Wednesday December 31, 2025 - Pacific Resilience

December 31, 2025

Day 32

Inexorably, patiently, diligently, the eight sailors of The Famous Project CIC are pushing forward into the uncompromising South Pacific. The natural physical and sometimes mental fatigue resulting from 32 days of high intensity sailing is compounded by the magnitude and unique meteorological conditions of this climactic stage of a non-stop round-the-world race. The wind no longer whispers, it howls. The waves pile up and break. The boat takes the blows, shakes itself off, and hurtles down the wild slopes, under the increasingly assertive control of its sailors, who are also being pushed to their limits.

Alexia (Barrier), Dee (Caffari), Annemieke (Bes), Rebecca (Gmür Hornell), Deborah (Blair), Molly (LaPointe), Támara (Echegoyen), and Stacey (Jackson) live to the rhythm of the ocean, having taken its pulse and embraced its codes. They happily ride the powerful arrival of low-pressure systems and manage to position their giant trimaran at the best of a raging, wild south-southwest flow. Their eastward progress, heading for South America, is efficient, and the women of The Famous Project CIC are looking ahead to 2026 with ambition.

A highly symbolic marker of their round the world trip is approaching: the famous Point Nemo, the most isolated place on the planet, the furthest from any form of terrestrial life. At their current speed, they will reach it tomorrow evening and will then be able to set their sights on the legendary Cape Horn, which they aim to reach on January 4.

By then, and just before Point Nemo, they will have passed the geographical coordinates of the tragic area where, some dark day in March 1998, the very first attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy by an all-female crew, that of Britain's Tracy Edwards aboard the catamaran Royal & Sun Alliance (formerly Peter Blake's Enza), came to an abrupt end. 2 500 miles from New Zealand, 2 300 miles from Chile, and 1 200 miles from Antarctica, the 11 women of this pioneering project lost their mast and their dream of the Jules Verne Trophy.
Tomorrow, January 1, the women of The Famous Project CIC will rekindle that flame and the hope of finally seeing an all-female crew complete the lap.

Alexia Barrier: “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named"
"Just to let you know that we had another problem with the hook yesterday morning. We had to send Molly back up the mast, even though there were 3 meter waves, making sure the boat did not go too fast. In the end, we had to try to repair it several times. We asked for advice on what to do, and finally managed to unblock the hook. The hook is what allows us to take a reef. From now on, friends, that hook is on board like Voldemort! It's He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. We don't mention its name anymore, because every time we do, it brings us bad luck!"

British sailor Tracy Edwards set out on February 3, 1998, to attempt the Jules Verne Trophy with an all-female crew. She was dismasted after 43 days at sea, 2 300 miles from Chile, at 52° 44S and 129° 51W.
The crew of the Royal & Sun Alliance catamaran:
Tracy Edwards – Skipper (GBR)
Sam Davies – (GBR)
Emma Richards – (GBR)
Sharon Ferris – (NZL)
Helena Darvelid – (SWE)
Miki (Mikaela) von Koskull – (FIN)
Adrienne Cahalan – (AUS)
Emma Westmacott – (GBR)
Hannah Harwood – (GBR)
Miranda Merron – (GBR)
Frédérique Brûlé – (FRA)