Route du Rhum - Tough first day for Gavignet and Musandam-Oman Sail

by Oman Sail on 4 Nov 2014 French skipper of the Sultanate of Oman’s flagship Musandam-Oman Sail, Sidney Gavignet, is 24 hours into the single-handed Route du Rhum that started on Sunday from St Malo to Guadeloupe and his first night and full day have been sobering – conditions have meant that he has slept just 20 minutes in two 10-minute segments since the start yesterday at 1400 CET and he has taken his foot off the accelerator a little bit:

He called in at 1530 Monday afternoon from the Bay of Biscay:

'I am well but I am cold and tired. It is very wet out here with big waves. I am using the autopilot at the moment and it is very nice to be able to get some shelter from the weather underneath my safety cuddy. I have helmed a lot since the start as it isn’t very quick in a big sea state otherwise.

'Now that I am reaching it is better onboard, a little bit less dangerous. I gave myself a scare this morning as I thought I was going to capsize. I think I got to about 70 degrees. I eased everything immediately and jumped inside the boat for protection, I was so lucky the boat stayed the right side up!

'Since then, I have backed off a bit, my immediate objective is to get round Cape Finisterre safely and then we will see. I am not going as quickly, but to be honest that suits me at the moment. I have slept very little, just two 10-minute naps since yesterday. I am going to try to rest a bit now, but first I am will eat something warm.

'Otherwise all is well – I am just very tired. Tonight is going to be tough - I am going into strong winds on very little sleep. The ‘pilot’ is doing quite a good job and the sea state will improve.

'My little scare earlier today has calmed me – it is incredibly easy to capsize this boat and I need to be really careful – I need to be very alert and have taken my foot off the accelerator a little bit for the moment.'

Jean-Francois Cuzon, the Oman Sail router who is supporting Sidney from the shore alongside Damian Foxall, added some background and information on the weather ahead tonight and into Tuesday:

'Damian and I are settling into our watch system. Sidney will reach Cape Finisterre towards the end of the afternoon and the wind is forecast to increase to 30-35 knots downwind and sometimes that is more dangerous than sailing upwind. The sea state should reduce. The boat will be doing 25-30 knots of boat speed and Sidney will need to have very fast reactions if a gust hits.

'From Lisbon on, it will be less rough, or at least a more regular sea state. Tomorrow we expect 25-30 knots of wind throughout the day. Only on the fifth in the evening, will things start to improve as Sidney draws level with Oman Sail