Last December 18th as there was no wind, Alessandro had done a first check up in the middle of Southern Atlantic before entering the Indian Ocean. He had swum under the boat to clean the lower part of the hull which was covered with shells. The water was clear and relatively warm . He had even had the opportunity to make pictures  6 meters under water. Yesterday it was the same thing off the coasts of Tasmania. The water was colder and brown-green. The lower part of the hull was ‘clean’.
Romain Lucat and Yves Parlier had planned to make Alessandro do this second check up before facing the Southern Pacific; but anchored in an island of New Zealand. Who else than Yves Parlier could give him precious information about Steward Island !

Remember: the ‘Vendée Globe’ 2000/2001  when he was dismasted in the Indian Ocean the ‘ extra-terrestrial’ had repaired and rebuilt his mast as best as he could ( some glue, epoxy resin and e few pieces of fibreglass) all the while heading towards a shelter; that was Stewart Island, south of New-Zealand, that had been recommended by Peter Blake , and especially Pegasus Harbour : ‘ A bay almost as large as Arcachon Bay’.
With boundless ingenuity to heat the glue and the resin, reduce, adjust within a millimeter the coupling sleeve he made a real mast of about 18 meters high which enabled him to have the large veil with two reefs, the staysail  , essential to sail up the Atlantic Ocean and maybe the genoa and even a sharpened spinnaker;
On January 17th he left from his austral shelter to cut the line in Sables d’Olonne on March 16th , he was the 13th racer , he left two competitors behind him; Unbelievable but true.’ ( from Patrice Carpentier)