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The ridge was probably better for the Ocean 50s which are of course opening the route after their Satursday start. They had smoother seas whilst the ULTIMs yesterday were slowed right down and the IMOCAs have had awkward seas. And next there is the stormy low ahead to negotiate. The Class 40s are heading to La Coruña and can’t hang around at the weather starts deteriorating from Wednesday night with a second low pressure coming in.
Ultim: SVR Lazartigue Holds Firm
Threatened by the passage of the ridge of high pressure, Tom Laperche and Franck Cammas were the first to get going late yesterday and so they maintain a 20-mile lead over Sodebo Ultim 3 at the entrance to the depression, which is bringing the storm off Cape Saint Vincent at Portugal’s SW tip. They are close-hauled again. The three giant trimarans made their tack near its center at 0700hrs UTC this morning to set off south again. They should overtake the Ocean Fifty in the evening, in exactly the same weather system, and find more serene sailing conditions in a southeasterly flow allowing them to increase their pace.
"No one chose to set off with ice axes and crampons to circumnavigate the phenomenon from the west. It was too much travel and too uncertain for the rest of the race," explained Thomas Coville this morning, just after tacking. It was a messy tack according to the skipper of Sodebo Ultim 3 : "We got caught upwind in a cloud, you really have to be focused in these conditions. In the end, everything ended without any damage and Benjamin and I looked at each other and chose just to laugh about it!" Coville says he is happy with the start to the race, without damage and well placed, says he uses "a lot of satellite images to negotiate clouds and storms." But looking to the horizon also provides useful information for the giant trimarans: "There are still large cumulonimbus clouds on the horizon but the orange-yellow lights clearly indicate that we have changed atmosphere. The sea is a small minefield, but I like these atmospheres."
Meanwhile, 300 miles behind, Maxi Banque Populaire XI, which made short work of the Bay of Biscay after leaving Lorient at noon yesterday, will see the wind gradually drop off at Cape Finisterre before also approaching the stormy weather. Will it follow the same route, or will their pitsop and the lost time be conducive to a westerly shift?
Ocean Fifty: Wewise, has a small cushion
In the other multihull division of this TRANSAT CAFE L'OR, the night was not peaceful. "Yesterday was a superb day, with a drying atmosphere and great sliding along We took the opportunity to sleep, what a joy!" But the start of the night was less fun with a very active thunderstorm,” Emmanuel Le Roch on Edenred 5 reported in a message this morning.
Pierre Quiroga, leader with Gaston Morvan since the Le Havre start on Wewise, expanded: “The front was active with lightning in all directions. We lost an aerial but we were able to take turns a bit on the bunk, even though there was a lot of instability, which isn't great on our boats.” Having had a clear run since the start, the skipper of Wewise feels like he's completed the second major stage of this Transatlantic race and admits to “still having nightmares thinking about Lazare capsizing. Gaston and I taped a note under our roof: Do not capsize!” This doesn't stop the leader from sailing with full mainsail and day 1 this morning, at the top of the range in 20 knots of wind! Behind, Edenred 5 and Solidaires in the peloton are pushing hard. These three have made a breakthrough, with Le Rire Medecin Lamotte, in fourth place, already 120 miles behind, which is starting to be significant given the rest of the course which should be in the rich get richer tradewinds.
IMOCA: leaders back on track, mind the gaps
Still the leader, Macif Santé Prévoyance has been working hard to hold off the attacks from its pursuers all evening and last night. Along with Allagrande Mapei, 11th Hour Racing, and Charal, the leaders just emerged from the ridge of high pressure, which has been very persistent. British co-skipper Sam Goodchild reported"We're happy to be back on track. The residual seas made sailing very difficult last night, and now we're looking ahead to the rounding of Cape Finisterre." Lois did all the work and deserves his sleep now because I spent my time doing composite work for a small repair." We won't learn more about the damage, which Sam says is "fixed," but the damage is a reminder of what they have been through.
Goodchild continued “For the rest of the day it is going to be a bit difficult trying to figure out a way round this low which is static to begin with and then moving east with some very strong winds on the one side of it and very light winds on the other so we are trying to pick the right course and the right sails, strategically and then trying to not break anything. It isn’t going to be straightforward and so today will be a few gybes, trying to work our way round that. That is what we are looking at now and then by late this evening we will be fairly solidly heading south, that is what we are aiming for. We are happy to still be at the front of the pack but with Mapei, Charal and 11th Hour not far behind it is hard to not be looking over our shoulders. I feel that might be the case for a while now, he conditions around this depression are not going to be very easy for us.”
In any case, with these double-digit speeds back, the quartet could significantly widen the gap with the rest of the fleet is still struggling in this windless zone. A real transition is taking place this morning for the large monohulls. Association Queguiner is in a hole 40 miles behind, and the risk of a real split with the second group led by Team Snef - TeamWork 70 miles behind is real.
Class40: Sailing in sight of each other
The leaders are on course for La Coruña! The Class40s are also grappling with a confusing situation, where they have to deal with light and very unstable winds against a swell: "We just stopped in a wind pocket. "With 2 knots and heavy seas, the pilot is lost," explained Corentin Douguet this morning on "Donate to SNSM.org," happy to know he's still in the lead but admitting that "breakfast was somewhat spoiled" the Normandy-based SeaFrigo Sogestran, 300 meters abeam!" Guillaume Pirouelle and Cédric Chateau made a very good comeback last night, and it's in a match race that these two boats are looking to escape the ridge of high pressure. "Usually, we ooint up and gybe. This is a little different; we're going to tack to head directly towards La Coruña once the easterly wind returns," said Corentin Douguet.
While six competitors are still hanging around in the English Channel, the top five are within five miles of each other. Suffice to say, nothing is certain, because with the remnants of the stormy low set to die off over northern Spain, the arrival in La Coruña is shaping up to be a major mess with very unpredictable breezes. The ETA of the first competitors in the Galician port is expected between 8 and 10 a.m. tomorrow, Wednesday.