Still no wind

Jean-Luc van den Heede crawls towards the Equator

Day 105.
Position at 1300: 1°21'S / 13°56'W
Wind: 9 knots from SE. Calm sea.
Temperatures: day 27°C / night 19°C / sea 28°C
Distance covered in the last 24 hours: 156 miles.
To the finish: 3,780 miles.
Lead over Monnet: 25 days and 22 hours.

Hi there,

Last night and the day today are very similar to what I experienced yesterday, with even a little less wind! I've gone down under the 26 days lead, as Philippe Monnet went very fast through this area. I hate losing ground, but I must say that fortunately that hasn't very often happened to me.

I think that I'll make it up again after the Equator! Living like this, relying totally on the weather and the sea, teaches you a little to believe in fate. What is there to do about it? It also teaches you to be humble, because in front of nature, all you can do is try to adapt, even if with Pierre Lasnier, we are attempting to find the best route possible.

The Equator isn't very far off now, and I'll probably be crossing it tomorrow morning. It will be for the fifteenth time! Let's just hope that beyond it the NE trade winds will be waiting for me, as I won't have good memories of the SE ones in the southern hemisphere!

See you on Sunday,

JL VDH

A day with Marie Philippe's cuddly toy, Gypsi, a little white rabbit with a bow tie.