Jean Luc Van den Heede and his crewman Jean Marie are making good progress on their route back to France via Cape Horn aboard Adrien.

Having broken his mast on his third east west global challenge attempt he is heading back to France with a temporary galvanised mast (built from three fire hydrant pipes). Den Heede reported from the boat this morning: For two days now we have been making reasonable progress but the weather remains quite strange with the anticyclone very low down in front of us and a depression above us which we are certainly going to take in the wrong direction, i.e. with head winds.

“Still, we have no choice. We have to put up with it. Added to that (although the water isn’t very cold at the moment) we shall soon enter the area frequented by icebergs and we are beginning to keep a lookout both night and day. Nevertheless it is good to have 2 aboard… particularly since when I lost the mast, I lost the use of my Simrad radar!”