Clarisse Crémer in the Vendée Globe - Week 11: Last sprint to the finish
by L'Occitane Sailing Team 23 Jan 16:13 GMT
23 January 2025
Clarisse Crémer in the Vendée Globe week 11 © Clarisse Crémer / L'Occitane Sailing Team
Expected to reach the finish line of her second Vendée Globe from Sunday afternoon, Clarisse Crémer continues to fight for a place in the Top 10, while every day that separates her from deliverance seems to bring a new surprise to deal with, a new obstacle to overcome.
With a low-pressure trail now behind her, the skipper of L'Occitane en Provence is preparing to negotiate a final ridge of high pressure, before facing a final front, and finally getting it over with, as quickly and safely as possible.
Are the last miles of a round-the-world race always the longest? That's certainly the feeling aboard L'Occitane en Provence, as Clarisse Crémer continues to rack her brains to reach Les Sables d'Olonne. No straight and narrow final stretch, in steady winds, gliding along on a tidy sea, no.
"These last few days of the race are far from being a long quiet river," confirmed the sailor, admitting she was a little jealous of the conditions encountered by the first finishers. "The frontrunners don't realize how lucky they've been with the weather! The low-pressure system in the front group is now waiting for us, with lots of seas forecast behind the Azores anticyclone, around 5 metres of swell, and winds of up to 50 knots. Right now, I'm heading for a ridge of high pressure, before getting back into a fairly violent front tomorrow. It's a bit of a strange end to the race, hyper intense, with lots of weather phenomena in quick succession."
At the start of this winter, the North Atlantic has indeed decided to play with the nerves of the fleet still at sea, reserving them new twists and turns every day, sometimes violent, sometimes rather slow. The final days of the race will therefore require a high level of vigilance and extreme concentration, as fatigue becomes more and more prevalent and sea traffic more and more dense.
Crossing the finish line, no matter what
I'm feeling the accumulated fatigue, as well as a heightened fear of damage," explained Clarisse at the start of the week. Being so close to the finish, you have to be prepared for anything! I know I'll be able to handle any situation, but I have to admit that I'm kind of praying that my boat will make it to the end, because what I'm putting her through at the moment is a bit violent, and it's not over yet! With around 3 days to go, the main objective remains to cross the finish line and moor the boat to the pontoons at Port Olona.
But with Benjamin Dutreux still within reach and Samantha Davies on the prowl, the hunt for the Top 10 continues, and Clarisse Crémer, like her rivals, will be relentless in her pursuit of top honours. Forced to pay a 60-minute penalty on Monday, after the lead sealing one of her survival bags accidentally broke, the skipper of L'Occitane en Provence is more determined than ever to play the race to the finish. The race for the rankings, but also against a final low-pressure system that threatens to thwart her plans.
ETA: Sunday or Monday?
Indeed, it's a real storm that's lurking around the corner, expected on the evening of January 26 to 27, and which seems to be getting stronger all the time. A final test to overcome, before finally being able to look forward to the finish: "It's best not to think too much about the number of bumps left, otherwise you'll be disappointed. The idea is to take them one after the other. What's complicated is the uncertainty: will I make it on Sunday or not? As long as the low-pressure system, which is forecast for that day in the Bay of Biscay, continues to accelerate, there's even a chance that I'll have to slow down, and that's morally hard to take. Because deep down, you can't help projecting yourself onto an end date, even if you know you shouldn't. It's a kind of mental torture. It's a kind of mental torture, but we accept it, because it's the rule of the game."
A "mental torture" for which she has prepared herself, although sometimes tempted to think, for just a minute, of its imminent arrival. But when exactly? She herself doesn't really know, "lost in the corridors of time" as she likes to say: "Part of me is already in 'arrival' mode, which is never ideal. I have this feeling of being several people at once: impatient to touch down, a little nostalgic at the idea of this adventure coming to an end, and at the same time relieved at the idea of being on the verge of success. It's my speciality to go through all kinds of emotions: one moment you say to yourself that you wouldn't trade your place for anything in the world, and fortunately these moments are numerous. But sometimes, you'd give anything to get it over with. It's a bit of an emotional roller-coaster!
After more than 75 days at sea, the upheaval is understandable, all the more so in view of the incredible performance the sailor is about to achieve, after 18 months of intense preparation."I feel the fatigue disturbing me in all its forms, my gestures slower, my decisions less lucid... and my reactions more emotional!" she finally wrote, at the moment of sending a moving video, tears in her eyes and her throat tight at the idea of soon finding 'a few little people I miss... and one in particular!'... before being brought back to reality by a violent jolt, like an express return to the present moment. Soon it will be time to savor the moment. Sunday or Monday, it doesn't really matter, the most important thing is that she arrives, as quickly as possible, but in complete safety, to meet up with those who are waiting for her!