VDH's lead extends over record

Weather fronts, seafood risotto and divine sunsets

Day 87. Position at 1 p.m.: 38°55'S / 41°21'E
Wind 25 knots from S. Moderate sea.
Temperatures: day 22° / night 15° / sea 18°
Distance covered in the last 24 h: 200 miles.
To the Cape of Good Hope 1,134 miles.
Lead over Monnet: 20 days and 12 hours.

Hello

The lead over Philippe Monnet is starting to widen again, and that is something that really cheers me up! Of course, today I slowed down a little as the front went over and I sailed for quite a while upwind. There's no way I'm going to cover 300 miles everyday in this direction! But I'm nibbling away a little everyday, and it's not over yet, because my predecessor's progress wasn't that brilliant this week.

This morning, I discovered a nice little squid on the deck. Of course, it wasn't a giant squid, but it did measure around 6 inches or so, which was big enough to put it in the saucepan to accompany a seafood risotto. I'm sometimes asked whether I fish. No, not down here, but when I pick up the southeasterly trade winds, I'll certainly be getting out my equipment to try to catch a big sea bream.

Yesterday evening, I took advantage of a magnificent sunset. The rays went right down to the sea through the clouds, and it was like looking at the religious pictures from my youth, which symbolised a divine apparition. It was very beautiful!

See you tomorrow,

JL VDH