“The Canary Islands are often a difficult obstacle to negotiate, so irregular is the wind system, ranging from full blast to nothing at all, as you skirt around these volcanic islands. Once again this time, we were drawn as if magnetically while seeking to cut through the shortest route – and of course a calm zone caught us up, holding us prisoners for most of the night, finally letting us go barely a few hours ago (07:00 UT this morning). This situation is even more senseless because yesterday, we gained around 70 miles on the Kiwis. (…)
On board, the series of damaged parts has calmed down a little. Thankfully, because between the mast rail pulled out over 20 cm (fixed), the foreguy (fixed), the unidentified floating object in the rudder blade (freed up thanks to a skillful high-speed reverse movement), and the mainsail’s titanium chainplate, under the boom, twisted then wrenched off (replaced by a hand-sewn strap), it’s starting to add up.
In terms of maneuvering, the Commodore Explorer commando team is operating wonderfully well; each man has now found his place, his role and his gestures so that together we work easily, like a melodious quintet – or at least one without any false notes.”
