VDH heads south

Big winds but Frenchman 12 days ahead of westabout solo round the world record

Day 49 Position at 1300: 51°27 S / 149°52 W
Wind 35 knots from WNW. Sea state: very rough.
Temperatures: day 12°C / night 7°C / sea 10°C
Distance covered in the last 24 hours: 219 miles.
To the antemeridian 1,127 miles.
Lead over P Monnet 12 days

Hello

The wind is blowing a lot, but it's starting to ease off. On Pierre Lasnier's advice, I'm going to head down a bit towards 53° S to reach the heart of the low-pressure area, in order to have less wind... as in the north of the area, there is a lot. That's why the sea is so rough at the moment.

Last night, I crossed Philippe Monnet's course after 48 days and 17 hours. He took 60 days and 14 h to reach the same point, so that means a gap of exactly 11 days and 21 hours. I'm quite pleased, as this is far beyond my objective.

I hadn't seen many albatrosses for a while. Yesterday, I had three of them throughout the day celebrating Christmas with me, and they didn't seem to have any problem struggling against the 40-knot winds.

See you on Sunday,

JL VDH

A day with Lela Riguidel's cuddly toy, a little grey elephant.