Vendee Globe - Destremau fixed on Southern Ocean Challenge

by Vendee Globe on 27 Nov 2016 He may still have some 2,700 nautical miles left to sail through the South Atlantic but Sébastien Destremau's thoughts have already turned to what lies ahead in the Southern Ocean.

The French skipper has previously sailed through the infamous body of water, feared and respected in equal measure, but never alone.

In fact, until starting the Vendee Globe the longest the 52-year-old journalist had spent at sea solo was 16 days.

In around a week's time Destremau's TechnoFirst - Face Ocean will pass the Cape of Good Hope on the southern tip of South Africa and enter into the most renowned phase of the Vendee Globe.

Talking to Vendee Globe HQ in Paris today, Destremeau revealed that his head has been filled with thoughts about the Southern Ocean since the race began almost three weeks ago.

“Before the start of the race the only thing that was important was the start,” he said. “All my thoughts since have been focused on the Southern Ocean - the excitement, the nervousness and everything that goes with it. It's something that's always on my mind. I'm looking forward to it obviously because that's what we're here for, but it's also really scary. I've been in the Southern Ocean with a team but this is completely different.”

Destremau will not only face huge winds and monster seas, but also extreme isolation. From the middle of the Southern Ocean the nearest land is almost 2,000nm in any direction.

“People have to realise that it's something huge to go into the Southern Ocean alone,” he added. “Where we're doing is out of this world, it's the middle of nowhere. If something happens it takes a week to be rescued, and the weather is terrible. But hey, that's the Vendee Globe. What we're doing now is not the Vendee Globe, it's just cruising. The real Vendee Globe starts a week from now.”