SPORT
/ WINDSURF
Press release N°26 - friday 19 september 2003
RAPHAELA
LE GOUVELLO
Solitary crossing of the Pacific
Raphaëla
le Gouvello flirts with the dangerous zone …
The depression formed in the South is accompanied by an imposing
swell that puts Raphaëla le Gouvello in a relatively delicate position
to navigate.
«It’s difficult to manage»
she was admitting to us on Tuesday 16 september "I am navigating
directly across waves instead of going along a direct route, so it is
psychologically very difficult to accept». But in final, going
North has turned out to to be vital for Raphaëla in the last few
days. She must avoid the «high peaks» of upcoming successive
waves that she will come across and dark clouds of rain that are close
by her current position. But in vain. The elements have caught hold of
her, and our windsurfer is overcome by them: «The wind became stronger,
I tried to navigate, and then nothing more…not one bit of wind left»
Small hitch with no major impact considering that today Raphaëla
succeeds in completing 76 nautical miles.
On the other hand, she remains on constant alert and discusses
technical questions about the route and weather forecasts with Guy SAILLARD.
She dreads facing unsurmountable sea conditions that constitute a danger
for her security:
She explains herself in these terms: «with almost
3m of hollow, after that the waves break up. That’s exactly how
I capsized on August 24th».
The swell should diminish starting form today and go back down to 2m by
early next week.. As her navigational decisions are dependent on the state
of the ocean, Raphaëla le Gouvello apprehends taking refuge inside
the board as she waits for the situation to get calmer outside: «beyond
its performing capacities, the board is comfortable during a couple of
hours. But spending a whole day inside is too much! It quickly becomes
unbearably hot and humid»
Raphaëla admits that the process of overcoming her solitude
is a tough one in particular when she thinks of the duration ahead of
her. Obviously her family’s and circle of friends support
is essential as they assist her in this extraordinary adventure.
Her inflamed feet are “mummified” with élastoplast.
Raphaëla knows that it is essential to take care of this
problem to preserve herself physically and put all the chances of success
on her side.
In the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, Raphaëla le Gouvello discovered several technical problems that were liable to disrupt and even endanger the remaining distance to be covered. When she work up, she discovered that the watermaker not functioning any longer. Her first reflex led her to dive under the hull immediately and check that the water inlet was not obstructed. False alarm, and Guy SAILLARD’s intervention, architect and conceiver of the board, confirmed that the problem was caused by a small tube situated at the that was unplugged.
After this, it appeared that the land telephone
was collapsing, which only increased her level of anxiety. There
again, a few manipulations sufficed to reverse the situation and restore
her operational autonomy: « this is what happens when you are
alone like this…your mind strays all day and then I panic when something
happens and then I resent myself for reacting this way. In both cases,
these are exactly the type of breakdowns I dread the most : DESSAL and
the telephone !! ». Finally the day ends smoothly, and our
navigator enjoys a few moments of navigation under the sun. l.
Yesterday 18 september, Raphaëla was positioned at 16h30
at 9°55 SOUTH / 116°08 WEST.
Distance covered in the last 24 hours: 72 nautical miles
Total distance covered since Lima : 2407 nautical miles
Distance to cover until point of passage Tuamotu : 1562 nautical miles
Distance to cover until Papeete : 2019 nautical miles (namely 3739 km)
News of Raphaëla le Gouvello will be communicated Tuesday September
23 .
SOUND is made available on a daily basis at the PC Course at 17 h 30 at
the Maison de la Radio (CAPE) as well as VIDEO IMAGES on TF1 and photos
free of copyright. Contact us.
For any question to Raphaëla,please contact us.
Management of the Sprt Event-press: Agence HICKORY
Chief project manager: Arnaud PARSAL-tél: 01 56 03 69 13 - email:
sportsoutdoor@hickory.fr
Manager: Anne COMBIER tél: 01 56 03 69 00 –cell : 06 07 69
23 63 - email: annec@hickory.fr
Contact press TF1 : Laurent PETIT tél : 01 41 41 29 59 –
email: lpetit@tf1.fr
Follow daily reports Raphaëla Le Gouvelloon her web site at :
(www.raphaela-legouvello.com)
Follow
current events pertainting to Raphaëla Le Gouvello on her Internet
site:
(www.raphaela-legouvello.com)
Management and Administration of the Sports Event-
press :
Agence HICKORY
32, rue du Faubourg Poissonnière 75010 Paris
Project Manager:
Arnaud PARSAL-tel: 01 56 03 69 13 - email: sportsoutdoor@hickory.fr
Manager :
Anne COMBIER tel: 01 56 03 69 00 - mob: 06 07 69 23 63
email: annec@hickory.fr
Contact press TF1 :
Laurent PETIT tel : 01 41 41 29 59 - email: lpetit@tf1.fr
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