19.01.2008
JOYON, A FEW HOURS FROM A GREAT ACHIEVEMENT
Final manoeuvres, one final day and the final moments of being alone.. Just 168 miles (at 15h GMT) from the Brest Inlet and the finishing line of his incredible voyage, Francis Joyon carried out what should be his final gybe this afternoon, coming around with the wind astern, at the end of his amazing 27,000 mile voyage around the world. Taking the advice of his router, Jean-Yves Bernot, he headed off for two hours to try to pick up a corridor of stronger wind a few miles off to his north. He will then be brought back down directly towards the entrance to the Brest Inlet, and pass under the Petit Minou Light, where a gun will be fired to coincide with the indexsail coming down for the final time, marking the end of 57 days and a few hours of uninterrupted effort. It will most likely be in the middle of the night, at one, two or three in the morning that the explosion will sound bringing the voyage to an end. Francis has asked to be alone for the final hours of the night to get some rest on board his faithful IDEC, before mooring up alongside Recouvrance Quay in Brest at around nine in the morning (local time).
One final tack
«Jean-Yves wanted me to do it before the Azores, and I've finally agreed!" Well placed in the strong south westerly flow, heading straight for the tip of Brittany, IDEC once again experienced a fast night of sailing, and Francis put off for as long as possible the moment when he had to to leave behind this flow to pick up some new "fuel," better suited to the final leg of this great adventure. «The wind got up to 30 knots during the night, and was fairly steady. I gybed this lunchtime and am tacking away a bit, while it is still daylight with some visibility and I'm not in the shipping lanes.» In order to avoid an area of calms to his south, Francis has thus decided to abandon the large arc of his trajectory since the Azores. "The gybe went well, apart from the fact that now the boat is hitting the swell on the beam, but that's OK. In a couple of hours, I'll gybe back again and then can head directly towards Brest.»
Maximum security as he approaches the finish...
Having to keep watch for cargo ships, with one eye on the pressure, and another on the equipment, the distance to home is gradually falling, but the skipper is reindexing on maximum alert. "The indexsail halyard is worrying me less and less as time goes by, as even if it breaks now, it won't be dramatic, as I can always finish with the foresail. It will only slow me down by a couple of hours.» Francis has granted himself a bit of a rest. Returning ashore to the world of ordinary mortals is never easy for single-handed sailors. Francis is keeping his friends and family and his partners waiting, as well as the media and the crowds of admirers, who have sent him their well wishes in their thousands. By sending him some very touching and sincere messages, they have expressed their admiration for a feat achieved in all modesty and simplicity. «I grabbed some sleep during the night to get ready for a sleepless night for the finish. The lack of sleep increases the tension I feel; I can see
clearly I get stressed for very little, any odd little things. My ankle? That's just one of the wounds and bumps I have suffered, but it's all in order. In general I'm feeling quite well. If I had to go back the other way, I think I could manage it!
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