Dominique Wavre and Michèle Paret passed through the Straits of Gibraltar last night in fifth place (provisional results). They are around 30 nautical miles behind the leaders, Jean-Pierre Dick and Loïck Peyron on ‘Paprec Virbac’. This equates to only around 3 hours after 4 days of racing.
“We are happy with our position, even if our passage off the coast of Morocco was coloured with some experiences that have nothing to do with racing,” explains Dominique, referring to the search that Mirabaud was subjected to by Moroccan customs officials yesterday. “The boat is going well and we’re settled into a rhythm we’re comfortable with. We’re not going to let this setback beat us.”
The first four days of the race have been full of twists. It all started with an off-par start due to the difficulty getting the boat up to speed in the very light airs after disembarking the technical team. “We were really not happy!” Michèle remarked shortly afterwards. “It was a frustrating moment but fortunately it didn’t affect us too badly.”
New Years Eve passed without any great celebrations on board Mirabaud. “We were in contact with the other yachts via the VHF to wish each other Happy New Year”, explained Michèle, “and we managed a short sandwich break!” On the other hand, the co-skippers did a great job of picking their way though the tricky wind conditions to bring them back in touch with the leaders, where they’ve stayed ever since.
They dealt with successive difficulties as they made their way down the Mediterranean but the worst was never in any of the contingency plans! On Monday afternoon, Mirabaud was boarded by an aggressive Moroccan customs patrol unit who carried out a full search of the racing yacht, causing considerable upheaval. Bags were thrown onto the floor, freeze dried food sachets were torn apart and the vacuum packed rations, so carefully prepared over the previous weeks, were opened. Bags containing fragile electronics were trampled under foot and the cabin generally turned upside down The custom officials finally left half an hour later after receiving a radio call.
Speaking by satellite telephone shortly after the incident, Dominique somehow managed to keep a philosophical frame of mind. “We’re keeping our chins up and tidying the boat up at the moment, trying to get everything back into place. We’re trying not to let it get us down.” You can read Michèle’s commentary on the web: www.dominiquewavre.com
Five days out of Barcelona, Dominique and Michèle are finally sailing in the Atlantic. The next key stages for the team will be passing the Canaries, the Doldrums, the South Atlantic High (St. Helena) before hitting the Roaring Forties, where approximately 40 days of cold and stormy winds await them…but that’s another story.
