There is a particular quality to racing in the high latitudes that compresses time and sharpens every decision. For some competitors in the Vendée Arctique, the Arctic Circle has already become a waypoint crossed and left behind, while others continue pressing deeper into those northern waters. Ambrogio Beccaria and Francesca Clapcich have turned south. Manu Cousin is still heading north. Between fog banks, glimpses of snow-capped Icelandic peaks, and the peculiar loneliness of solo offshore racing, the fleet is being shaped by forces well beyond wind and current.
Beccaria, steering Allagrande Mapei, had spent two overcast days off Iceland before the clouds briefly parted. "I just saw Iceland. It lasted only moments, a small clearing between two days of murk, but I saw the snowy mountains. It was magnificent," he reported. The conditions off the Icelandic coast had finally delivered something closer to what the boat was built for, with breeze building to 25 to 30 knots. For much of the race to that point, the angles had been unfavourable. "We've mostly sailed close-hauled or reaching since the start, angles where I wasn't particularly strong. Now, for the first time, I can really use the boat's potential in conditions that work for me. I managed to close on Violette and pass her last night."
That progress had come despite a catalogue of problems along the way. Rather than dwelling on the difficulties, Beccaria took a straightforward view. "I'm just happy to still be racing after all the problems I've had. I'm still here, and that's already satisfaction enough."
Routing decisions were carrying real weight. His software was pointing east, through narrow passages in 25 to 30 knots with heavy seas running. The consequences of a serious failure in those conditions were obvious. "That's not the kind of risk I want to take," Beccaria explained. Going west meant more close-hauled sailing, uncomfortable and slow by comparison, but it was the option that kept Allagrande Mapei intact and racing. "But that's the race too."
Francesca Clapcich's crossing of the Arctic Circle aboard 11th Hour Racing came wrapped in fog rather than ceremony. There was no visible horizon to mark the moment, no dramatic change in surroundings. The confirmation came from her chart. "It's almost abstract in the moment. You think: now it's time to turn around and go south. But when you step back, you realise how special it is. I don't know how many people have sailed this far north in a boat like ours. It's something I'm genuinely proud of."
For Clapcich, the significance extended beyond her own experience. The shore team behind 11th Hour Racing had invested enormous effort to get the boat ready and keep it in contention, and reaching that latitude was a reward shared across everyone involved. "It rewards everyone's effort, not just mine. It's definitely the kind of story you tell your daughter later."
Away from the milestone, Clapcich had been wrestling with a more fundamental question: when to follow the data and when to back her own instincts. With 28 to 30 knots building ahead, choices about sail changes, reefing, and when to jibe were pressing. "I look at weather files and routing and all available data. But I like sailing with instinct and taking decisions I really believe in. At certain moments this week, I felt like I was reacting instead of deciding. That's one of the big lessons."
To stay mentally engaged while solo, she had taken to speaking aloud on board. It was less about combating loneliness and more about maintaining her connection to the shore team and working through problems as they surfaced. When something broke or a manoeuvre went wrong, the isolation came into sharper focus quickly. None of it had dented her enthusiasm for being out there. "This is already the longest solo IMOCA race I've done. It feels like it's lasted forever, though it's only been days. The weather keeps changing, conditions are brutal, the cold is demanding, sleep is rare. But I love it. I'm learning so much every day, storing everything for the Vendée Globe. It's incredible to be nearly forty and feel this much pleasure learning every single day."
