does that feel? Well, I won't be back from work until the end of January... The last Vendée Globe winner took 27 days from Cape Horn to the finish harbour of Les Sables-d'Olonne. That's what I'm hoping for too. That would mean a total of 84 days and an arrival on 30 January. That's the assumption. I'm looking from day to day." Herrmann expects "gusts of up to 45 knots" from the upcoming encounter with the depression and said: "I'll tell you what it was like tomorrow."

Click here for the tracker and the current interim results.

The Hamburg skipper talks about the daily contrasts of the race on course for Cape Horn and the psychological strength required for this