At the beginning of the week, after his passage from Cape Horn, Jean-Luc Van den Heede gave a conference call with the organization of the race at Les Sables d'Olonne. On the phone a VDH who seemed in great shape, and who had want to talk and tell his adventure.

Routine

"There is a certain routine on board, but of course it's a long time because on the map we do not move fast, there is still road. I just put away the map that goes from the arrival in Patagonia to the Falkland Islands. I pulled out the one from the South Atlantic and there, you tell yourself that it's going fast but when you see that you only progress a little centimeter on the map! I do not have any anxiety about the number of days left, but I have not returned because I have more than 6,500 miles left! Today as yesterday, the weather is idyllic, there is practically no more sea. There is sun, we are on the open, we advance without forcing, without working the rigging. My anxiety is more about the resistance of my rig than the number of days spent at sea. I have three layers of polar, but I have just passed over fiftieths, so life is beautiful. I'm trying not to crash into the anticyclone in front of me ... but it's not going to be easy. We will manage. "

I saw a fishing boat that had been reported to me by an amateur radio with whom I am in contact at the Falkland Islands, it was the night after Cape Horn but from the Strait of Foveaux under New Zealand, I had not seen anything. These are uncrowded latitudes, people are not crazy (laughs). "

slowness

"My best days are 170 miles, I've averaged 10 knots, according to Don McIntyre. It was under South Africa, I went for the current but it was exceptional. I wanted to go west of the Falklands because I know there are currents pushing us north and when we have boats that are not fast. "

Cape Horn

"The passage of the Horn was difficult, first the descent from the moment when I patched my mast as I could. I suffered two depressions in a row, I thought that to pass the Horn, it would go but not at all. The day before the passage, I had a new hard depression, they announced waves of 10 meters, I did not have waves of 10 meters but from 5 to 6 meters. In the Pacific, there is constantly 3 meters of swell. When I climbed into the mast, I had 3 to 3.50 meters of swell and so working up there with this swell was not easy. I stayed dry canvas for a little while. I got closer to the coast to try to have less swell, less sea. When I passed under the cape, it was muscular. I had two difficult passages: in 92 during the second Vendée Globe and there. "

Food

"During my first Vendée Globe in '89, I dreamed of sandwiches! There, I took bread that is not bad with pâté Henaff and I eat enough like that. I can see myself with a plate of seafood, a spider (laughs). A rare meat, boiled eggs would be good too! We will discuss it later. This afternoon, I just ate a box of pâté at the entrance, then a beef carrots, plus my little quarter of camembert as every day and finally figs. The evening of Cape Horn, I made myself a little terrine prepared by my mother-in-law and squid made by my friend Noirmoutier. Finally, I have on board a box of Corned Beef signed by Robin Knox-Johnston to open in case of emergency! I left on July 1 with 240 days of food, which is still a ton of food, 300 liters of mineral water and 50 liters of cubitainer pine three liters! "

Score, Thursday, November 29

1. Jean-Luc Van den Heeede (FRA) at 6,291 miles from the finish 2. Mark Slats (NED) at 1,210 miles from the first 3. Uku Randmaa (EST) at 3,315 miles 4. Susie Goodall GBR) at 3652 miles 5. Istvan Kopar (USA) at 4296 miles 6. Tapio Lehtinen (FIN) at 5651 miles 7. Mark Sinclair (Aus) at 7626 miles 8. Igor Zaretskiy (RUS) at 8694 miles