Skipper-Portrait
2.Video v. B.Stamm 12.11.08
17.11.2008
Courage is the light of adversity*
Cheminées Poujoulat has been the fastest boat in the fleet over the past 24
hours. Obviously Bernard Stamm is not sailing in the same weather system as
the majority of his rivals, but no matter. To find speed again after the two
calm zones, which he has had to tackle since leaving Les Sables, has given
the skipper of Cheminées Poujoulat a welcome boost.
It was worth it
Bernard Stamm is virtually bringing up the rear of the fleet in the Vendée
Globe, a difficult scenario to deal with for someone who had originally set
out to win. “Since the start, I’ve kept on trying to find a reason to sail
this race. Nothing ever goes as planned, but to find myself in this
situation there are obviously many, many reasons why I wouldn’t have signed
up had I known this was what they were offering. I’m rather like an observer
in a race I’ve been preparing furiously for, along with my team, for months
or even years on end. All of a sudden I found myself wondering what it’s all
for?… Wondering how I’d feel if I hadn’t even tried was likely to reindex
with me for a very long time, so that is what all this is for”.
Some superb conditions
Cheminées Poujoulat is now slipping along under spinnaker and full indexsail.
She’s heading towards the archipelago of Madeira, which is likely to be left
to starboard. “There are 25 knots of breeze, Cheminées Poujoulat is slipping
along downwind with just the right amount of early cross seas to make things
a bit more intense. It’s a bit lively on deck, but we’re making good
headway. I’m trying to sail cleanly, by making as few mistakes as possible.
I hope to claw back a few places as certain boats are within my grasp. For
the others, further ahead, it’s a different story. There’s still a long way
to go though, and there will be complications in terms of the weather so
nothing is impossible. In prosperity: prudence. In adversity: patience”.
In the past 24 hours, Cheminées Poujoulat has stopped losing ground and has
made up 40 miles on the fleet.
*Pliny the younger
Translated by Kate Jennings – Expression
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