I’m behind a depression, facing very unstable wind going from 15-18 knots to 35-40 and it’s therefore quite tricky to find the right sail combination and setting. It all changes every 15 minutes! The sea is pretty chaotic, the boat and myself are getting seriously shaken. But I’m very careful, and I’ve even managed to relax a bit. I don’t mind the noise, it’s part of the environment I’m used to. It’s also an interesting source of information when it comes to understanding what’s going on with the boat.

He sky is dark, with a few even darker clouds, and it’s raining a lot. When I woke up this morning, the olive oil was frozen so I’m assuming the temperature is about 5°C inside.

For someone like me, who’s really into sailing fast, it’s great to have an average speed of 25 knots for several consecutive hours, especially when you feel the balance of the boat is perfect and it’s moving effortlessly. Such a harmony is great to enjoy. On the other hand, there’s also quite a lot of tension, you get very suspicious about different things. But you have to trust your instinct, really, and mine was telling me I was enjoying the situation, MACIF was exactly the way she was supposed to be and there was no reason to change anything.  

Because of the time difference – 30 minutes a day – my body is having a hard time adapting and I feel like I’m jet-lagged. I guess I sleep a total of four to seven hours a day, which is good enough, I’m not tired. I insist on eating my meals very regularly, following the rhythm of the sun: Breakfast when the sun comes up, lunch at mid-day and dinner in the evening.   

I’m done with the Indian Ocean, marking the end of an important part of the race and I can say it went well as MACIF and I are still in a good position. I’ll soon be sailing south of Australia – an area with completely different weather conditions – with the Pacific Ocean open in front of me.

Hi all,

The picture shows what I discovered this morning in the cockpit, there were actually 7 or 8 of them on board.

Yesterday was quite calm but the wind came back today at the beginning of the night, around 6PM French time.

Everything's fine on board, I was able to get some well-deserved rest. The boat is going fast this morning with a nice breeze and waves going the right direction, making for good surfing sessions, but pretty wet ones too: Boots and oilskins are mandatory on the deck…

The outside temperature is very pleasant: 19°C, hard to believe! Last night was chillier, though – 8°C – but it was still bearable.

My hands hurt, they're so dry… I applied Neutrogena hand cream on them (It was an excellent idea, thanks for putting some on bard!) and I can definitely feel the difference this morning!

Have a good Friday all, and godspeed!

Arnaud.