FR
EN
ULTIM: Ten percent
No two days are the same in the ULTIM class. The day before yesterday, SVR Lazartigue seemed threatened by Sodebo. Yesterday, it was Sodebo who saw Actual Ultim 4 closing in. This morning, the hierarchy remains the same, but the gaps have increased significantly. Each gain to the south after the Doldrums, brings more breeze, the leaders benefitting. Franck Cammas admits to "not having done anything special!" "The Doldrums closed behind us," continues Cammas. Sodebo has been caught a bit again by the Doldrums, Actual is still under their influence, and I won't even mention Banque Populaire... It was a rather unusual Doldrums. They say it's risky to pass east of the 28th parallel; we were all in a risk zone, them a little more so than us…”
SVR Lazartigue didn't wait to unfurl its large gennaker as it rounded the small islets of San Pedro and San Paolo, which it rounded just early evening, but instead extended its lead upwind before the final mark, doubling its advantage in a single day. From 80 miles after exiting the Doldrums, it had grown to 173 miles as it passed the islands and now stands at 185 miles (315 miles ahead of Actual), the biggest margin recorded since Le Havre.
With less than 1,800 miles remaining, Sodebo would need to be at least 10% faster on the final leg to Fort-de-France to have any hope of challenging SVR Lazartigue's lead. Not easy, because according to Franck Cammas, it's life on the razor’s edge from now on in, "With 400 m² of J0 sail in the air in 15-20 knots of wind, we're trying to press as much as possible and we're always on the edge of the wind. You can't fall asleep in the helm seat, that's for sure. You have a couple of adjustments in your hands, the other person is asleep, and you're responsible for the boat. It's a balancing act, and you have to keep living, resting, eating..."
In this world of constant tension, the two leaders still found time to do some drone flying yesterday while passing the islands! Last night, the waxing moon, which will be almost full upon arrival in Fort-de-France on Thursday, was a welcome sight for downwind sailing. And in 24 hours, SVR Lazartigue will already be crossing the Doldrums again, "in a very westerly zone that normally protects against heavy squalls, even though they can pick up very quickly," says Franck.
In the confined cabin of SVR Lazartigue, the sailors are focused only on the here and now, the present moment, determined not to make a mistake and to maintain their lead, which is growing increasingly significant as the miles tick by.
IMOCA: Charal in charge
Who will stop Charal? This was the question on everyone's mind yesterday, given how superior the Manuard design seemed downwind in the trade winds. We have part of the answer this morning. Positioned further west but also further north than its competitors, Charal has run up against what Jérémie Beyou calls "a ridge," which is actually a front that is disintegrating and disrupting the trade winds. Regardless of the terminology, the black IMOCA was the first to hit this barrier and had to gybe to regain its angle and speed, losing a third of its lead over its pursuers Sam Goodchild and Loïs Berrehar on Macif Santé Prévoyance and Frankie Clapcich and Will Harris on 11th Hour Racing, who made their moves a little earlier so sticking with the established wind for longer. 11th Hour reported last night they had served a 30-minute penalty on Sunday afternoon after the seal on their life raft broke. A frustrating blow for the mixed double-handed crew, who were leading in the Canaries but are going well on the podium.
The last 24 hours haven't been easy for anyone, as Jérémie Beyou explained this morning during the radio check-in: "That's the downside of being in the lead in this kind of situation. The wind shifted more than expected, we had to change sails, and do a lot of maneuvering." "We've been hard at it for 20 hours andMorgan just went to his bunk."
It’s a game of gybing on the shifts. The race south will last at least 36 hours, as they need to sail another 200 miles south to find the decent trade winds. "The very northerly wind this morning makes things a bit easier," says Jérémie. "We're always tempted to cut in the corner, but we have to approach the west with extreme caution!"
The top five are still within 100 miles of each other, and anything is still possible in this group, while the IMOCAs, who aren't expected back before the weekend, still have 2,000 miles to go. Further back in the fleet, Café Joyeux and Fives Group Lantana Environnement continue their close battle for the unofficial ranking of the IMOCAs with daggerboards and are about to be overtaken by Paprec Arkea. Thirteenth this morning, the Ricomme-Horeau duo, who returned to Le Havre at the start of the race will be hoping to break into the top ten before the finish.
From TeamWork-Team SNEF in fifth at 117 nautical miles behind the leaders Xavier Macaire reported this morning, "We had a good night, a bit of an active one with maneuvers, gybes, and sail changes to try and position ourselves well in relation to the ridge that’s bringing down the trade winds. We’re trying to get really well positioned to pass to its south, because if we go further north the route is shorter, but we risk getting caught in the lull. To the south the route is longer, but we’re more certain of having wind the whole time. Choosing our trajectories is a bit of a headache; we’re asking ourselves a lot of questions. The boat is doing well, it’s making good progress, it’s not always easy in the sea because it’s slamming a lot and we’re having a bit of trouble getting through the waves. We’re still going fast downwind, at 20-25 knots, but we slow down quickly when we hit them. So we’re trying to find the best settings to go as fast as possible!”
Ocean Fifty: Repositioning and Adjusting
Five competitors within 60 miles of each other with 1,500 miles to go – the race is exciting in the Ocean Fifty class. True to its strategy, Edenred is holding its own and has seen its pursuers begin to close the gap behind it, seeking more consistent trade winds in the southern reaches that Manu Le Roch and Basile Bourgnon had entered as early as Cape Verde. This is good news for the leader, and Manu Le Roch didn't hide his relief during the radio check-in this morning: "We're less stressed. The others are on the same trajectory as us, and we've seen since yesterday that, in equal conditions, we're at least as fast." In short, it's up to Viabilis Oceans, Solidaires en Peloton, and Le Rire Médecin - Lamotte to seize their opportunity. What can they do? "Push harder, it's not easy because we're all already pushing to the limit. They can shift to our south to pick up more wind, no doubt…” That's Edenred's morning advice to the competition! But who will want to relinquish their position in the small chasing group and take a risk that could prove very costly in the final standings?
At 15 degrees of latitude it is decidedly hot "It's hard to sleep inside at night when the engine is working," confirms Manu Le Roch. "Yesterday, we got a shower by going to soak on the bow and then rinsing off with fresh water, which is rationed. We try to protect ourselves from the sun as best we can, but spending all morning under the coach roof is tough!"
Class40: All hands on deck!
The wind has picked up for the Class40s, which are making good progress westward in a southerly wind of around 20 knots this morning. Leading the fleet in the North, Seafrigo - Sogestran was unreachable, and it was their closest competitor in the standings who commented on the situation. "Things are starting to get rough! Day is breaking, it's overcast, and the sea is still manageable, and we're making good speed," said Corentin Douguet on the SNSM. The wind will continue to strengthen throughout the day and shift, moving to the Southwest. "We'll have a pretty clear idea of everyone's intentions after the front we should be passing through tonight. The important thing for us right now is to take advantage of these favorable reaching conditions for our boat to accelerate and create a gap."
The gaps are still quite small, with the top 10 boats within 15 miles of each other, while the fleet is already spread out over 75 miles from north to south between the Italian duo Andrea Fornaro-Alessandro Torresani (Influence 2) furthest to the north and Vincent Riou-Yann Doffin (Pierreval-Fondation Good Planet). The fastest boats are currently in the middle group, engaged in a game of positioning where the leaders are watching each other closely. Spain’s Pep Costa and Pablo Santurde (VSF Sports) are third at just over three miles behind the leaders, in fourth is the Czech Republic’s Milan Kolacek with French co-skipper Pierre Brasseur on Inland Roots Ocean and Italians Luca Rosetti and Matteo Sericano (Macaferri Futura) are fifth.