“from the outside your race seemed really smooth, right from the start till the finish… but we know exactly, that the ocean does not give a single mile as a gift. … In the dawn at 04 30 UT we crossed the line of our route on the way down, so the circumnavigation is practically completed, we just need to sail home. “

Nándor Fa kipper’s Log March26

We’ve got company. He’s the exact same type of bird as the one who landed onboard St. Jupát [edit: the boat Nandor has sailed around the world with for the first time, with his Hungarian friend József Gál] back then, in the exact same area. He’s very peculiar, maybe he’s just tired, or simply his nature is like this. Dark, greyish brown feather and long, sharp black beak, wild look. He landed on top of the camera on the antenna console, trying to balance. C carefully caught him, we took a few pictures and put him on the deck which is much more stable and comfortable. Since then, he’s been sitting there, travelling with us. First I barely dared walking past him, not to scare him but he doesn’t worry, he’s resting.

Today Cheminées Poujolat has arrived, the winner of the race. We congratulated them in a short e-mail, they’ve done a fantastic performance, they deserve the success.

Dear Jean and Bernard,

from the outside your race seemed really smooth, right from the start till the finish. Your wind-shifts went accurately, just easily leaping from one cyclone to the next one and then sailing on. One just wonders: what do these two guys know so much better?

Because, okay, some people are more lucky than others but during such a long course, theoretically these luck factors are equal in the end. We could also say, your boat can already find its way through the oceans with eyes closed, it’s done it so many times – and if you have enough food, drinks and cigarettes, you can survive those few months.

But us, who are also sailing here in the fleet, in the same race as you did, we know exactly, that the ocean does not give a single mile as a gift. Every little piece of the course is hard work, lots of knowledge and experience – just as much to you as to anybody else. There are plenty of technical problems that arise later at sea, many hopeless fights, it takes non-stop work to keep the boat alive.

So, after almost three months of fighting, you truly deserve the comfort of land, the port and the appreciation and love of people around you. Enjoy it!

Congratulations from the bottom of my heart, for your safe arrival!

Nándor, from onboard “Spirit of Hungary”

In the dawn at 04 30 UT we crossed the line of our route on the way down, so the circumnavigation is practically completed, we just need to sail home.

In the morning our bird had organized his feathers, shook himself as if he was stretching, and flew away, with only a few stains left behind for us.

26th March, 20 30 UT, position: 20° 17,2′ S, 029° 08,9′ W.

Conrad Colman co-skipper’s log: Ship’s log March 26th Postition 21 Degrees 27 S 29 Degrees 35 West  Status… Double circumnavigator !!!

Just a few hours after Cheminees Poujoulat made it back to Barcelona to crown Bernard and Jean as the kings of this edition of the BWR, we crossed a pretty satisfying land mark too. We just crossed our outward track, heading north eastwards past our route from the 22nd of Januarywhen we were heading southwards, full of enthusiasm for the coming adventures in the roaring fourties and furious fifties. While we haven’t yet closed the loop by making it back to Barcelona, I am now a two time circumnavigator which is a nice feather in my cap!

Thinking about this while watching the sun come up I was reminded of a passage in “Around the World in 80 Days” which I have copied below.

“In journeying eastward he had gone towards the sun, and the days therefore diminished for him as many times four minutes as he crossed degrees in this direction. There are three hundred and sixty degrees, multiplied by four minutes, gives precisely twenty four hours- that is, the day unconsciously gained. In other words, while Phileas Fogg, going eastward, saw the sun pass the meridian eighty times, his friends in London only saw it pass the meridian seventy nine times.”

Thus, in chasing the new day on the eastern horizon, and passing the international date line from west to east, we have lost a day, having been at sea for one less sunset and sunrise than the clock in Barcelona would suggest. This was the quirk that almost upset our protagonist Phileas Fogg in Jules Verne’s classic novel. Perhaps this was the first, and last, documented example of the international date line being written into a novel’s cliff hanger ending!

We were not alone in the moment that we girdled the globe, as we had a hitchhiker. I would welcome any keen ornothologists who are able to point out what kind of bird this is, but its certainly prevanent in these parts because I took a similar photo of one perched on the life lines of Cessna when I was in the Global Ocean Race. It appears completely at ease in our company although was having difficulty with its perch on the back of the boat so I picked him up and put him on the deck to be more stable. Safely ensconced by the main traveller track, our feathered fellow leaned back on his tail an so passed the night in a relaxed tripod fashion. Evidently refreshed by the relaxed evening, he sprung to life with the sun’s appearance and, after a thorough preening, left us without so much as a squawk of thanks.

So, Nandor and I are alone again, heading northwards with another circumnavigation chalked up on life’s log book.

FR: Carnet de bord du 26 mars Position : 21° 27’ Sud 29° 35’ Ouest Statut : double « tourdumondiste » !!!

Seulement quelques heures après que Cheminées Poujoulat ait rejoint Barcelone pour le sacre de Bernard et Jean comme rois de cette édition de la Barcelona World Race, nous avons-nous aussi passé une marque de parcours plutôt symbolique. Nous avons juste croisé notre « trace » de janvier dernier, quand nous filions vers le Sud, avec l’enthousiasme d’aller affronter les 40èmes rugissants et furieux 50èmes ! Bien que nous n’ayons pas encore bouclé la boucle en revenant à Barcelone, j’ai donc 2 tours du monde à mon actif et ça me fait tout de même quelque chose !

J’y pensais en regardant le soleil se lever et ça m’a rappelé un passage de « Autour du monde en 80 jours » que j’ai sur ma tablette et lu bien des fois :

« En voyageant vers l’Est, il s’était rapproché du soleil et les jours avaient donc diminué pour lui puisque chaque fois qu’il progressait d’un degré vers l’Est, il perdait 4 minutes. Il y a 360 degrés, multiplié par 4 minutes, cela donne précisément 24 heures – c’est le jour gagné inconsciemment. Formulé autrement, alors qu’en allant vers l’Est Phileas Fogg avait vu le soleil se lever 80 fois, ses amis à Londres ne l’avaient vu se lever que 79 fois. »

Du coup, Spirit of Hungary en allant vers l’Est puis en revenant vers l’Ouest, a vu un coucher de soleil et un lever de moins que les gens à Barcelone. Cette bizarrerie avait bien ennuyé Phileas Fogg, le protagoniste de ce classique de Jules Vernes.

Pour passer ce point particulier, nous avons eu la chance d’avoir un visiteur à bord. S’il y a des ornithologues parmi vous qui peuvent me dire de quel type d’oiseau il s’agit, je suis preneur mais c’est marrant car j’avais déjà pris une photo d’un oiseau de cette espèce lors de mon précédent tour du monde sur Cessna Citation en 2012. Il avait l’air complètement à l’aise avec nous mais avait un peu de mal à tenir sur son perchoir à l’arrière du bateau donc je l’ai déposé sur le pont pour qu’il puisse se reposer un peu et il s’est installé confortablement à côté du chariot de grand-voile où il a passé la nuit. Ayant repris des forces et après un petit moment passé à lissé ses plumes il a repris son envol à l’aube.

Nandor et moi sommes à nouveau en tête à tête, cap au Nord, avec chacun un nouveau tour du monde à notre actif !