Like every weekend, the German answered questions from journalists in a live broadcast that has almost become a bit of a ritual and provides deep insights into the soul of the "Seaexplorer" skipper. This time without a video connection, as the Open 60 is now so far away on the other side of the world that the connection keeps breaking down. Only at the third attempt does the team manage to establish a telephone connection, but this also fails from time to time and is sometimes incomprehensible.
How is sailing in the five-man chase group you are currently sailing in?
I find that very motivating. It's a reassurance that you're not travelling in the wrong direction or doing something stupid, you have a good reference in terms of speed. We also chat via WhatsApp, Damien Seguin and I for example. Of course, it was very cool when we saw each other on AIS and sailed together. But we've been too far away for that since yesterday. But maybe I'll catch up with one or two of them again. Then we can chat again. In any case, it's super nice, better than being completely alone out there.
Despite the foils, you don't seem to have much of an advantage over the older non-foilers in terms of speed. Why is that?
The course was now pure VMG running downwind for a long time, so the foils weren't much use, at least not in swell and not in this wind strength. In the Indian Ocean it was often too rough for foiling, so I often had them retracted. The conditions will come, I think in the next few days they will be such that the foils can show their strength.
Do the yachts without foils have a chance of finishing at the front?
Yes, absolutely. Four years ago, Alex Thomson was almost right at the front with just one foil. Now we have Jean Le Cam, he can definitely finish on the podium. Or someone else from this group, they're all on the move. But in the Atlantic we have more opportunities for good foil conditions, long reaching courses with flatter seas. The differences in speed are sometimes enormous, they can be 3 or 4 knots. If you can keep that up for two days, you'll be gone, of course. You can make up a lot of ground.
Two out of three capes are done. Does it feel different now, are you already a bit "on the way home"?
For me, "on the way home" is only after Cape Horn. The real test is yet to come, in the Pacific we are much further south. I don't think it will necessarily be tougher than in the Indian Ocean, but until we get round Cape Horn, we are still at the mercy of the forces of nature. In the Atlantic, the weather systems are smaller and less persistent. For me, the tension is still high until Cape Horn. It's still a month from there to home, so the regatta will get back into a different rhythm. I can imagine that I'll be sailing harder again there, whereas down here I'm more defensive.
Are you satisfied with the six hours of time credit you received for participating in the search for Kevin Escoffier? Was it fair for you?
That's okay with me, I put it completely in Will's (Harris) and Holly's (Cova) hands. I didn't want to be distracted. I'm also willing to help any competitor at any time if I don't get a time credit. Helping each other has absolute priority. I didn't want to worry about how many hours of credit I would get. I didn't even want to look back because it's mentally draining, it was already the darkest moment of the race. Of course I would have liked a bit more, especially compared to Yannick, who got a whole lot more hours (Herrmann six hours, Bestaven 8.5 hours). But it's unlikely that this will decide who gets a place. If it did, then I would laugh about it.
What is your biggest challenge? What is the next goal?
My biggest challenge is being alone, managing my own mood, energy and strength. It's not easy to deal with being alone, to not get stressed. Finding the right way to deal with the pressure of the race. My biggest opponent is myself. In the end, the ranking doesn't depend on me as much as you might think. You can only influence the speed of the boat to a limited extent. Gradually, if you push 5 per cent more or less, set out earlier or find the angle to the wind better. But the skill of the others, the weather, the swell and the characteristics of the boats also have a big influence. The fact that Yannick Bestaven took 500 miles off me, he was my match partner in the Atlantic, I think that's pretty amazing. He sailed faster here and there, but above all he came into a different weather system and that multiplies that, then 40 miles ahead becomes 400. But if I keep sailing my boot like this, I think I have a good chance of finishing in the top five.
Will Christmas be a hard day for you alone?
Christmas will be a good day, I have a reason to smile, I'm happy that my family, my wife and friends are together. I'll also get a few phone calls and won't feel alone. My feelings of loneliness actually always come when the pressure is very high and you have to decide everything on your own.
What does the weather look like for the next few days?
I'm now right under the cold front, if it overtakes me, which will happen in the next few hours, it will turn south-east. Then we'll get moderate conditions, I've just made my routing for Cape Horn. Of course, it's all still a bit speculative, anything over a week at least. But it's now about 15.5 days to Cape Horn, and that gives you strength. Two weeks! That's foreseeable, like a Route du Rhum! When I get round Cape Horn, that will be the biggest celebration during the race.
What are your little moments of happiness on board?
I haven't read for a long time now, I read a few pages in the "History of Mankind" at the beginning, cool book. But this morning I had a little moment of happiness. After the repair the day before yesterday, I was completely exhausted because it disrupted my sleep rhythm. And after the long day, the night was also exciting, I had to jibe two or three times, position myself correctly, think about which sail to set. The next morning you're sitting there completely dazed. If you have a sleep deficit, it quickly gets to your emotions and wears you out. But the last night was good, I was able to drive without too much trouble and slept a lot. In the morning I made myself a coffee, which I only do when I've had a good night's sleep. I know that sounds paradoxical, but because I know that I would otherwise get less sleep, I don't do it. I listened to some music, which is great in this grey desert. I still had a few voice messages on my mobile phone, so I listened to them all, which was a nice moment.
What's it actually like to sleep? Do you really wake up every 20, 30 minutes or so, or do you allow yourself a few hours to regenerate?
Yes, I once allowed myself an hour and a half, but I actually try to limit it to an hour. And I often wake up on my own beforehand. I have an alarm if the wind shifts more than 15 degrees in ten minutes or if the wind is more than three minutes higher or lower than the wind window set for my chosen sails. Or if my speed falls below 90 per cent of the polar data - I have an alarm that goes off for all these cases. You can imagine how often that wakes me up. Then the weather and tracker updates often come during the night. The fact that you sleep so deeply and for so long probably happens again in the Atlantic in trade wind conditions, where you can rely on "nothing is happening here now". There's a lot of instability down here and you're constantly experiencing big surprises.
How do you cope with the fact that something is constantly beeping and alarms are going off? Are you constantly worried?
I sometimes look up at the mast and think, "oh God, will it hold?". Of course, that's not really rational, we've calculated everything, but it's just this "should" and this belief in technology that is limited. It's a permanent inner dialogue, this inner conflict, how do I deal with the ship, how much do I expect of it. I've been on the cautious side, the anxious side, since the beginning. And this anxiety about the ship is already a burden. When I think about how we used to sail around the world on the Class 40 - a ship made of fibreglass with a solid carbon mast that was almost impossible to break. We just sailed and if the ship got out of control, we just got it back on course. It's different here, a bit like sailing on raw eggs, because the race means so much to me and I really want to finish. Also because so much has already happened to the others.
How much do you actually realise about the situation here in Germany?
A friend sends me a Hamburg podcast, which is actually all the news I have. Because of the satellite costs and the firewall on board, I don't get much else, I can't open any websites or anything like that. Of course, the lockdown is really tough, but I've given my friends the advice of my mental coach: Block out everything you can't influence yourself from your own context.
Do you actually have a Christmas present on board?
I actually have one on board, but didn't leave one behind. I've asked Holly to get one for my wife, so hopefully it's on its way to her. I'm a bit in debt to my loved ones this year, but I'll have to make up for it next year.
Andreas Fritsch
Editor Travel
