Joyon heads for Bass Strait

Severe Southern Ocean depressions will make it a windy Christmas for Francis Joyon

Day 32
Position at 07:28: 40deg 16.04'S 131deg 11.72'E
Distance from start: 12827.98 miles
Speed/course: 22.36 knots / 85 °

Land - damned land. The last few days have seen solo round the world sailor Francis Joyon scaling the 40degS parallel in order to maintain a healthy distance from the intense winds closer to the centre of a series of intense depressions that have been thundering eastwards across the Southern Ocean. Ideally Joyon would like to maintain this position. Thus it looks like that Joyon will end up sailing through Bass Strait and then may continue across the Tasman Sea and sail through Cook Strait between New Zealand's north and south islands.

"There are very strong winds in the south and I do not wish to meet them. The large depression is likely to stall a little between Tasmania and the south of New Zealand. I am monitoring it closely as it will be necessary to decide this evening whether I will go south or if I will remain in the moderate winds (25 knots) that I have at 40degS and which course will be the best. I expect I will pass to the north of Tasmania, through Bass Strait and will cross the Tasman Sea in the direction of Cook Strait. If the depression passes a little more quickly, perhaps I will still head south. At the moment it doesn't look it will. This northerly route may be around 450-480 miles longer, but I would rather that than winds that are too strong for me."


The conditions over the last few days have already taken their toll on him. At the radio 'vacation' this morning Joyon sounded tired.

"I have just taken one reef in order to be able to speak to you, but I am monitoring the wind speed at the same time as we speak, because here the wind is changing rapidly and can increase very quickly. We have been making an average of around 20 knots and I have been on the helm for the last 10 hours. I am starting to feel tired. I will try to spend this evening recovering.

At present in France there is much talk of Joyon becoming the first person to sail around the world SINGLEHANDED in 80 days, but it is far to early to be making such predictions. Earlier this year Olivier de Kersauson and his team on Geronimo looked set to demolish the Jules Verne Trophy record, only for it to be completely scuppered as they negotiated their return up the Atlantic.