5 days to go…..When R & R becomes essential not just a post race wind down
For many it seems no sooner have they arrived than it will soon be time to start all over again, though this time when they race across the Atlantic the stakes are higher and the stress of being alone, solo is increased. The IMOCA skippers who will compete on the Return to La Base from next Thursday are all finding their own best ways to recharge their batteries, to de-stress and to prepare. But with the clock counting down, it is not easy. Most are taking time to spend with family, team and friends, some have sponsor commitments, but sport and tourism is high on the recovery agenda.
The first IMOCA duos arrived in Pointe-à-Pitre a week ago. And so they have had much more time to savour the joys of the beautiful island, to share time together and to actively relax. Some skippers, with the time available, have gone completely off grid, switched off comms and activities for a few days to lower the stress levels right back as much as possible.
But the bodies crave rest. Sleep is always best for physical and mental recovery but it does not necessarily come easily. And for many at this point. family time not only allows the essential reconnection with loved ones but the immersion back into the domestic routine and the cherished bonds also takes the mind away from boats and racing.
Szabi Weöres (New Europe), Clarisse Crémer (L'Occitane en Provence), Alan Roura (Hublot), Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée), and Guirec Soudée (Freelance.com): “It’s really a nice setting to enjoy the kids and get together,” explains the Soudée father of young children. Even if, sometimes, it’s more peaceful to be on your IMOCA rather than going out to a restaurant with them!”
When sleep comes easy, too easy!
“I have been concentrating on getting excellent food, good steaks in the town, good vegetables. We spend good times with my wife and kids at the apartment but I fall asleep on the terrace and woke up at three o’clock in the morning, but compared with my bean bag upwind on the boat, anything is preferable. We are a small team and have a lot of things to do to repair. They are small things, but for small teams small things and big things. I will find some time to get sleep. But in my case the most relaxing thing is to have the boat ready. After that I maybe try something.” Says the race’s Hungarian skipper.
Racers are almost all competitors, all love the surge of adrenalin and sports. “I want to ride, kite and wing,” Guirec Soudée (Freelance.com) told us. And he is not the only one: Louis Duc (Fives Group – Lantana Environnement), Sam Davies (Initiatives Cœur) and Alan Roura (Hublot) in particular practice wingfoiling off the Martinique coast. So, too did Benjamin Ferré (Monnoyeur – Duo for a Job) who went this Saturday morning and he was planning a diving session this Sunday. Thomas Ruyant (For People) has enjoyed a surf session in Tartane, in the east of Martinique along with Morgan Lagravière with whom he has just won the Transat Jacques Vabre.
In terms of sport you will likely see Romain Attanasio (Fortinet – Best Western) running in the morning at Trois Ilets, or Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa) paddle boarding with his team.
Back to nature…
Some have taken a break from ‘the briny,’ taking time off from the ocean. Boris Herrmann and the Malizia SeaExplorer team climbed Mount Pelée. The highest point of the island, it was recently listed as a UNESCO world heritage site and offers a breathtaking view.
To discover new places and experiences is enriching and these are priorities for Kojiro Shiraishi (DMG MORI Global One). The day after his finish he wanted to go to Le Diamant (Diamond Rock). “The two times when I have finished into Martinique, it was dark and I couldn’t enjoy it,” explains the Japanese skipper…
Britain’s Pip Hare (Medallia) is another who has struggled to get unbroken sleep and says she is starting to feel restless to go again, “I’ve been walking a bit. I am doing the forest and volcano today. I’ve enjoyed lots of swimming. But I am struggling to get decent sleep still it’s a bit interrupted. I feel rested but have a bit of cabin fever now.”
Louis Burton has been out on his IMOCA Bureau Vallée sailing to Guadeloupe with local employees of Bureau Vallée, the office supplies giant. Partner sailing is planned aboard Charal. “It will be an opportunity to test one or two sails” underlines Jérémie Beyou who has just finished fourth in the Transat Jacques Vabre. He explains that the days are quite focused on work now. “I monitor the repairs on the boat on a day-to-day basis, I’m in constant contact with the technical team,” he explains. “And then I have regular updates on the winter work that we are planning. Ultimately, it makes for some busy days!”
Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil) says he prefers to stay “in racing mode” and is very determined after a disappointing outwards two handed race: “if I could have left the day after the finish of the Transat Jacques Vabre, I would have done so. I do everything to be in top shape at the start.”
Several teams are already discussing the weather conditions at the start, debriefing and discussing the optimizations to be made. The race is just five days away and, it seems for some it can’t come soon enough and for others, maybe 10 days more would be more welcome.