“Wrong Way” VDH Update–Into the Roaring Forties: VDH has now crossed 40 degrees South, on his way to Cape Horn:

“I’m down in the forties now. As if by chance, I saw my first albatross yesterday. Seeing these birds fly is always magical. I can still remember the first I saw on Let’s Go during my first circumnavigation in 86. I watched it for quite a while. Even today, I still don’t understand how they manage to fight against the wind without flapping their wings… “

Forty degrees South marks the beginning of the Roaring Forties, the description the old clipper ship sailors gave to this stormy region of the globe. The Forties will not truly Roar at their worst until VDH rounds Cape Horn and exposes himself and Adrien to the full fury of the Southern Ocean, where there are no land masses to knock down the waves or dissipate the storm systems that parade across the sea with deadly regularity. And VDH is already starting to feel the shadow of the Horn:

“Even if this is my tenth time, I still feel a little apprehension. It’s a place you can’t just dismiss. Beyond that point, you know you’ll be getting into low-pressure areas, with wind and difficulties to deal with. The Andes range protects us a little on this side of the South American continent. Once the Horn has been rounded, the work really begins. On the Vendée Globe, it’s a point of deliverance, but in the opposite direction, it’s really the start of the round the world ‘backwards’ trip. So there has to be a little stress.”

At least VDH has a 5-day lead over the existing record….

The Horn Last Time Around: “Oh Mama, it’s about to begin……”