Everything went well during your last stop (in Panama)?
Yes, even if the boat was entirely taken apart. That wasn't planned. But going through the canal is very expensive and dangerous for a vessel of only 400 kg, jostling with other vessels of 20-25 tons! It was much better to transport the catamaran.
What is the next part of your journey going to be like?
That will be a pretty slow leg to the Galapagos. A week of sailing 1200 miles. I'll have cold air from the south. It will be complicated with lots of short tacks. The water will become 10 C colder - it is 26 C here. So I'll have to dress properly, especially at night, and take care to change clothes twice a day. But I'm more afraid of heat than cold. If I were to be becalmed under a hot sun... Also I've had skin problems since Martinique, which have caused itching.
And what about the elements? (sea and weather conditions)
The worst is yet to come in the Pacific. I just collided with two tree trunks. Happily I was only doing 6 knots. But I broke the log (which keeps track of the miles sailed and then helps with sextant observations). So I'll have less precise positioning. I hope I don't miss the Galapagos. I'll make more sightings so as to figure my postition.
Already you've had two capsizings and terrible conditions; After that it makes me shiver to hear that the worst is yet to come...
Yes, I've had ten thousand reasons to halt everything. The Capsizes, the rudder breakage.. But I'm also having as much fun as a kid. I'm feeling good and I'm confident. I don't think about the two capsizes, but I'm very happy to have righted the boat. They told me that I'd never make it alone, but I made the necessary adjustments. Because most sailors who have tried this kind of crossing and who've capsized have been forced to abandon.
How long will you stay in the Galapagos?
This will be my shortest stopover. Without any technical problems I'll only be there three or four days. It's a place that has become very expensive. There a kind of racket organized for the price of gasoline, in particular.
You wanted to visit your brother and old crewmate in Raiatea, French Polynesia. Is that still planned?
Yes, that will no doubt be another leg, after my stop in the Marquesas. It's five years I've not seen him. I think we'll enjoy being together a week to ten days.
Since Vincent Beauvarlet backed out, you've been alone on board. All your stops have then been critical in terms of getting rest...
Being alone on the boat makes it unbelievably more difficult to handle. People don't realize what a difference it makes to be alone. The complexity is multiplied threefold. Not only with regard to sleep. Twohanded, when you sleep six hours, you really sleep. Here, you're never completely rested. I'm always fighting exhaustion, mainsheet in hand. On the stopovers I also don't have a team to help me as do the participants in the Volvo Ocean Race or the Solitaire du Figaro. Though I do have help from people on the spot, the bulk of the work is done by me alone. So the stops aren't really complete rest.
But still, you chose to continue alone...
I hadn't imagined that at the outset of the project. That's why I gave it a lot of thought before doing it. Doing it solo is something I'd never have started off trying. But since I've designed the boat from A to Z, it has given me a lot of confidence about the reliability and safety of the project.
How did you feel about the departure of Vincent?
I am in total incomprehension about that. I was never angry towards him. What he did is not worthy behavior between seafarers. This is not anyone I wish to see ever again. It's a shame that his ego did not allow him to simply quietly withdraw, rather than trying to scupper the project (editor's note: demanding repayment by Bourgnon, Beauvarlet had the boat seized, only allowing his former co-skipper to continue after he made a sequestered payment). Especially as it (the boat) is mine. I brought in 100% of sponsors.
What will happen next in that regard?
There will be a court case lasting five years, as with all French legal disputes. The lawyers will be beavering away. This whole business is more damaging for him than for me, even if I'm again in search of sponsors to finance my adventure. And the time lost has turned into an advantage. I made good use of the month in Martinique, to make improvements to the boat. So much the better, it turned out!
