Erwan Le Draoulec (Emile Henry) wins this 2nd stage of the Mini-Transat La Boulangère, between Las Palmas and Le Marin (Martinique). Crossing the finish line this Thursday 16th November at 2 h 50'15'' (French time), he took the series victory.
Disappointed with his 4th place on stage 1 between La Rochelle and Las Palmas, the youngest skipper with 20 springs has taken all the risks to take the lead of the fleet, to the point of relegating his closest rivals to within nearly 100 miles. In this way, the youngest of the race on his Mini Emile Henry has pushed the limits of what his boat can handle very far. Preferably at the helm at night to try to get the best out of his rivals, he didn't hesitate to hurt himself. But he also took little pleasure in it, as he explained on his arrival...
"I brought a book with me, I never thought to read it. "I crossed the bar, ate, slept, took a dump, a real animal life. It was a nightmare, the boat was wet all the time. I never went down, I went forward to consolidate my bowsprit. To sleep when I was under pilot, I put on my helmet with audio books, I listened to all Harry Potter again. It was the only way to avoid stress when the boat was sometimes sailing at 18 knots under pilot. But I never let go of anything. There were just the last two days when in the squalls I dropped the big spinnaker. I thought it would be too stupid to get so close to the goal of breaking everything. But before that, I really attacked. I knew that I was in danger of dismasting, but I'd started with the idea that I was only twenty years old and that I'd have the opportunity to do one of the Mini-Transat's again. I didn't take advantage of it, I didn't have any fun. I'd like to cross the Atlantic again, but quietly to enjoy it. The key moment in the race was just after passing Cape Verde. With Clarisse, we negotiated the islands well and at nightfall, I attacked like crazy, especially as I knew that Tanguy Bouroullec hadn't done so well. That night, I spiked at 23 knots. It's incredible what you can do to these boats. Then, in my corner, I didn't call anyone anymore, I only worried about my race. The result is there, but I was so tense that I didn't really have any fun..."
