Not getting any easier Nothing is clear for any of the four classes…

The ULTIMs have had their course shortened, they are now heading direct to Martinique after the Saint Peter and Saint Paul islands mark which leader SVR Lazartigue will pass this evening or tonight. 
The Ocean Fifty fleet sees Manu Le Roch and Basile Bourgnon maintain a steady 20 miles lead on Edenred 5. Jérémie Beyou and Morgan Lagravière lead the IMOCA fleet on Charal, fastest in the trade winds and at 24 hours after re-starting from La Coruña it is the Italian duo Luca Rossetti and Matteo Sericano (Maccaferri Futura) who lead the pack as they head west, upwind.

ULTIM

By comparison with recent editions the ULTIM fleet have had slow, difficult Doldrums peppered with many squalls and random shifts. But as they emerged first into the modest trades SVR Lazartigue has really opened some miles on the duo behind Thomas Coville and Benjamin Schwarz (Sodebo 3) and Anthony Marchand and Julien Villion (Actual 3). The blue trimaran is now 150 miles ahead of the chasers who this afternoon are no more than 15 miles apart. Banque Populaire XI is now slowed in the Doldrums and their delta to SVR Lazartigue is not pretty at over 330 miles. 

SVR’s Tom Laperche reported this morning, “We expended a lot of energy over these 24 hours. We have been doing a lot of maneuvering. In a short amount of time, at the beginning, we changed almost all the sails. And in the second part, there was a bit more distance between the cloudy masses, the squalls, with the boat still making a little progress. We started out going at crazy speeds, but it allowed us to take turns and get some decent stretches of sleep. Since then, we've slept. So, we're already feeling better. But it's definitely taking its toll. We've done a week of racing in the Ultim class. We're not in the same shape as we were in Le Havre, but frankly, we're doing pretty well.”

OCEAN FIFTY

The fifty foot trimarans are making more modest speeds at the northern fringes of the Doldrums but are heading west towards Martinque. Edenred are positioned more to the south and still hold a small lead  

Edenred’s Manu Le Roch reflected on their choices, “The winds are not very strong. We think our option was still the best, even though we have our doubt because we're still quite far from them, and repositioning is pointless, so we'll know for sure later. We are not moving any slower than them, and we're on route so for now it's okay. I admit that yesterday at one point, they were at 22 knots and we were at 3 knots, we were like, wow, this is going to be complicated.” 

IMOCA 

As befits three times winner of La Solitaire du Figaro and a co-skipper who has won this race twice on the bounce, Jérémie Beyou and Morgan Lagravière on Charal timed their gybe well and have lit the afterburners on the visibly rapid Charal. They are about 41 miles ahead of Sam Goodchild and Loïs Berrehar (MACIF Santé Prévoyance) who are close to third placed Francesca Clapcich and Will Harris (11th Hour Racing). British co-skipper Harris rued ceding their lead to the black boat. “It was not really intentional to end up further east than them, we gybed first and they gybed five or ten miles after us and unfortunately that opened up to become quite a bit of separation, they have a slightly  more right shifted breeze and obviously they are the quickest boat in the fleet at the moment, we have lost a few miles as we sailed into a bit less pressure, so, we will see what comes up up ahead.”

CLASS 40 

Making amends after the disappointment of having to make a technical stop on the first leg due to an electrical charging problem, the Italian duo Luca Rossetti and Matteo Sericano (Macaferri Futura) have made the best start and have earned themselves a small lead after just over 24 hours of racing. 

Rossetti was on positive form today but warned, “Things are already complicated tactically and strategically. First, because the boat is slamming hard, there are still waves, and we’re still upwind. Second, because we’re playing with a high-pressure system, trying to find the right balance and avoid getting stuck in a windless zone. And yes, we are leading but the race is still so long, over 3000 miles to go before we reach Martinique. We’re sailing in a tight pack, so there’s no real gaps between us. I think it’s not the time to focus on the rankings; it’s more about finding the best strategy to get to Martinique. Right now, we’re dealing with a high-pressure system, and then a few lows will come through. So we’ve got quite a few weather situations ahead, and we’ll need to handle them well to stay at the front of the fleet. That’s the goal for everyone. It’s super exciting! It’s kind of like a game. Sometimes I like to call it a game of… in Italian Scacchi, in English chess, in French I’m not sure… les échecs. It’s a strategy game. And with so many miles ahead, there’s still a lot to play for.”

Fourth into La Coruña and fourth in the fleet this afternoon after taking up the most northerly position in the fleet Spanish duo Pep Costa and Pablo Santurde concur that this looks a complicated crossing. Costa said “It is going well, the wind overnight was about 20 knots a little bit more at times, it was not very comfortable with a big sea state. The wind is dropping slowly and hopefully soon we will get a windshift which will let us get more west, that is what the weather files said. The GRIBs said there would be less wind near the High pressure and so we have made this step north and hopefully it works a bit for us. The wind is shifting a lot and with this sea state it really is hard to make the boat go fast. And so overall the Atlantic right now is quite complicated and it is not looking like we will get a lot of downwind this time, that’s not the new anyone wanted. There will be two days of upwind now before we see if we can go south or not.”

Watching the weather closely has been Ireland’s winner of La Solitaire du Figaro Tom Dolan. He says patience will pe required on the northern route,  He observes“I see an advantage to the boats to the west, these northern ones only manage to get down to the trade winds thanks to a sort of cold front that is forecast in seven days time.”

Germany’s Sanni Beucke is getting used to her slightly compromised set up due to the knee injury she sustained early on the leg to Galicia, “My immobility is not what I’d ever want but I want to finish this project together. Last night the wind was stronger than expected, so heeling at 35 degrees and so it was a real test for me, and for the boat again. It was quite tough. And so after the first night I can say we are pretty slow at manoeuvres, that is what the doctors said, I am quite immobile and I need to take time to operate. I am doing most of the work in the cockpit. This morning was really good, we could take some time to do some stuff.”