Extract from the Raphaela le Gouvello Official Press Release: Odyssée du Vent – 21 May 2006

It is now 42 days solo and still 1100 nautical miles left to go, an adventure lived day by day, between gale-force winds and gentle breezes. Raphaela has increased her record for distance sailed, drifting backwards, solitude and unusual encounters.

In the doldrums:

From the beginning of last week, Raphaela was advised that a new weather front, identified by her weather specialist, Jean François Bonnin, would lessen the trade winds that the lady windsurfer enjoys so much. On 15th and 16th May, the decision was taken to change her route more to the north and try to get around the calm zone where a light favourable wind would probably be the order of the day. This might have been an advantageous solution if the doldrums hadn’t decided to put themselves in the lady skipper’s path. The result has been 48 hours of total calm, with a compulsory “day off”, and an amazing drop in the daily average - in spite of the record 81 nautical miles covered in the 24 hours between the two Argos readings (at 6 a.m.) on the 14th and 15th May, above her best ever times including the Pacific and Mediterranean crossings.

When doldrums hit:

“Sometimes,” Raphaela admits, “the calm weather is good for getting some rest. But you have to keep your mind busy, otherwise you don’t know what to do and get depressed. I had made the decision not to sail in the daytime, as there wasn’t a breath of wind. So I cleaned the board up from top to bottom, I washed my clothes and did some repair jobs (checking the water-maker and the electrical circuits, as some sockets were oxidised). And above all, I let my body have a rest; it needed it.”

Raphaela does not complain much and tends to be reticent on the subject, but we know that she has a few cuts and bruises that can sometimes be painful, caused by the violent falls in the previous weeks (she has sprained the ring finger on her right hand, and has a bruise on her right thigh, and so on). But she is careful, and well advised by her doctors, Hélène and Nicolas Chevreuil, and she is looking after herself to ensure she maintains her fitness.

The emotional encounter of two solo travellers:

After 40 days of solitude, the Breton lady was met by a sailor in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Alain Goalvoueden set out on 24th April on his yacht, the “THAI”. Our team had met him by chance in Fremantle where his boat was moored in the port. As soon as he heard of Raphaela’s project, he set off “in pursuit” of the lady windsurfer. After over 3 weeks sailing solo and with regular advice of the board position from Cyril Ducrot, her technical advisor, he was, to his astonishment, finally able to meet up with Raphaela in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

This encounter was particularly moving says our adventuress, still in a state of “shock”. “I could see him from afar, but he couldn’t see me. We made contact by VHF so that I could guide him towards me. Then he got closer and closer, then right up close. It was the first time I had seen a human being for 40 days and it was a really incredible sensation. He spent the night drifting beside me then he left the way he had came, very discreetly.”

Captain Ouk,of the French Navy on Reunion Island, skipper of the patrol boat “La Rieuse”, is ready to set out and meet Raphaela at the passing point fixed to the south of Rodrigue Island. This meeting should take place around 31st May.

Web Site www.raphaela-legouvello.com