Since the beginning of the afternoon we have been under a lot of stress, at high speed with the sails hoisted high. In sum, it's rock & roll! It's dark outside and the helmsman can only see the lights of the countless stars (did someone go making some recently?), the phosphorescent herringbone pattern on the belly of the spinnaker and the electronic dials lit up in red. Apart from this, it's pitch black and you need to be quite skillful to charge along at 20 knots on a very precise course, with so little to go on. The bridge is frequently submerged by a powerful wave of seawater, which breaks against the face of the poor helmsman, who is tense because of the risk of running off course, which would be fatal. Inside, the atmosphere is cosier, not so wet, but much louder. It is difficult to fall asleep. We are switching places every 2 hours - at least for tonight.
Groupe Bel & cow
10.01.2011 Back to news
