17 February 2008
Final curtain for Temenos II this evening
Barring mishap, Temenos II is set to cross the finish line this evening at
around 1900 UT. With a lead of 237 miles over their pursuer, all things being
well Michèle and Dominique are ensured of holding onto 3rd place, even if in
sailing nothing is certain until the finish line is crossed...
We can well imagine that emotions will be running high in the minds of the two
co-skippers on this rather special day; sentiments midway between excitement,
impatience and happiness, the latter possibly mixed with a tinge of nostalgia.
The Mediterranean seems to want to leave the duo with a good impression after
what Michèle humorously referred to as the "Land-based Gibraltar fury" and for
their final night at sea they were served a calm breeze and smooth seas.
Contacted early this morning, Michèle recognised that the night had been a
rather remarkable one and admitted that she and Dominique had gently begun to
close the door on this Barcelona World Race.
“We didn’t want to spend the last night without catching a glimpse of each other
so we didn’t really sleep much and we did fewer watches than usual so the three
of us could be together. We wanted to share the moment together on deck,
watching the moon go down, keen for a little poetry in this cruel world!
(laughs)
We didn’t really talk much. We looked at each other and said to ourselves that
well, that’s that, we’ve done it. We left a little room for emotion and it was
as if we were closing the door on the race.
Right now we’re concentrating on trying to go fast so we can rediscover our
friends. Our minds are already on land with them and we’re in arrival mode.
We're hoping to arrive at restaurant time this evening and we’re keen to indulge
in the pleasures of land and above all see everyone again."
Last little message from Michèle
A circumnavigation of the planet, 6 oceans, and only 200 miles of the
Mediterranean before us... A trifling matter some would say, but for me, I’m
keen to make the most of these last 200 miles, in the tradition of what will
have been a circumnavigation in the search for adventure and performance.
I’m not letting anything pass by me unnoticed, and yet I'm already beginning to
look further forward, keen to assess it all, draw the nectar from this
adventure, but we have to reindex in the race, 'connected' to my 'darling'
counters and speed polars...
The analysis will be made on terra firma.
In this respect, I wonder if we’ll be victims of land sickness? Do others suffer
from that, or do they simply reel under the effects of the first beer, or maybe
both. Some landlubbers believe that land sickness was something invented by
sailors, to conceal a state of growing intoxication! For my part it's nothing to
do with alcohol I can assure you, so could it be psychosomatic then? In general,
each trip lasting more than a week at sea causes this curious ‘illness’. At its
base it’s not unpleasant; it’s a bit like walking on something soft, you zigzag
about and you tend to take up the whole road or the whole pontoon at least!
After passing the straits, with a real land-based Gibraltar fury, we were happy
to be able to come out of the survival-preservation mode, which we had adopted
for this rather laborious passage slap bang in the middle of the cargo ships.
The latter became almost ferocious in this 16 mile wide channel.
A gift from heaven, the following day has been calm and we've been able to
recuperate and consolidate the small repairs, including a rip in the indexsail
and a damaged batten car. As for me, well I've been able to rediscover the
Mediterranean that I love so much...
According to the whims of the weather, the first day in the Mediterranean has
been unanimously decreed as a day of minimum service. Our brief encounters on
deck that day were very furtive, as were our dialogues which, for a spell of
nearly 24 hours, went along the lines of:
Did you sleep well?
Yes
See you later, sleep well
Thanks
So, did you sleep well?
Yes
Sleep well…
The proximity of the Spanish coast is enabling us to close inexorably on the
‘exit’ and the reflexes of life on land, like charging mobile phones, are
putting in brief appearances again. It’s a bit disconcerting to see the Spanish
telephone networks flash up. They spotted us very quickly, which is reminiscent
of "Big brother is watching you"! We’d lost the habit, although thinking about
it maybe...
See you soon on terra firma!
Kate Jennings
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