Atlantic won't let go

As Jean-Luc van den Heede attempts the approach to the Strait of LeMaire

Day 32 Position at 1300: 54°24 S / 64°59 W
Wind 30 knots from NNE. Sea: moderate.
Temperatures Day: 15°C / night 10°C / sea 6°C
Distance covered in the last 24 hours 151 Miles.
To Cape Horn 136 Miles.
Lead over Monnet 5 days and 11 hours.

Hello

I should have been in the Lemaire Straits by the time I was writing these lines, but the wind just wasn’t with me. I experienced a very tough afternoon yesterday with hardly any wind at all, but coming from all directions, and accompanied by a huge swell, which made the sails bang about in every direction. I tried to inch forward to get out of it as quickly as possible, even if I had to lower the mainsail twice, as it was really under a lot of strain.

Finally, the wind decided to come back just before 11 last night. So it was yet another day with a far from great average speed, but seeing what is ahead of me, that’s not too serious!

It’s not everyday you get to round the Horn with an easterly. A fairly deep depression had the good idea to settle above the south American continent (usually the Andes range forces them down).

I’m starting to pick up the first signs of it now with the barometer falling away rapidly and the wind turning to the NE. In the southern hemisphere, the winds turn clockwise around a low-pressure area (it’s the opposite in the north). As this friendly low pressure area is going to move north of me, you can imagine how pleased I am, and for my tenth time going around this mythical spot, it’s just as well I’ll be getting the 40-knot winds in the right direction!

See you tomorrow,

JL VDH

A day with Hugo Medori (Cap Communication)’s giraffe, « Loustic », which will certainly be the first giraffe to round the Horn!