Clarisse Crémer in the Vendée Globe - Week 10: Sailing in the trade winds
by L'Occitane Sailing Team 17 Jan 17:43 GMT
17 January 2025
Clarisse Crémer in the Vendée Globe week 10 © Clarisse Crémer / L'Occitane Sailing Team
Back in the northern hemisphere since Wednesday, January 15, when she crossed the equator "back" at 07h21'16'' UTC, Clarisse Crémer is finally benefiting from steadier winds, enabling her to continue to lengthen her stride towards Les Sables d'Olonne.
Firmly anchored at the head of her group, in 12th position, the skipper of L'Occitane en Provence intends to play every card in her possession to finish her second round-the-world voyage in the best possible way.
Trade winds at last! After ten days or so of dealing with the whims of Aeolus and Neptune, struggling to cross a South Atlantic with particularly unstable conditions, Clarisse Crémer can finally look forward to more favorable winds. Since the passage of the stationary cold front at Cabo Frio, off Rio, the skipper of L'Occitane en Provence had not been spared by Mother Nature's moods. "Wish me luck... the front is moving northwards at the same time as me!" she declared as she tacked her way along the Brazilian coast, waiting for a low-pressure system that seemed never to arrive. A most difficult situation to deal with mentally, not knowing which file to devote oneself to or when to rest.
But the skipper, just as physically exhausted by the incessant changes of course and sails, held firm, taking the opportunity for her first well-deserved shower after 52 days without one, and using all her ingenuity to (literally) move mountains of soggy cloth with the strength of her arms. "I didn't get much sleep last night... At this point, I don't know how I'm going to survive the next 48 hours... I know I'm going to, I just don't know how yet!" she wrote, aware that once the front had passed, there was no guarantee that conditions would improve.
Dancing with the squalls
Indeed, some 48 hours later, erratic winds and sweltering heat gave way to violent storms, leaving Clarisse with "the very unpleasant impression of playing Russian roulette with my life". Aboard an electronically-equipped sea-going machine, of which she had already had the bitter experience of being deprived, she confessed that "the randomness of lightning striking your mast and frying everything on board turns my stomach". What a relief it was, then, to leave this troubled zone behind her, when she found the squalls so characteristic of the inter-tropical zone marking the end of the southern hemisphere!
A paradoxical joy, as the Doldrums can be so unforgiving and seem so far away, as the frontrunners crossed the finish line. But it was a genuine joy as Clarisse, who had managed to make up over 1000 miles on her rivals in front, rejoiced "by proxy" at the incredible performance of Charlie Dalin and Yoann Richomme, the great winner and worthy runner-up in this 10th edition of the Vendée Globe: "It's a joy that's both deeply empathetic - I'm just happy to imagine their emotions - and a little interested. If they can do it, then I can do it too. One day my turn will come, that's the promise behind these magnificent moments of arrival. But it's a fragile promise, because with almost two weeks to go, I know that anything can still happen...".
Whose turn is it?
Expected to cross the finish line around January 26 or 27, Clarisse knows that nothing is over until the line is crossed. The sailor was the victim of a major scare on Wednesday, having narrowly missed the risk of collision with a cargo ship, and knows this only too well. And those who are still ahead of her on the North Atlantic playground won't deny it either, as they all suffered damage of varying degrees of severity. There will be plenty of opportunities to climb the rankings, with the competition at the rear always on the lookout, and "Clacla" always giving her all to make the most of every opportunity!