FR
EN
Ranking of
00:00
View all
CLASS40
OCEAN FIFTY
IMOCA
ULTIM
Into the blue
While the ULTIM race leader Tom Laperche and Franck Cammas (SVR Lazartigue) are opening distance all the time on their pursuers, now into the trade winds and averaging 31 knots this afternoon, not far behind them are the Ocean Fifty class which is slaloming down the African coast in a narrow band of pressure, avoiding the lighter airs to the west. The IMOCA race has slowed right down into single figures, 10 knots or less, as they negotiate a wide band of light winds before the Canary Islands. Briton Sam Goodchild celebrated his French co-skipper Loïs Berrehar’s 32nd birthday by taking the lead back from Charal last night and holding it all day – the top duo racing within sight of each other, 180 nautical miles NNW of Lanzarote and the Canary Islands which they must leave to their right. And in La Coruña NW Spain, rest and repairs are the order of the day for the 35 Class 40s which are now harboured there making ready for a Saturday re-start
Class40
In half a second the plane capsized our boat
On Wednesday morning, Belgian couple, Jérôme Delire and Caroline Dieu (Innovad.Group – XLG) witnessed a rare incident. In the Bay of Biscay, a low-flying private jet capsized their boat, severely damaging their spinnaker. After showing their distress in a video posted yesterday, Jérôme recounted the circumstances of this unusual mishap this morning.
News, from the east
Unusually the TRANSAT CAFE l’OR is exploring Europe and Africa this morning. Spain is offering refuge for the Class40s, while the routing for the ULTIMs and Ocean Fifties calls for a dive towards the beaches of Morocco and Mauritania for another good day, in search of the trade winds that are beginning to slowly settle in south of the Canary Islands. As for the IMOCAs, they are battling a sticky high pressure. There is no relaxing. This morning, everyone is focused on squeezing through a tiny gap, or perhaps the eye of a needle.