Crossing the Equator
Crossing the equator is a not just a geographic area
of note, but it also remains a true religion for sailors and the passage of
this imaginary line has been celebrated as it should be on board the Maxi
Banque Populaire V. The fourteen men have were glad to ease off the pressure
they were under through the Doldrums and enjoy the mixture of superstition and
tradition.
Three crewmen (Ronan Lucas, Xavier Revil and Pierre-Yves Moreau), who were
crossing it for the first time, qualified as rookies for the traditional ‘crossing
the line’ ceremony. For this impromptu party, Yvan (Ravussin) made a mixture of
olive oil, tea, Tabasco, soya sauce, lemon, nuts, pepper and coffee! “I asked
them to wake me up to celebrate it altogether” explained Xavier. “Yvan’s preparation was really tasty! I am
sure he put everything he could find on board! But it was important to share
this moment as we had been fighting hard for the past 24 hours to reach the
Equator! And the sailing conditions were perfect to do so, at 28 knots under
gennaker: rather exceptional apparently.”
It was then Neptune’s turn to be celebrated. For Brian Thompson, who was
crossing it for the thirteenth time, this moment was particularly important : “ I made an offering to Neptune of some of
France’s finest saucisson, something I would have enjoyed , but better to propitiate
the god of the sea, just in case, and to keep the tradition. This is my 13
crossing now, so it has worked so far!”
The Santa Helena dilemma
Getting through the Doldrums was not an easy task for
the Maxi Banque Populaire V as the skipper, Pascal Bidegorry, explained: "It's liberating to get out of there! It
was pretty tense yesterday as it is not obvious how to sail in under 2 tiny
knots of wind! We should gradually reach better conditions and we are now
sailing at 27 knots in 15-17 knots of wind with full mainsail and solent. The
wind still oscillates a little, but should stabilize in few hours with a
clearer sky.” Such conditions give the crew some time to recover a little, before
having to tackle another tricky system.
Indeed, the weather situation is not very clear off the Brazilian coast. With
the Saint Helena High blocking the shortest route to the Cape of Good Hope,
Banque Populaire V might have to get round this high pressure area spread out
from East to West. “The situation is not
very clear for now but we might have to go around the northern side of it,
which would imply taking a big detour to reach Good Hope. We are attentively
looking at the satellite images received every hour. One certain thing is that
we do not have a crystal ball to look into but we definitely won’t let any
opportunity go, and make everything we can to increase our lead on the
reference time” concluded Pascal.
Maxi Banque Populaire V’s crew list
Off Watch :
Pascal Bidégorry : skipper
Juan Vila : navigator
Watch n°1
Yvan Ravussin : Watch leader, in charge of video and composite
Brian Thompson : Helmsman / Trimmer
Thierry Chabagny : Helmsman / Trimmer
Pierre-Yves Moreau : Bowman, in charge of fittings and composite
Watch n°2
Fred Le Peutrec : Watch leader
Emmanuel Le Borgne : Helmsman / Trimmer, in charge of medics
Erwan Tabarly : Helmsman / Trimmer, in charge of electonics
Ronan Lucas : Bowman, in charge of security
Watch n°3
Jérémie Beyou : Watch leader
Kevin Escoffier: Helmsman / Trimmer, in charge of video
Xavier Revil : Helmsman / Trimmer, in charge of food
Florent Chastel : Bowman, in charge of medics and rigging
Marcel van Triest : Shore weather routeur
Media Contacts
Mille & une vagues - tel.+33(0)1 55 38 98 20
Virginie Bouchet - port.+33(0)6 76 09 63 18 - @ : vbouchet@milletunevagues.com
Marine Carrié - port. +33(0)6 11 29 95 72 - @ : mcarrie@milletunevagues.com
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