PRESS RELEASE
Monday 5th June 2006

This morning, Raphaëla is about 150 nautical miles from the finish,

and feels that the end of her fabulous adventure is near. In another 2 or 3 days, she'll be able to savour her Indian Ocean crossing, a world first on a windsurf. Nevertheless, she had a fright on Saturday morning, a serious burn to her body, in addition to a short-lived capsizing during the night of Saturday to Sunday.

BURN: Before Raphaëla's long day's sail yesterday, on the morning of Saturday 3rd June, while she was getting breakfast ready, a strong wave hit her board. With a cup of boiling water in her hand, the lady windsurfer could do nothing to protect herself, and the contents poured all over her, seriously burning the top of her thigh and lower stomach. After a short time in shock, while she realized what had happened, she covered herself in a "miracle cream" as she didn't intend to remain inside her board. Having protected her burnt skin, she resolutely donned a new type of harness, trying not to think about the incident, and set off on another day's sailing. In the evening, her phone-link news was good. The main thing is that she had sailed, which is the best kind of medicine there is.

LATEST SAILING NEWS, CAPSIZING BUT RARING TO GO ON:
Saturday 3rd June, another day of 6 hours' sailing, and Raphaëla is smiling again. She knows, and feels, that the end is near and she doesn't want to waste a minute. She wants to make the most of every thing and every moment, and to finish this series of crossings in very good spirits. Yet, Raphaëla hasn't forgotten the suffering and frights that the Indian Ocean has inflicted on her, but, as she says, "It's the end of the series, and I don't regret a thing. In particular, my head is full of ideas and projects, not crossings, since this one was to complete the series. But we haven't arrived yet, my board and I, so I'm going to be particularly careful during the last few days. The wind is unstable, there'll be more and more cargo ships, and approaching the land is never very easy, and you have to anticipate things."

Sunday 4th June: While the rest of the team was landing early in the morning at Saint Denis on Reunion Island, Raphaëla was informing Cyril Ducrot of her latest misadventure. Just as we were in the middle of the airport, he told us that Raphaëla had capsized, well almost, as the board hadn't turned right over. It had been hit by a breaker, the board had almost completely turned over with the deck under water, but it had uprighted itself immediately, on the same tack. Raphaëla had suspected it might capsize and had organized everything well for the night. Everything was tightly secured and the lockers (for storage) were closed. As it happens, nothing moved, and Raphaëla got off lightly, with just a rude awakening. The lady skipper seemed to be very calm, and not really stressed out by it.

At the end of the day, Raphaëla was happy with her sailing and logs this day as having benefited from a trade wind blowing at 15 to 20 knots. " I sailed all day in superb conditions, but I didn't have enough sail on during the afternoon, as the wind had really dropped. This evening it's calm and I'm going to have a good night."

Monday 5th June:
This morning at 8 o'clock, the lady windsurfer was subjected to violent squalls, with driving rain. There's a "wet" day ahead. From now on, almost 150 nautical miles from Saint Denis, Raphaëla can see more maritime activity: "I have seen two liners. One passed 2 nautical miles from me during the night and it's the active echo system that warned me. I called it up on the VHF but I didn't get a reply. The second was at daybreak, but much further off. I will really have to be on the look-out."

RACE HQ: during these last few days the Race HQ will remain at CAPE (Maison de Radio France, in Paris) until the finish. The link-ups will be at 6 p.m. from now on (Paris time), and at 8 p.m. (duplex transmission from Reunion Island). Raphaëla changed time zones on Friday 2nd June, and is now sailing at the same time as on Reunion Island.

The crossing - today's figures (8 a.m. French time):
- ETA (Estimate Time of Arrival) at Reunion Island: 8th June in the morning (depending on future weather)
- Town of arrival on Reunion Island: Le Port (Pointe des Galets)
- Finishing line (opposite the town of Saint Denis – fictitious North-South line; materialized by the patrol boat "La Rieuse" positioned north of the Prefecture).

Race HQ: You can come and talk to Raphaëla via her Iridium satellite telephone. A daily call is organized (from Monday to Friday). Race HQ is open to the press and the public, and is based at C.A.P.E (Foreign press reception centre), its faithful partner, inside the Maison de Radio France. France Inter has installed the technical equipment to listen to the lady windsurfer in real time, in the best possible conditions. The time of the link-up is 6 p.m.

To see her position on the map, click here

To listen to today's phone call (only in French), click here

Throughout the crossing, via the teaching kit, pupils will be able to discover many topics that mark the Breton lady's voyage, by surfing on the especially dedicated website: www.respectocean.com

Photos and video images of Raphaëla le Gouvello surfing are available on request. Contact us.