No rest on the Atlantic Class 40s looking for answers, IMOCAs rolling in

From the French Caribbean islands to the Canaries the battles are fierce, closest to the line early this morning Sam Davies and Violette Dorange (Initiatives Coeur)  were scrapping with Louis Burton and Clément Commagnac on Bureau Vallée as they approached Martinique but Davies and Dorange  have seized sixth place and will finish shortly. 

The Class 40s see some twenty duos on the southerly routing. Far ahead, the northerners have weathered the storms and maintained a comfortable lead. But they will now have to contend with high pressure systems, which were already testing their nerves from yesterday. 

IMOCA: A constellation of talent

Friday’s sensation was the Francesca Clapcich-Will Harris duo, a brilliant second in this 17th Route du Café. And now Justine Mettraux and Xavier Macaire, another mixed double-handed crew, also delivered an exceptional performance, securing fifth place in Fort-de-France this morning in the middle of the Caribbean night. Justine Mettraux's talent and skill has become increasingly apparent since she joined the IMOCA class in 2021. Mettraux who was awarded the prestigious Sailor of the Year title by World Sailing during this transatlantic race for her eighth place in the Vendée Globe, has found in Xavier Macaire a teammate who matches her ambitions. “We learned from each other,” Justine said upon arrival, while Xavier emphasized “her expertise in keeping the boat in perfect condition with a lot of small adjustments.” They leave five faster boats behind their 2018 IMOCA. 

Next up after Sam and Violette and Louis and Clément will be the Association Petits Princes-Queguiner and 4 Cad La Mie Câline who will catch sight of Martinique, while Paprec Arkéa is likely to finish in the Top Ten of this Route du Café, a race contested as a catching up exercise  for the boat that was among the favorites in Le Havre after they had to return to make repairs. 

Class40: What happens next?

"Is it Saturday already?" Corentin Douguet was having a little trouble with his schedule this morning during the radio check-in! Having set off a week ago, the Class40 fleet, still being led by Douguet and Axel Tréhin on SNSM is only halfway through its race. According to the latest routing, the leaders are not expected in Martinique before next Sunday.

The good news on this longer than expected race for those who haven't opted for the easy route to the South is that the spinnakers might be deployed today: "Right now, we're sailing behind a front, and it's not very pleasant. It's still very choppy, but it should clear up during the day. The temperatures are much warmer; we even got the fan out for a nap!" says Corentin, not unhappy to have broken through the low-pressure systems but he is concerned about the exit from his northern route. Meanwhile, some 900 miles from his position, the southerners are speeding along between the Canary Islands and Cape Verde. On this route Guillaume Pirouelle and Cedric Chateau on Seafrigo Sogestran recorded the fastest day yesterday with 282 miles in 24 hours, but as they approach their destination, they are still slower. Nevertheless, the sailing is much more comfortable, as Cédric Château confirmed this morning: "Our boats are made to glide, and it's very pleasant to be cruising in 20 knots of trade winds in shorts and sunglasses." 

Behind the pacemakers in the north are a strong international posse, Italy’s Andrea Fornaro and Alessandro Torresani (Influence 2), Spain’s Pep Costa and Pablo Santurde (VSF Sports) and the Irish -American duo Pam Lee and Jay Thompson (#EmpowHer) are sixth, seventh and eighth at around 190 to 200 miles behind the leaders.  

While everyone is trying to maintain their lead in their group, it's hard not to speculate about the outcome of this long-distance race. "We'll have a clear picture in 48-72 hours," says Cédric Chateau in the south. "For now, the American models continue to predict a Northern victory, and the European model says it will be better for us. Guillaume can't help but run five or six routing simulations a day. We mainly need to focus on the boat's performance, taking the wind shifts in the right direction, and keeping an eye on the other boats around us!"

Delighted to have found the trade winds, the Southerners are 373 miles behind SNSM this morning, who are making significantly slower progress but heading directly for their goal. "We're going to stay on this fairly direct route to the Antilles," predicts Corentin Douguet. "We've chosen the old national highway. It's shorter, but there could be some Traffic jams »

Meanwhile, about ten boats further back are stuck between Madeira and the Canary Islands would like to take the southern motorway slip road but are struggling to reach the trade winds. No need to panic, the closing date of the line has been changed, now set for November 22nd, which theoretically leaves more than five days to arrive after the first ones…