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Thursday 22 January 2026 - Against all odds!
Day 54
As the route to Ushant, Brittany, and Brest becomes increasingly difficult with each passing hour due to impressive obstacles in the form of particularly violent winter storms, difficulties are mounting aboard the Maxi Trimaran IDEC SPORT crewed by the women of The Famous Project CIC. The latest, and not least, was the tearing of the mainsail yesterday afternoon as the boat maneuvered to slip into the heart of the Azores archipelago. It took four hours of effort, with American Molly LaPointe clinging to the mast, to bring the sail back and secure it at the second reef. This is certainly a minimalist configuration, but ironically, it corresponds precisely to the sail area needed to withstand the harsh conditions that are developing in the area. This brutal, severe, and irreparable misfortune at sea will ultimately deprive Alexia Barrier, Dee Caffari, Annemieke Bes, Rebecca Gmür Hornell, Deborah Blair, Molly LaPointe, Támara Echegoyen and Stacey Jackson of three-quarters of their mainsails.
The west-northwest wind is picking up, the sea is getting rougher, but nothing can dampen these women's determination to continue on their way, to press on in the face of adversity and to complete their non-stop, unassisted circumnavigation of the globe as soon as possible, thereby becoming the first all-female crew to achieve this feat. Held back in their progress by this untimely tear, the women of The Famous Project CIC saw the small “gateway” they had glimpsed to escape the strongest winds near Cape Finisterre close inexorably. The 40-knot winds from Labrador will batter the Galician coast from midday onwards, raising waves already measured at over 7 meters. The route through the Bay of Biscay will be blocked for at least 48 hours, and Alexia and her “girls” are now planning to cross the finish line at Ushant on Sunday evening or Monday. Battled, often. Beaten, sometimes. Defeated, never.
Alexia Barrier:
"Our mainsail tore in two when we gybed to take in reef 1. It was 15:00 UTC. In short, we spent three hours trying to lower the mainsail. Finally, we managed to lower it to reef 2. We have a piece of mainsail left, just enough for reef 2. So we resumed our journey.
It can't be repaired, and in any case, two reefs are enough to get to Brest with the weather we're going to have. So there you go, we're not worried. We're strong, we're united.
So chins up, we'll make it."
Dee Caffari:
"What a day! We have to fight for every kilometer we cover in this final stretch. We have chosen tenacity, resilience, and teamwork to overcome the challenges we face and continue to fight every day. There have been 30 attempts to win the Jules Verne Trophy, but only 14 of them have successfully circumnavigated the globe. Only 9 of them have resulted in a record.
In a few days, these figures will change, and that's exciting. History is being written, examples of what is possible are being created. If it were easy, everyone would do it."