An
irregular crossing under conditions of weak winds
Advantage the route that lies a little north from the 10th parallel. These
are the instructions that Raphaëla le Gouvello is following presently.
The objective is clear: avoiding the zone of weak and irregular winds
that lies South of her route.
Wednesday October 1st, the journey of navigation was overall
pleasant. To be noted: a concern for watertightness on the Goiot handle
that enables the bubble to close, and allows Raphaëla to access the
passageway that leads outside the board. «at one stage of the
day, the wind was weak, otherwise the day was pretty good… »
was saying Raphaëla to us. «On the other hand , I spent
over 2 hours repairing the handle, without much success. That is the only
thing that worries me. If the board capsized now, water would filter through
… » says Raphaëla.
« Faint», there are good chances that winds shall continue
to be faint over the course of the next few days. Whereas her pace of
navigation was taking up again, our windsurfer must resign herself to
slowing down again.
After 2 months at sea, she feels the weight of solitude: « last
time I saw a human soul ,it was the night of the 11-12 august and nothing
since!! Not even the lights of a cargo seen from afar…"
As opposed to the Atlantic crossing that took her from Martinique to Senegal
in 2000, Raphaëla le Gouvello now finds herself in an area of the
Pacific where no ships cross. So apart from a few flying specimens that
she comes across or a rare marine life, these solitary conditions are
not surprising.
In the afternoon of Thursday October 2 2003, there is
a family reunion in the pc course. They have come to support Raphaëla
in this last phase of the crossing.
Moving exchanges take place that fill our navigator with the courage to
pursue this trip on an ocean that appears to be never ending, Also present
, Alain PICHAVANT, who , in association with Stéphane PEYRON, crossed
the Atlantic on a tandem board in 1986 between Dakar and Guadeloupe. As
he encourages Raphaëla and relates his experience to her, he also
administers wise advice: « don’t worry about what will
happen in a week’s time it is too far ahead. . And you seem to be
in good physical shape»
Thrilled with all these visits and attentions, Raphaëla le Gouvello
buckles down to pursue her route towards Tahiti , now feeling less solitary.
Her voice is comforted by all of the messages of encouragement that are
sent to her daily on the site (www.raphaela-legouvello.com)
Weather forecasts for the week announce a certain stabilization of the
wind East/South East around 10 knots. However condition forecasts don’t
always coincide with Raphaëla’s observations. Abnegation and
patience are required once again.
Guy SAILLARD and the crew that will be present on the catamaran are the
first to have arrived Thursday evening 18h00 (Paris time) at Papeete.
In the next few days they will prepare the foodstuffs for them and make
the first contacts before sailing off to meet Raphaëla around October
11 after sailing for 10 days.
Raphaëla is located on Friday October 3 at 7h00 (Paris time)
at 10°24 South / 126°21West.
Sea Water Temperature: 26.67° C
Wind East/South East 9 knots
Distance covered since Wednesday evening approx: 80 nautical miles
Total distance covered since LIMA : 3033 nautical miles
∑ Duration since LIMA : 58 days (which equals the duration of the
crossing of the Atlantic in 2000)
Distance to cover until the meeting point: 992 nautical miles
Distance to cover until Tahiti : 1449 nautical miles
ETA (estimated time of arrival: around 30 october
News of Raphaëla le Gouvello will be communicated Tuesday October
7.
SOUND will be made available during the transmissions
organized every day by the PC Course at 17 h 30 at the Maison de la Radio
(CAPE) as well as VIDEO IMAGES broadcast by TF1 and photos free of copyright.
PLEASE CONTACT US.
If You want to communicate with Raphaëla
directly, please contact us directly |
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
OUR PARTNERS
|
|
|
|
 |
WITH THE OFFICIAL SUPPORT OF |
|
|