Good Comeback for Fabrice Amedeo in This Third Week of Vendée Globe
It has been 3 weeks already since Fabrice Amedeo’s departure from Sables d’Olonne. Following his second sailing, the mariner was able partially to reduce the gap with respect to the other yachts.
Find all of Fabrice’s news every Friday.
Week 3 / #3SEMAINEDUVDG
Small Break for Fabrice Start of This Week
After a difficult start, the approach to the Cape Verde Peninsula was characterized by a long-awaited drop in the winds providing an opportunity to rest and to concentrate on a couple small technical glitches.
“Being able to catch up with the pack from all the way back also makes me feel good.”
Our mariner savors this feeling of freedom and lightness that is peculiar to life on the high seas in the southern hemisphere.
Tuesday, November 24: Our Mariner Heading for the Doldrums
The trade winds have died down leaving Fabrice Amedeo behind to make his eighth crossing of the Doldrums. The crossing of this final obstacle on his way to the Southern Hemisphere and the southern seas was by no means certain, and our mariner is impatient to be on his way.
The Doldrums, also known as the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), is located between 8 and 3 degrees North and is a very unstable area from the weather standpoint. Sailors passing through can get stuck there in areas of calm or else encounter violent squalls.
Friday, November 27, 2020 – Onet Group
- Friday 27 November 2020
Wednesday, November 25:
Fabrice Amedeo Moving Forward Slowly But Surely
After an announcement regarding a possible stroke of luck for Fabrice in this Vendée Globe that the Doldrums seemed ready to be crossed, the Ocean decided that it did not want to let anyone guess its plans. Our skipper battled erratic winds to travel for miles at speeds approaching zero.
Fabrice crossed the Equator on 11/25/2020 at UTC 22:38 (23:38 French Time), and is now in the Southern Hemisphere, navigating “upside down” from this moment on.
A friendly message from Jérémie Beyou was received on board: “Whoa, you had to pay your dues again tonight, my friend.” The other mariner looked on with compassion on Fabrice’s almost nonexistent progress the night of Wednesday into Thursday. Almost at a standstill, our skipper had to look out for the slightest breeze, to move sails from side to side every 10 minutes because this meager breath of wind changed direction all the time.
“Then, the sky cleared up, the stars appeared in the small hours, and the wind started gently blowing in the right direction, the direction of the trade winds, to free me from the claws of the Doldrums that must have held me for three days.”
At this hour,
our mariner is 25th and sailing off the coast of Brazil.
“The joy of being through and being there has already erased the aches and the doubts of these past few hours.”