Yesterday afternoon, Hervé was in 11th position. Will he arrive to climb un again in the ranking? We can only wait and see. But the passage of the doldrums is also a question of luck, even if this zone is not really active this year.

If the first minis continue like this, they will arrive around the 29th of october. And this could bring Brian Thompson on the podium.

And what about the personal hygiene on board of a racing boat? This is a subject which is hardly touched because of a sense of modesty. In fact it is a question that remains in the mind of a lot of people when they imagine the skippers crossing the Atlantic in a small boat.

Even if Bernard Moitessier in his famous book “La Grande Route” writes that he never washed either his body or his hair for more than six months, it is normally accepted that a minimum of care is necessary in order for the crossing to happen without any problems. As you can imagine there are no toilets on the small boat. Everything just happens outside hanged to the lifeline if the weather conditions are good and inside in the bucket if the weather conditions don’t allow to go outside. This can sometimes be a little bit sporty especially when you are going upward through high waves and that the yacht is leaning 30 degrees and then slams in the waves. However, once it is done, you feel so much better!

Then once the water temperature is acceptable, the best way to clean oneself is to take a shower with sea water (thanks to the same bucket used before) and with soap specially made for sea water. Herve also takes some baby wipes but not too many as they are quite heavy!