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Nandor Fa – Ship’s Log 6th dec: match racing with Stéphane LD. The day of Kito’s accident.

“We’re doing a match race with Stéphane LD side by side since yesterday afternoon…” “My heart aches for Kito, this is unbelivable, hard to find words. I hope that the rescue will go all right!”

6th Dec. 06:00 UTC,

Today, we’ve been sailing for exactly for one month but it feels like if we had just started last week. I’ve already felt this strange duality several times, that sometimes just minutes seem to pass very slowly, but the weeks just race by quickly.

We’re doing a match race with Stéphane LD side by side since yesterday afternoon. We can see each other on the AIS so we know what the other one is doing. We’re on a one-tack ride with the A3, 20 SMs above the ice border. The question is: who’s able to maintain the direction longer? I’m sailing on 143° TWA in 24 – 26 knots of wind, and the ice exclusion zone is close. I’m going to have to replace the A3 otherwise I lose too much towards the border. And if I hoist the J2, with that I’ll have to go above 25°, otherwise I slow down. The forecast says the wind is becoming more Northerly and increases.

I took down the A3 and put it in the boat, I won’t be needing it for a while. I rolled out the J2 and since we’re sailing on 120° TWA, I rolled out the J3 behind it. So right now I have three sails up. This is typically the kind of situation where the stay can be useful and it won’t mix up the wind for the J2.

Half a mile below me passed Stéphane LD, I took footages of him. We talked on the radio again, I told him there are some photos of him here. He took some of me too – he said. An Imoca can be amazing to look at when it’s running with 20 knots – and we do go with 20 knots at times.

About food:

Yesterday evening I opened my first bottle of coke. I’d been saving it as a precious treasure until now, because I don’t have much of it. My dear friends went to the grocery store before the start to buy some things that were missing, they got me four 1,5 litre-bottles of coke. I’ll try to make them last. It’s gotten pretty cold since we’re sailing on the edge of the ice zone, 10°C inside the cabin. I don’t know how far exactly we’re from the icebergs but they usually include a 60 mile-distance when determining the exclusion border. As a result of the cold, today I’ve eaten my first double-portion. I have double portions prepared for each day of the race but so far I didn’t need it, I was good with one breakfast, later some elevenses, then a cooked meal, and something for dinner. But it seems like I need more calories now that the temperature fell.

Oh my gosh, what’s happening to the fleet! Something hit Kito’s keel 130 miles from the Crozet island and he’s waiting for rescue. He’s an experienced skipper, and it was a well-prepared good boat. It’s just horrible. My heart aches for Kito, this is unbelivable, hard to find words. I hope that the rescue will go all right!

I keep the 90° towards East with one reef in the main and the J2. It doesn’t look easy what’s ahead of us, the wind is going to increase and turn behind us. We’re gonna be busy, but hopefully we’ll progress well.

Position on 6th dec. 16:50 UTC: 43° 35,7′ S, 032° 25′ E.