“Wrong Way” VDH Update–Approaching Cape Stiff and Hoping To, Errr, Get Lucky: Jean Luc Van Den Heede is about to pass a major milestone in his backwards, non-stop, lap of the planet: Cape Horn (Cape Stiff is what the old salts in the clipper days used to call it, since the winds are usually blowing so, umm, hard). He’s got a five day lead on current record holder Philippe Monnet (see chart below), and may even get a free pass in to the Pacific Ocean, courtesy of a highly unusual easterly wind forecast for tomorrow. (For a gripping tale that captures the difficulty and stratospheric stress of trying to round Cape Horn from east to west when the prevailing westerlies are howling, read Jack London’s short story “Make Westing;” it’s little known, but one of his best). So far, however, VDH couldn’t have written a better script for his record attempt. And here’s what he has to say as the big moment approaches:

“I’ve gone by the Falklands, and tomorrow I shouldn’t be far from the Lemaire Straits, as they are only 185 miles away. I was going along rather nicely upwind in a WSW wind, and then, this morning it came around to the South, which wasn’t very helpful. Then I was becalmed, which was even worse. I had taken in two reefs on the solent in a 35-knot wind, and now I’ve raised everything again, but I’ve only got 4 knots of wind left. If I’m going to make the Lemaire Straits tomorrow, the wind is going to have to pick up again.

It’s amazing how what I feel is so affected by the wind. Even if I have 5 and a half days’ lead over Philippe, I still want Adrien to sail along well, and above all, I don’t want to miss the short period of easterly wind, which should allow me to round the Horn downwind. There’s only a 2% chance of picking up an Easterly in this area, and it would be quite something if I get there at exactly the right moment. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”

Approaching the End of a Perfect Atlantic Run (VDH in Red; Monnet in Black)