First albatros of the trip

Jean-Luc van den Heede into the Roaring Forties

Day 27. Position at 1 p.m.: 40°42’S / 55°12’W
Wind 20 knots from N. Sea slight.
Temperatures: day 16°C / night 9°C / sea 11°C
Distance covered in the last 24 hours: 189 miles.
To Cape Horn 1,043 miles.
Lead over Monnet: 5 days and 1 hour.

Hi there,

I’m down in the forties now. As if by chance, I saw my first albatross yesterday. Seeing these birds fly is always magical. I can still remember the first I saw on Let’s Go during my first circumnavigation in 1986. I watched it for quite a while. Even today, I still don’t understand how they manage to fight against the wind without flapping their wings...

Aboard Adrien, life goes on, and I am busy with everything on board, setting the sails, making adjustments, keeping watch, doing any maintenance, then there’s the weather, communications, mail etc. etc.

Yesterday, I tried to move some weight towards the stern to limit the amount of shock Adrien receives each time she slams down after a wave. Earlier this year I put as much together around the keel as possible, but I have just decided to remove everything that was still in front of the mast. I’m going to take the advantage of sailing downwind to finish that this afternoon.

See you tomorrow,

JL VDH

A day with Clément PARIS’s cuddly toy, a stag with some fine antlers.