Monday, January 19, 2026 – The Azores High from the west!
With its bows pointed resolutely towards Newfoundland, at 90° to the direct route, the Maxi Trimaran IDEC SPORT of the women of The Famous Project CIC has been skirting around the high-pressure system lingering west of the Azores archipelago since leaving the doldrums.
The west-northwest trade winds are preventing any efficient route to Europe, France, and Brittany, and Alexia Barrier, Dee Caffari, Annemieke Bes, Rebecca Gmür Hornell, Deborah Blair, Molly LaPointe, Támara Echegoyen, and Stacey Jackson are forced to “go around the parish.”
It is a long and tedious route, in strong winds and rough seas, which they are striving to complete as quickly as possible, spurred on by the arrival on Wednesday of a violent storm in the Bay of Biscay.
Now more than ever, it is time to focus and strategize in order to negotiate a delicate arrival without risk.
In the words of Alexia Barrier:
“We’re feeling tired, yes, we’ve just come out of a round-the-world race. We’re also feeling impatient, because land is getting closer. But above all, we feel very clear-headed and calm. Because we know why we’re here. And we know why we want to see it through to the end. There’s always a real collective spirit among the crew.
There are between 20 and 25 knots, we’re reaching. The South Atlantic is a little rougher, a little more physical, a little more confrontational. The North Atlantic is more strategic. It can be brutal too, as we’ll see at the end of the round-the-world race. It’s more unstable, with a lot more weather transitions. It’s an ocean that is more mentally demanding. Especially since we know that the end is near and that the weather can still play with our nerves.
The finish looks tough, and we can see waves over 8 meters high. We are focused. We’ll see how it develops. And then, we’re not there yet, it may still decrease in intensity before we get there.”
Excerpt from an article by The Famous Project CIC
Follow the adventure on IDEC SPORT social media and via the comprehensive map =>> https://trimaran-idec.geovoile.com/julesverne/2025/viewer/
