A shift in the wind of over 40 degrees made us gybe; but after that we continued with a good gust of wind. Until then, we were in the final part of the fleet and with nothing to lose… our purpose was to sail fast and get miles.
Two hours later, Jean-Luc warned us about the gybe so we returned to starboard. The wind got up to around 25 to 35 knots and the ship began to fly thanks to our combination of J2 + J3 + FRO.
The conditions were extremely dangerous so I decided to go on deck to film what was happening. You have to focus on not being hit by the waves when you sail over 25 knots.
The water is very cold so when we hit a wave we feel like if we have a thousand needles in the face. We have to wear gloves because the cold is unbearable.
With this speed and due to a big wave, our boat was completely lying on its side.
We were on deck and it was I who was closest to the water. Xabi grabbed my jacket and helped me get out of this terrible situation.
Inside the boat the situation was not very good either. The members of the crew who were sleeping were crushed between their bunk and the deck. A situation quite uncomfortable for those people with claustrophobia.
On deck, Carlos and Xabi were struggling to arrange the boat. All they could do was save time and struggle to put it right again. A stressful and very dangerous situation. Our J2 and the mainsail were damaged but were repaired.
Once again, and with our sails repaired, we set sail. At that point we realised we are third – so we’re happy!
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