Monnet + 20 days

Another milestone in Jean-Luc van den Heede's westabout round the world record bid

Day 86
Position at 1300: 38°18S / 45°30E
Wind: 18 knots from ESE, moderate sea.
Temperatures: day 21°C /night 14°C / sea 18°C
Distance covered in the last 24 hours: 301 miles.
To the Cape of Good Hope 1,328 miles.
Lead over P. Monnet 20 days and 3 hours.

Hi there,

Well, I've done it! I've gone beyond 20 days lead after being stuck at 18 for a long time. I must point out that I've had two very good days, yesterday with 306 miles and today with 301 miles. I had a good 20 to 25 knot wind, which allowed me to achieve these good scores without pushing too hard. Moreover, the weather forecast for the next few days seems to be fairly fine and I can see the Cape at the end of the tunnel!

Yesterday evening, the detector alarm was triggered to warn me about the presence of a radar in the area. It is always turned on, but I had forgotten about it. Apart from the birds, the whales and ....Francis Joyon I have had the feeling since Cape Horn that I've been completely alone in this deserted part of the world. Seeing the huge fishing boat with all its lights on brought me back down to earth, as there will also be cargo ships nearby and so the risk of a collision. Especially as I round the Cape of Good Hope, as quite a few boats go around there.

I've got some very fine memories of South Africa from my three stays there in 1986, 1990 and 1994 during the BOC Challenge. I hope I will be able to see land, but don't want to get too close to the beaches. There are already enough wrecks down there!

See you tomorrow,

JL VDH

A weekend with Samuel Lague's cuddly toy, a pretty little stag.