Caffari and Thompson ready for the off in Le Havre. Image copyright Chris Ison/Press Association.
by Kelly Russell
Having crossed the start line of the 4,800 mile Transat Jacques Vabre sprint from Le Havre to Cost Rica in third position, British duo Dee Caffari and Brian Thompson, onboard Aviva, have worked hard to retain their place in the fleet.
A close night of racing saw Caffari and Thompson reunited with their Vendée Globe race rivals Arnaud Boissières and co-skipper Vincent Riou onboard Akena Verandas. Despite battling to stay ahead through the early hours of this morning, the 10h00 race ranking showed that Akena Verandas had taken third position. However with a lead of only 1.2 miles over Aviva, the battle is sure to continue. The next twenty-four hours look set to deliver more exciting racing, with a cold front forecast to arrive.
Harry Spedding, Aviva Ocean Racing Campaign Manager added:
“The depression and cold front coming in for Dee and Brian later today will be the first of many in this race as the weather systems are set to be quite complex over the next week. Tactically it will be a case of them positioning themselves to make the most of the sudden wind shifts they will encounter on the back of this cold front.”
Elsewhere in the fleet, the capsize and safe rescue of the Class 50 multihull Actual, skippered by French duo Yves Le Blevec and Jean Le Cam, delivered a dramatic reminder of how challenging the conditions in the Transat Jacques Vabre can be.
Michel Desjoyeaux and Jérémie Beyou are currently leading the Open 60 IMOCA class in the Transat Jacques Vabre with the 10h00 ranking positioning them 4.8 miles ahead of fourth placed Caffari and Thompson onboard Aviva.
Dee Caffari and Brian Thompson’s latest diary entry received on 9 November 2009 at 07h45 GMT:
“A good start from the line saw us sail downwind into a large swell that made the ride a little uncomfortable.
“The wind was not exactly as we hoped so we all headed slightly high off course. As the afternoon progressed we were all very close and before we knew it the daylight had faded and it was dark. With the dark came the wind and a change of direction. In fact it so dark you could not see the large waves we were sailing into any longer. The real buzz came at about 2200hrs when we were surfing along at 23 knots alongside Akena. All you could see were navigation lights and the walls of spray leaving the bow wave. We were so close and both boats were doing similar speeds. It took us ages to get clear so we could relax again. With a cloud full of rain visibility was the worst it had been and we lost any navigation lights we were trying to track.
“Now after what has seemed like forever, the sun has risen, the wind has dropped and the sea is left with a messy swell and about four yachts have reappeared. Just to leeward on the horizon we can see Foncia so that has made us smile with our porridge. Today we have light winds for a few hours before meeting a new depression and tackling the cold front late tonight. We will be busy today, that is for sure.”
Aviva Ocean Racing
Transat Jacques Vabre
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