Dear Julien, Cold, gray, windy, big waves, and because it is a real choke point, i.e., approaching from the west, you have very few choices, you have to get around that corner, it can be quite daunting, indeed, scary. There is a lot of anxiety I’m sure for all the skippers as they approach.
For us in particular, since we had the catastrophic capsize in 1990 in 20 meter waves and 85 knots of wind, at 55°S x 79°W, that history holds perhaps special anxiety for me among the skippers. Perhaps Jean Le Cam has a special anxiety also, due to his capsize from his keel breaking off in Vendée Globe 2008. It might be a different anxiety from a weather induced anxiety.
Question submitted by Julien, La Crèche, France