Pierre Leboucher is holding second place in the Class40 division of this year's Route du Rhum, pushing through unsettled weather at good speed as he closes in on the Caribbean. One more depression stands between him and the kind of direct running he needs to consolidate his position.
The boat is holding up well, and so is the skipper's morale, which counts for something given the division has already produced one harrowing incident this race. Benoît Sineau's Class40 Ekinox-Rhétores sank in the North Atlantic, and he had to be pulled from the water by a fellow competitor.
Despite the physical toll of solo ocean racing, Leboucher remains determined to keep up the pace. By his own account, morale on board is solid, and he is making the most of the solitary adventure even as fatigue sets in.
Conditions have forced him into a period of intense sailing, trimming and adjusting constantly to keep the Class40 moving through unstable weather. That work isn't finished yet. Another low-pressure system sits between his current position and the settled trade-wind running sailors look forward to once they clear the top of the Atlantic.
The Class40 category remains one of the most closely watched divisions of the Route du Rhum. The fleet has been described as effectively starting afresh in recent days, with seven Class40s locked in a genuine fight up front as the trade winds paused ahead of Guadeloupe.
Second overall is no small result at this stage of a transatlantic solo race, particularly with changeable weather still in play. Leboucher's challenge now is consistency: holding his position through the depression without taking on unnecessary risk, before the route opens up towards the Caribbean.
How he manages the exit from this unstable patch could decide whether second place holds or the chasing pack closes in. For now, spirits aboard are high, the boat is performing, and the skipper presses on with Guadeloupe firmly in his sights.
