DAILY UPDATE n°71
June5th, 2006 (La Possession 23:30)

Fighting to the last

After having passed a liner last night and another one early in the morning Raphaëla gets ready for one more day of navigation. “There are still some squalls, a 25kt wind and, on the face of it, there are to be no lulls for the next few hours.”

The board has got lighter since the beginning of the crossing, that’s why capsizing occurs more frequently. “On the other hand she’s faster.” One must always look on the bright side…

Today we are having work sessions with representatives from the City Council, the French Navy, The Portois Nautical Club, The Mascareignes Nautical Base, the National Society for Sea Rescue, schools, associations, the Port Authority, the Reunion Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in short all the parties involved in the socio-economic life of the island.
The tension is slowly rising, every one is making suggestions and things are getting organised. Then we learn the dreadful news: a heavy swell is forecast for the whole of next week…, which means that Raphaëla is more than likely to come into port riding 3m deep troughs to the very end, until she finally reaches the landing stage where her board is to be moored. No doubt the Indian Ocean will assert itself to the end.

My mobile starts ringing in the midst of a meeting with the French Navy… Raphaëla is calling. The temperature starts rising at once; I grab the copy book that I’ve kept close at hand for the last two months, knock over my bag, pick up the pencil that’s spilled out of it and storm out of the meeting room. “I haven’t sailed since midday; the wind is too strong; I’m tired. I kept on fighting till midday then I gave up at lunch time.” She speaks in a quavering voice, and this time the iridium, that tends to make people’s voices sound quivering and metallic, can’t be blamed for it… On those occasions you have to listen carefully, paying attention to every single word, use your brain to quickly find a word of solace. The only aim is to make her smile again until you can hear the tone of her voice has changed – which can be quite perceptible, even on the iridium. Will the Chinese noodles I ate for lunch be sufficient to help me muster enough energy; Have I had enough of them?

Tonight is the first time we communicate with the Paris headquarters; I’ve dragged Anne Combier out of the Ifremer premises where our Internet connections are based for fear we might miss the beginning of the session.
Raphaëla’s voice sounds better, more confident, reassured. “Today has been a bad day, like all Mondays.” The tone is humorous, which means that things have picked up a bit. There is less tension… “It is true that I spent part of the day inside the board, but tonight I think I saw the lights of Mauritius. I am about 30 miles away. Jean-François (her route planner) says that it’s impossible but I’m sure that must be it.”
It’s not altogether impossible that Raphaëla may be in sight of The Reunion tomorrow evening. Whatever happens, it will be a fine present. “Till the day I die I’ll remember Tahiti as I saw it at the end of my crossing of the Pacific; so I’m all agog and can’t wait to see The Reunion.”

Maybe tomorrow… I’ll keep you posted.

Written by Hélène André