15 days 10 hours ahead

Jean-Luc van den Heede passed beneath New Zealand

Hello,

I am disappointed: I've missed my date with the Bishop and his Clerk! No no, I'm not suffering from delirium... New Zealand extends far to the south by a relatively shallow shelf, from which from time to time islands emerge. The furthest south is Macquarie Island (30 km long, 433 m. high). It is surrounded to the north by a little islet (19m high) and a rock: the Judge and his Clerk, and to the south by a little islet (43m high) and a rock: the Bishop and his Clerk.

These folds of land are amazing since, according to my chart, 30 km to the east or west, the bottom is more than 3000 m down. I thought if it was fine weather I'd pass between Macquarie and the Bishop. Alas, it's not a cruise... a fog you could cut with a knife forced me to be cautious and pass to the south of all that so I saw absolutely nothing.

Apart from that I've spent the day with wind on the beam and my progress has again been good (276 naut. miles, you can't complain!) and my advance on Philippe is just increasing regularly. Adrien is still in top shape and all is going well!

Until tomorrow
JL VDH

D+60. Position at 14H : 55°28’S / 155°04’E
Wind NW 20N. Temperature day 12° / night 7° / water 5,6°
Distance run in 24H : 276 naut miles.
Advance on Monnet 15 days and 10 hours. Distance to Cap des Aiguilles : 5710 naut miles.