Clarisse Crémer in the Vendée Globe - Week 1
by L'Occitane Sailing Team 16 Nov 2024 02:25 NZDT
15 November 2024
Clarisse Crémer starting the Vendée Globe © Marc Llyod / Alea
Five days and five nights - a mix of magic and hell
In just five days of the Vendée Globe, Clarisse Crémer has already experienced as many adventures and upsets as she could hope to experience in an entire transatlantic race. Between the emotions of the start, the first miles of contact and adjustments, the first front and the first damage, the skipper of L'Occitane en Provence has experienced a particularly testing start to her second solo round the world voyage. Here's the lowdown in five facts, over five days and nights, between hell and magic.
Quiet start for a gradual warm-up
Despite very light wind conditions in the start zone, with less than 5 knots of E'ly NE'ly wind, the skipper of L'Occitane en Provence managed to position herself well at the 'Top' and picked up some strengthening breezes in the first few miles of the race. Three hours after the start, in 13th position, she finally spread her wings, benefiting from her choice of a northerly trajectory, and rapidly gained ground to the west to find some steadier airs.
After 24 hours in "very nice conditions", which enabled her to get back into the swing of things and find her rhythm, she drew her first positive conclusions: "I haven't always sailed very well, but I've learnt a lot, everything's going well on board and I'm trying to take each day one at a time."
Surprise front at Cape Finisterre
In contact with Samantha Davies, Clarisse was able to enjoy a controlled start as she rounded the tip of Spain. Cautious but committed, she sketched out a strong trajectory, performed a series of manoeuvres at a controlled pace and was not shaking a finger on Tuesday night when she opted for a perilous passage inside the DST of Cape Finisterre.
Solidly positioned in the top fifteen, Clarisse Crémer was able to continue on her way smoothly, with an easing wind ahead offering her the opportunity to get some rest before tackling the first strategic test of the passage of the Atlantic islands. "I wasn't flamboyant, but I sailed cleanly and didn't make any mistakes: I'm pleased with myself!"
Gennaker woes and the night from hell
But on land as at sea, trouble often arrives when you least expect it. On Wednesday morning, in lighter winds but rough seas, a furling line issue onboard freed the largest sail on board, the MH0, a large 300m2 gennaker, which unexpectedly unfurled. After a long and intense battle with this flying giant and against the elements, Clarisse Crémer had to admit defeat and let her best ally in light airs go into the water. "It was either that or the mast fall down," she deplored, ashamed of this gift to the sea.
In the end, the sail is nothing compared to the technical hazards, and once the frustration of not having been able to do anything had passed, the 34-year-old quickly came to terms with the loss and her drop in the rankings (26th), declaring: "It's down to bad luck, the wrong part breaking at the wrong time... The timing wasn't good, right at the start of the race, I lost quite a bit of energy, and it puts you in a bad mood!"
Undercover arachnid passenger
With her 'night from hell' behind her, Clarisse Crémer was faced with a new challenge: petrified of spiders, she confided last October that she was afraid she'd picked up a few from her attic while packing her bags of clothes. A bit of a joker, the skipper didn't think that was such a good thing, as on Wednesday afternoon she came face to face with the incarnation of her worst nightmare: a particularly imposing specimen of hairy arachnid - who must have been wondering how she or he got there.
Having managed to get rid of her unwanted guest, evacuated to the cockpit and left alone to her fate, Clarisse Crémer couldn't believe her eyes when, on Thursday, she found her eight-legged companion clinging tightly to the ropes in the cockpit. "I can't even touch a spider," she confessed. "I'd rather do the Vendée Globe than deal with a spider... So, dealing with a spider during the Vendée Globe..."
Strong morale and a rediscovered pack
In parallel and in defiance of all these ups and downs, Clarisse Crémer continued her way, at full speed, and gradually climbed back up the rankings. By Thursday evening, she was back in the top fifteen and had even caught up with Sam Davies, who she didn't expect to see again any time soon after her misadventure the day before.
It was enough to reward her unshakeable determination and her ironclad mental state: "I'm in a good mood, my morale is stable, and I feel good on my boat. It's nothing like the state of mind I was in four years ago: I'm not letting myself be overwhelmed by my emotions, nor overwhelmed by the scale of the task. The Vendée Globe is tough, but I knew that!"
Still being pushed along by strong downwind conditions, albeit unstable, off the Canaries, with many squalls, seas that are still choppy and not conducive to high average speeds, Clarisse Crémer should soon be easing off as the wind calms down on the approach to the Canaries. Then it will be time for the first difficult choices to be made as she heads towards the dreaded Doldrums.
In the meantime, aboard L'occitane en Provence, the eggs are golden, and the skipper's smile is as radiant as the sun shining through her mainsail. And when your appetite's good, and your spirits are high: anything goes!