After more rough seas and some impressive surfing, conditions have calmed down a little. And the Excess 11 continues to impress her skipper: “The boat is performing really, really well. I haven't had any significant problems on board. Everything is working brilliantly, and I'm having a blast!” Éric would admittedly have preferred to celebrate this symbolic milestone under a clear blue sky, but nature had other ideas. Never mind: “Actually, who cares? This is fantastic!” And how did he mark the occasion? With a coffee, quite simply.
The next stage, however, promises to be much more strategic. Éric is now sailing along the edge of an area of very light winds, trying to maintain enough breeze to continue south toward Madeira and pass to the south of the high-pressure system. Together with his weather router, he is continuing to explore the possibility of slipping through the famous “tiny gap” between Madeira and the Canary Islands. A new weather analysis should help refine this option. The stakes are high: a poorly timed transition could cost him up to two days during the third week of the voyage.
But behind the weather routing, the miles and Skiboo 2's performance, another, much more personal adventure is unfolding. In a conversation with Théo Lelay of Excess Catamarans, Éric reveals something that his images of life on board don't necessarily show. Before his departure, his family gave him a box containing 32 envelopes, one for each day at sea. And Éric follows the ritual to the letter: every day, he opens his envelope at precisely 1:02 p.m.
“To be sailing solo and feel all this energy pushing you forward like that… I would never have bet a penny on it.” It's an energy that fuels his determination to take his catamaran across the Atlantic and, if possible, stay close to his announced schedule.
Éric himself sums up this eighth day better than anyone: “There are several adventures within the adventure… Wow, thank you, life!”
