Hot, hot, hot !

Whilst the duo on Apivia is expected to take victory this Thursday afternoon or evening in Fort-de-France, the battle is continuing to rage within the IMOCA fleet in the 15th Transat Jacques Vabre, which is stretched out across nearly 2,000 miles today. With regards to Giancarlo Pedote and Martin Le Pape, they have dipped under the symbolic 1,000 miles to go mark over the past 24 hours. Better still, they have clawed back two places and are currently lying in 8th position ahead of Maître CoQ and 11th Hour Racing Team Malama. “There are 850 miles to go, which is still a fair old way. As such, we’re remaining full focused on what we have left to do”, explained the skipper of Prysmian Group, who is continuing to make headway on port tack along the no-go zone off South America, propelled along by the NE’ly trade wind. “Once we’re beyond 10° north, we’re hoping to find slightly gentler temperatures because for the past few days we’ve been suffering from the heat and haven’t managed to find the magic ingredient to combat it. We try to rinse ourselves off when we can, but it’s not easy when the boat is heeled over as far as she is at the moment. We’re using a small vaporiser spray for that but quite honestly there’s no miracle solution!” admitted the Florentine, who should be able to breathe a little easier in 24 to 36 hours’ time. In the meantime, he’s still continuing to sail with his foot to the floor, with Fortinet – Best Western in his line of sight.