For his fifth Vendée Globe and before rounding Cape Horn for the seventh time, Jean Le Cam is keeping in good spirits despite the unusual conditions there have been in the Pacific. The skipper of Yes We Cam! should be should reach Cape Horn in a similar time to that of his first one which he did (in the lead) during the 2004 solo round the world race (56 days 17 hours and 13 seconds).
"It's clear that we are making progress! Benjamin (Dutreux) is two miles away. And me, I have shifted a little bit to the North: if you want to sleep well, it is better to have at least a one 100 miles distance between us. I am able to be on a course that suits me well because the wind is going to turn a little to the right.
Each passage of Cape Horn is special, but this time there will be wind! And that's not great. Especially for those who will get have to keep up ahead, as we will have less wind. And then, it will come in from behind! You do not want to hang around there.
The Pacific Ocean’s state depends on the weather systems it is subjected to, but this time, we can say that the first part was calm but that it has been really very agitated afterwards. The situations were brutal with these big changes; lots of wind, then swinging from the South and then the North! It is moving around, and it is a bit annoying... Now, for example, there is no big Pacific swell.
Twleve hours ago, we were in total calm... Now there's a residual swell, but it's virtually nothing. The situation is not unusual. While it's 4.30 am UTC, it will get dark here soon, so it's still the 31st of December... Well, I think so! Because it changes every day... Cape Horn is in about four days. If there's a storm we will take it slow.
Happy New Year!”