"In the bowels of this Dongfeng race boat with my Dongfeng race amigos, slap bang in the middle of the Indian Ocean, my thoughts go out to a fair-haired boy, who’s done something to us over the last 42 dingo-crazy days.
“In the bowels of this Dongfeng race boat with my Dongfeng race amigos, slap bang in the middle of the Indian Ocean, my thoughts go out to a fair-haired boy, who’s done something to us over the last 42 dingo-crazy days.
I can’t find a superlative that truly befits the sporting achievement just pulled off by this sailor, this lad with whom I’m lucky enough to sail and to win of course. And what class he’s shown us in doing it. I’m so proud for him. I’m in total and utter admiration of this major sporting feat, all sports combined.
Indeed, quite frankly, the guys and girls here on the deck of our Dongfeng boat, have been really getting a pasting up top. There are no other words for it. Right now and since the start, with all these gybes, all these curtailed rest watches, all this accumulation of fatigue, on what is a physical and exhausting boat, tiresome even in the end, so close to the elements, you get an even better sense of the level of performance and commitment required by our compatriot François. BRAVO amigo, you are our champion of champion; you rock my friend!
So, going back to our leg, we’re slamming and it’s freezing. It’s wet. No, we’re being flooded…in short, it’s a full-on ride aboard our 38-tonne Dongfeng truck, tailed by our Spanish chums, who are playing their castanets the whole day long and who we can hear coming up on us a bit too close for comfort at times. Something tells me that it’s set to remain that way through until late June too…
I’m telling you, our crew on Dongfeng are fighting like cats and dogs on board to succeed. What determination! I’m proud to be a part of this adventure with them. We’re a great team and that’s really cool. Because the sailing conditions on these boats…?? You have to be a bit of a masochist at times. Everything’s hard and violent with no protection; a far cry from our favourite Volvos. I truly dream of one day doing this on a big multihull, with a cabin, and why not in this race…that would be brilliant, if you catch my drift : )
Okay, I’d better get back to the reality of the here and now. See you!
COME ON DONGFENG!”
Pascal
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