Phase two. Options? Two…. Class40 off and running…again

ULTIM

SVR-Lazartigue remain comfortably ahead on what continues to be a challenging passage across the ICTZ. The giant blue trimaran, the lightest, newest and most aerodynamic in the fleet, has been holding a steady 10 knots this afternoon, benefiting in due course from their most westerly point. Coming  up relatively quickly on the far horizon behind are Armel Le Cléac’h and Seb Josse (Banque Populaire XI) who have shaved about 100 nautical miles off their deficit. And at 22-23 knots this afternoon they were swallowing the Atlantic in big bites compared to SVR. The leaders have about 350 miles to the San Pedro et San Paolo waypoint and then a further 650 miles to the most southerly turn by Ascension Island in the South Atlantic. 

Tom Laperche reported this morning, “ We can see big black squalls, and unfortunately, our sails are flapping around, meaning they're not full, flapping from side to side. We're struggling to get them drawing all the time We've already changed sails a bunch of times, switching between close-hauled, downwind, the big gennaker and the smaller sails. 

He adds, “In 2021, we lost second place here and only made it all up at the end. It was hard for a long time. In 2023, it didn't go so badly. All the boats got through pretty well. What's certain is that the Doldrums are quite northerly, so it wasn't very long after Cape Verde. And that made for some rather... In any case, it tempted two boats out there in the east. And we don't really know if they made it back better than us. For now, it's not great. It's better to be to the east on the exit, normally. They'll be better than us. We need to get through better than them. It is hard in the very light stuff, even at two knots, it's hard to know exactly what's happening because the wind gauge is 35 meters above the deck. And then, we don't really know everything that's going on between the surface and up there. But sometimes, there's practically nothing to show. Meantime the further west we are, the better the angle for reaching São Pedro (the next waypoint). That is to say, the sails are a bit more open. We have a bit more of an angle. We're a bit more on the beam reach, less close-hauled.”

OCEAN 50

Emmanuel Le Roch and Basile Bourgnon on race leaders Edenred 5, the newest Ocean Fifty in the fleet, launched only in July, were first to get away from the Cape Verde islands, their turning mark and now have the luxury of pointing their bows directly towards Martinique, 2100 nautical miles away. Baptiste Hulin and Thomas Rouxel on Viablis are second. 

IMOCA 

Francesca Clapcich and Will Harris are in great spirits on 11th Hour Racing as they led into more solid trade winds ahead of what will almost certainly become a trade winds speed test. The Italian-American-British duo were doing all they can to gain every possible mile and enhance their advantage but even today they have seen Switzerland’s Justine Mettraux and Xavier Macaire close up to be 11 miles behind on TeamWork-Team SNEF. They were racing in close visual contact with Briton Sam Goodchild and Loïs Berrehar (MACIF Santé Prévoyance) who are back up to third this afternoon. 

CLASS 40 

Thirty seven boats restarted off La Coruña at 1300hrs local time, racing into a 12-15kts westerly breeze under dark, moody skies with the occasional shaft of sunlight. Two boats started later having only just reached the Spanish haven and one – the Courbon brothers – was still a good 70 miles north east of the start line which they have to get through within 72 hours of the start. Just as they did out of La Havre six days ago, Guillaume Pirouelle and Cedric Chateau on Seafrigo-Sogestran led out of La Coruña on a stiff beat. 

Spain’s Pep Costa and Pablo Santurde (VSF Sports), fourth into La Coruña, were holding a low course to the north of the fleet. Before the start Pep said, “We are excited to be leaving but the Atlantic looks tricky. I am not sure if it is ever easy! The first two or three days of upwind conditions, managing a storm which is going to come in 48 hours and then there are two broad options, either we go to the north because there are no trades at all. We don’t know at all. We have to be very clever with our weather analysis and try to update it as much as possible as we go, to have a better idea. The first decision will be a very big one, so there will be plenty to play for. So the first night is going to be upwind and tomorrow maximum 20 knots. And then there is this storm coming in. In general we are thinking abut 14 days across.”
 

And Ireland’s Pam Lee (#EmpoHer) remarked, “We were a bit disappointed with the result on the first leg and so we are happy to get a second bite at it. In terms of weather, The first big decision is whether to go to the north or the east of the TSS (Cape Finisterre) and how that plays out with a split in the fleet. On the inside there might be less sea state and a wind bend. So two different strategies there and there is a ridge which joins up again and the next big decision is when and indeed if there is a chance to dive south. That looks to be in about two days time. The CEP and the GFS models don’t agree, one sees an option the other definitely doesn’t. So we will be watching to see if that window to get south materialises or whether it doesn’t. If not we stay north and there is a series of low pressures which come to us, so it a game of attack the low pressure and dive south, attack the low pressure and dive, getting as west and south as you can on each depression until the window opens to get south, but that looks like being after the third big one. So at the moment the less risky route is probably to stay north as that first window to get south is not guaranteed. I think a lot of the fleet will stay north.“