You have to stay on the attack - that's the mindset of Nicolas Lunven

Nicolas Lunven on Holcim-PRB - 10th Vendée Globe © Julien Champolion - polaRYSE / Holcim-PRB

It's the 30th day of racing in the Vendée Globe, and while Nicolas Lunven admits he hasn't been bored for a second since leaving Les Sables d'Olonne, you can sense a touch of fatigue in his voice as he describes the harsh conditions of the Indian Ocean.

The atmosphere is cold and gray, and it's impossible to fully escape the persistent and relentless humidity. Even though the skipper of Holcim-PRB has added a personal touch to his cockpit by using a Vendée Globe flag to shield his navigation and living space, it's a struggle to fend off the relentless assaults of a constantly raging ocean.

"Life on board is pretty complicated because the sea isn't necessarily high, but the waves are very short. It feels like being stuck in a washing machine drum. The boat gets shaken in every direction. Sometimes we surf at 30 knots only to crash the bow into the wave ahead and come to an abrupt stop!

"You have to hold on constantly because the last thing you want is to go flying inside the boat. Even sitting at my seat by the navigation table, I have to hold on, or I'll end up airborne. I might as well strap myself to the seat.

"And sleeping? Don't even get me started... I just tried to heat a meal, and by some miracle, it's still in the pot, but I don't know how much longer it will stay there. It's pretty rough!" explained the sailor, currently in sixth place and sailing neck and neck with Jérémie Beyou.

Given the conditions, it's easy to see why the ever-optimistic skipper is feeling a bit frustrated, especially since his decision to take a northern route hasn't paid off as expected. At the front of the fleet, Charlie Dalin crossed the second major milestone of the Vendée Globe yesterday: Cape Leeuwin. The leader has a 180-mile lead over his closest rival and nearly 700 miles over Holcim-PRB. The gap is substantial, and all of Nicolas's tireless efforts in recent days have yielded little reward.

"I'd like to be a little closer to the front of the fleet! The disappointment is that I went around the big depression that passed through—because with the timing, it was impossible to stay ahead—and I wasn't supposed to lose that much ground! It's been a series of bad breaks; we didn't get the conditions we were hoping for and ended up losing a lot of ground.

"We should've stayed more or less in the game with Yoann Richomme and Thomas Ruyant, but now we're clearly behind. And the small group of Sam Goodchild, Paul Meilhat, and Yannick Bestaven has even caught up to us! So yeah, it's not great..." analyzed Nicolas.

Still, the solo sailor remains fully focused and is not letting up. Over the past 24 hours, he has clawed back around 130 miles on the leader. Most importantly, he knows the Southern Ocean is full of surprises, so he's staying vigilant.

"It's not over! It's not that things might happen; they will happen. So, you have to stay on the attack—that's my mindset!" he said this morning. By midday tomorrow, Nicolas can look forward to crossing Cape Leeuwin himself, continuing his journey south of Australia aboard a boat that remains in good condition.