His race turns into an ordeal. Skipper Antoine Cornic, who was taking part in the Back to Base race aboard his Imoca "Human", fell ill while sailing on the Atlantic Ocean. The sailor is a victim of dengue fever, a tropical disease contracted by his relatives while they were staying in Martinique at the finish of the Transat Jacques-Vabre, in which he took 30th place in his category. And he finds himself extremely weakened as he tries to reach Lorient since Thursday from the Caribbean island.
"Dengue fever is crazy! I am overwhelmed with fatigue. Yesterday (Sunday), I manoeuvred seven times during the day, I had to collapse on my mattress. I can't move a sail," he told Le Télégramme newspaper on Monday. A 10-minute maneuver took me 40 minutes and I slept 6 hours later. I'm sad because I can't fight anymore. I'm drinking, I'm sweating, I'm shivering, I'm completely burned! When you know that this disease comes from a mosquito that doesn't weigh half a gram... »
Antoine Cornic recounts his suffering in a video published on YouTube. And on Tuesday morning he again detailed the difficulties encountered just to change a simple sail. "I cried in pain, I even vomited, but the result is there: the sail is up, it's not necessarily the right one, but it's the one I'll be able to manage the easiest if the wind picks up," he said in comments reported on the organization's website.
"I'm just drinking a little lemon and sugar"
"I'm going straight ahead, I'm not the routing anymore. I'm doing everything I can to get the boat back and forth. I'm just drinking a little lemon and sugar. Nothing passes, he describes. I hope it will improve a little and quite quickly if possible (...) . I don't look at the postponement of positions anymore: it makes me even sadder, I had my heart set on fighting in this transatlantic race. »
Antoine Cornic is currently in 28th position in the race, more than 600 nautical miles behind leader Yoann Richomme. All the competitors are heading for the Azores.