- When to back off? Estrella Damm and Groupe Bel lift the pedal at the same time
- FMC gain two places in Ghost Mode
- Central Lechera Asturiana’s Cape Town pit-stop is done and dusted
Central Lechera Asturiana in Cape Town. Image copyright Central Lechera Asturiana.
by Barcelona World Race media
There was a certain ‘morning after the night before’ mood evident among the Barcelona World Race skippers who were contacted by audio and video today.
It was not just the bleary eyed tiredness - the inevitable product of more than 48 hours of intense on-the-edge racing in very difficult, unstable conditions and very big confused seas which had prevailed in very different sections of the fleet, but there was also a very obvious measure of relief: satisfaction to have their campaigns still firmly intact, competitive and on course which was immediately apparent.
When the going gets really tough - proper boat breaking conditions - it becomes prudent to back off, to reduce sail and slow down. But when there is a boat alongside you which you have been duelling with, trading blows over previous days, brinksmanship finally gives way to prudence.
And so it was today that both of the co-skippers of third placed Groupe Bel and Estrella Damm, Kito de Pavant and Pepe Ribes, confirmed that the time came almost simultaneously last night when their sparring had to stop and boat and self-preservation took over.
De Pavant, who along with gentle giant co-skipper Seb Audigane, is living this race by the maxim ‘ sail safe sail fast’ on their Groupe Bel, earlier described the conditions prior to easing off as ‘madness’.
It was not so much the wind-strength but the confused cross seas which were launched their IMOCA Open 60 into huge voids or into the back of big waves, which required them to regulate their pace, sailing for several hours with just a double reefed mainsail. He confirmed that Audigane suffered some bruising when he was thrown across the boat like a rag doll.
Ribes, co-skipper of Estrella Damm, said: “ In the last 48 hours we had to back off because the seas were confused and we did not want to break the boat, so we were happy to see they were losing a bit. So it showed us they were backing of a bit, at the same time as we were.
"But now at the moment we have good conditions, so we have been able to speed up a little and get away from them again.”
De Pavant echoed: “ It was normal not too push too much. Ahead of 90 degrees of the wind we were going too fast, we said to slow, it was just not good. We stuck the nose into some big waves, with some big frights. So we chose to lift the foot off the pedal a little, perhaps not even for the boat which can maybe take more, but more for us. It was incredibly loud inside the boat. Now it has quietened a bit, we have more sail up again and are making between 15 and 20 knots as the puffs come through.
“ The decks have been well washed these last few days, the boat is very clean.”
Eighteen hundred miles or so behind, on Hugo Boss in tenth place, Andy Meiklejohn and Wouter Verbraak were smiling too, this morning appreciating the sudden appeal of a seascape painted in featureless flat grey hues, reaching along today at workmanlike speeds on nearly flat seas.
The conditions this morning had abated as the duo worked SE and were not so much typical of the Indian Ocean, more reminiscent of Verbraak’s native North Sea. But the Dutch co-skipper recalled vividly that only hours earlier, last night they had been relying on simple first principles, sailing the massively powerful IMOCA Open 60 by feel, as if blindfolded in the empty darkness which they found themselves in. It was, they said, physically the toughest hours of their race so far: “Every time when the pilot can’t steer the boat we have to drive by hand for hour after hour. And with seas of three to four metres you jump off the waves in seconds. The big challenge is to have anything to steer off. You can only see the four displays on the mast. Maybe a star here or there, but otherwise it is pitch black, back to dinghy sailing days, sailing by feel blindfold. In saying that on Hugo Boss we do a pretty good job swapping between helmsmen. After one hour you are completely cracked: knackered and just need to sleep.” Reported Verbraak.
So respite is widely welcomed almost all the way through the Barcelona World Race fleet today, even if they are essentially racing in at least three different weather systems, from Jean Pierre Dick and Loïck Peyron at the front of the fleet, with a stable lead of 419 miles over MAPFRE, making a steady 16 knots, back to the scrapping back-markers We Are Water and FMC.
The Spanish duos passed the Cape of Good Hope longitude this morning at only half an hour separating them. The two teams may be nearly an ocean behind Virbac-Paprec 3, but their race is every bit as intense as the leaders! Ironically FMC became the first boat of the race so far to have emerged from Ghost Mode having gained places on the leader board.
Working on the keel area on Central Lechera Asturiana. Image copyright Central Lechera Asturiana.
Juan Merediz and Fran Palacio emerged from Cape Town this afternoon, getting their race back on track on Central Lechera Asturiana. They arrived for their technical pit stop this morning at 0115hrs UTC last night and were back out on the race track this evening, the race’s youngest co-skipper Palacio and its only true remaining amateur, lawyer Merediz resolute and ready to fight on with a deficit of around 185 miles to 11th placed We Are Water.
Standings at 1400hrs UTC FRIDAY 4th FEBRUARY
1 VIRBAC-PAPREC 3 at 15 547,6 from finish
2 MAPFRE at 419,1 miles to leader
3 ESTRELLA DAMM Sailing Team at 549,7 miles
4 GROUPE BEL at 586,8 miles
5 RENAULT Z.E at 805,9 miles
6 MIRABAUD at 1464,9 miles
7 NEUTROGENA at 1469,9 miles
8 GAES CENTROS AUDITIVOS at 2065,7 miles
9 HUGO BOSS at 2311 miles
10 FORUM MARITIM CATALA at 2704,2 miles
11 WE ARE WATER at 2716,3 miles
12 CENTRAL LECHERA ASTURIANA at 2896,7 miles
RTD FONCIA
RTD PRESIDENT
Kito De Pavant (FRA), Groupe Bel: “The two days that we just had were really difficult. Reaching with the wind at 100 degrees and wind between 25 and 35 knots with impressive boat speeds. We slowed down a little, with a good part of the night only under main with two reefs. We lost some miles but the sea was chaotic, but we prefer to stay in one piece in the Indian Ocean. We were glad to be close with Estrella Damm. It was normal not too push too much. Ahead of 90 degrees of the wind we were going too fast, we said to slow, it was just not good. We stuck the nose into some big waves, with some big frights. So we chose to lift the foot off the pedal a little, perhaps not even for the boat which can maybe take more, but more for us. It was incredibly loud inside the boat. Now it has quietened a bit, we have more sail up again and are making between 15 and 20 knots as the puffs come through.
"The decks have been well washed these last few days, the boat is very clean.
"Seb tries to find the right settings and gears, not always easy.
"It did not feel a very natural step at first, but now it is quite pleasant to sail round the world with two, to be able to rest or to boost the morale. But we speak a lot about our experiences at sea, and we have a course which is quite a bit further north than we would expect to follow. The gates are very, very north of the 42nd parallel. Normally you’d be downwind in the south, and we are awaiting that, but the conditions in the Indian have not been good. There will be some debate about this before the next Vendée Globe for sure.”
Pepe Ribes (ESP) Estrella Damm: “In the last 48 hours we had to back off because the seas were confused and we did not want to break the boat, so we were happy to see they were losing a bit and so it showed us they were backing of a bit, at the same time as we were. But now at the moment we have good conditions, so we have been able to speed up a little and get away from them again”.
Andy Meiklejohn (NZL) and Wouter Verbraak (NED) Hugo Boss: “We had very difficult sea conditions which meant we could not sail as close to the wind as we would have like to, and so the in the end (getting to the waypoint) was quite tight and we had to tack again. But we got a nice little shift coming in which helped us. Just the sea was really in a bad direction for us and not very kind for the boat. The end goal was just really keeping the boat in one piece.
"We had some good rest, some good food and caught up on a few jobs, bailing the boat and doing all the structural checks, and had some sleep as well. But there is plenty more of that to come.
"We have had a few tough moments, but physically and actually sailing the boat that was actually pretty tough. Every time when the pilot can’t steer the boat we have to drive by hand for hour after hour. And with seas of three to four metres you jump off the waves in seconds. The big challenge is to have anything to steer off. You can only see the four displays on the mast. Maybe a star here or there, but otherwise it is pitch black, back to dinghy sailing days, sailing by feel blindfold. And we do a pretty good job swapping between helmsmen. After one hour you are cracked, knackered and need to sleep.
Xabi Fernandez (ESP), MAPFRE: “Here we are, as I read on the website yesterday, pushing and pushing. Honestly we are going really fast but we are in an area in the low that is not very comfortable of sailing. Lots of changes in direction and intensity and is difficult to do 5 hours concentrating only on making the boat run. But oh well, as I said, we are doing well. Behind us Estrella is the one approaching the best. Yesterday they managed to cut a lot of distance but we hope that in the next few hours we can even gain or stabilize the difference. Besides that everything is going well onboard, very humid but at least we are having days of sailing 450 miles and is unbelievable! We are eating the Indian Ocean reaching at full speed!!! Iker and I, we are perfect so we’ll keep pushing hard and watching out for changes in the following hours”
In French:
La porte d'Amsterdam
We Are Water. Image copyright We Are Water.
- Instants de répit sur l’ensemble de la flotte
- Central Lechera Asturianaest reparti de Cape Town
- Les écarts se stabilisent sauf pour Forum Maritim Catala qui a gagné deux places en 24h
Ce n’est pas encore le plat pays, mais ça y ressemble bougrement. Ciel bas, temps gris, et un océan qui s’est profondément assagi au point de rappeler à certains les paysages de la mer du Nord. Virbac-Paprec 3 continue de gérer son avance sur ses poursuivants, Estrella Damm et Groupe Bel jouent à « ne me quitte pas ». La tête de flotte vise maintenant la porte de la Nouvelle Amsterdam que les premiers devraient avoir parée dans l’après-midi.
Ils en avaient besoin. Les dernières quarante-huit heures ont visiblement éprouvé les organismes et tous les coureurs joints à la vacation ont exprimé leur soulagement de pouvoir souffler. Il faut dire que vivre dans une sorte de shaker aux mouvements parfois totalement imprévisibles, dans la caisse résonnance des coques en carbone, dans l’humidité permanente ne relève pas vraiment de la sinécure. Quand on ajoute à ces ingrédients, la crainte toujours présente de la casse matérielle et la pression de la compétition, on comprend mieux que les tandems de la Barcelona World Race n’aient pas spécialement apprécié les dernières heures.
Fonctions vitales écornées
D’autant que les monocoques IMOCA peuvent faire parfois montre d’un caractère pour le moins impétueux. Kito de Pavant expliquait ainsi que, lors des dernières heures, malgré la décision de l’équipage de naviguer sous grand-voile seule, leur monture continuait de flirter avec les vingt nœuds de moyenne en enfournant régulièrement dans des vagues plus abruptes que les autres. Difficile dans ces conditions de trouver le repos nécessaire : dormir tient de la gageure entre mouvements de la coque qui cogne dans les vagues et le bruit infernal ; se préparer un repas chaud tient de l’utopie. Il faut, dans ces instants-là, une bonne dose de fatalisme de même que la foi dans des moments meilleurs pour ne pas se laisser envahir par le doute. Embarqués dans un manège dont ils ne peuvent pas descendre, les navigateurs subissent de plein fouet le stress de ces heures difficiles. L’Indien comme c’est souvent le cas, ne sera visiblement pas regretté par beaucoup de navigateurs, à l’heure de faire les bilans. Un rayon de soleil ou la sensation soudaine que la mer n’a plus le même caractère agressif est vécu comme une délivrance.
Duels à tous les étages
The wake of Virbac Paprec 3. Image copyright Jean-Pierre Dick.
Dans ces conditions, Jean-Pierre Dick et Loïck Peyron, forts de leur avance, ont visiblement pris le parti de gérer leur course. L’écart avec MAPFRE se stabilise aux alentours de 400 milles, soit une grosse journée de navigation. Un petit plus en retrait, Estrella Damm et Groupe Bel continuent leur mano a mano. Autre duo collé serré, Mirabaud et Neutrogena se livrent maintenant bataille à cinq milles à peine l’un de l’autre. C’est d’ailleurs une des caractéristiques de cette édition que de présenter plusieurs duels au sein de la course...
On pourrait ainsi citer la bataille à distance entre les demoiselles de GAES Centros Auditivos et les deux gaillards d’Hugo Boss qui ont juré de les accrocher à leur tableau de chasse avant la sortie de l’océan Indien. Mais ces dames ont décidé de faire de la résistance. Enfin en queue de flotte, Forum Maritim Catala ne peut que se féliciter d’avoir enclenché le mode furtif puisque, pour 12 milles, ils ont pu griller la politesse à leurs complices de We Are Water. En vingt-quatre heures, le duo franco-espagnol a gagné deux places profitant aussi de l’arrêt de Central Lechera Asturiana à Cape Town.
Juan Merediz et Fran Palacio, arrivés dans la nuit à Cape Town ont finalement pu larguer les amarres aux alentours de 14h00 (TU + 1) et devraient maintenant tenter de revenir au plus vite au contact. Le régime de vent d’ouest qui s’installe progressivement sur la zone de course devrait les y aider.
Classement du 4 février à 15 heures (TU+1) :
1 VIRBAC-PAPREC 3 à 15 547,6 milles de l’arrivée
2 MAPFRE à 419,1 milles du leader
3 ESTRELLA DAMM Sailing Team à 549,7 milles
4 GROUPE BEL à 586,8 milles
5 RENAULT Z.E à 805,9 milles
6 MIRABAUD à 1464,9 milles
7 NEUTROGENA à 1469,9 milles
8 GAES CENTROS AUDITIVOS à 2065,7 milles
9 HUGO BOSS à 2311 milles
10 FORUM MARITIM CATALA à 2704,2 milles
11 WE ARE WATER à 2716,3 milles
12 CENTRAL LECHERA ASTURIANA à 2896,7 milles
ABN FONCIA
ABN PRESIDENT
Ils ont dit :
Kito de Pavant, Groupe Bel : « Les deux jours qu’on vient de passer ont vraiment été difficiles. Un bord de reaching à 100 ° du vent, un vent entre 25 et 35 nœuds avec des vitesses impressionnantes. On a un peu freiné. Avec une bonne partie de la nuit sous grand voile seule à 2 ris. On a perdu des milles, la mer était chaotique, mais on a préféré assurer dans l’océan Indien. On s’est fait des plantés impressionnants, des grosses frayeurs. Groupe Bel fait partie des bateaux les plus confortables de la flotte IMOCA. Mais c’est quand même très raide et assez brutal. C’est difficile de tenir debout dès que ça va vite.
On a préféré lever le pied. On avait du mal à supporter le vacarme dedans et à l’extérieur du bateau. On a une route assez différente de ce qu’on a l’habitude de suivre. Les portes sont très au nord avec ce 42e parallèle. Normalement on va beaucoup plus Sud pour trouver du vent portant. On attend ça avec impatience... mais pour l’Indien ça m’a l’air mal barré. »
HUGO BOSS. Image copyright Alex Thomson Racing.
Andy Meiklejohn, Hugo Boss : «Ces deux derniers jours, on avait une mer vraiment difficile à négocier. Même barrer était fatigant. La seule chose qu’on pouvait faire pour tenter de reprendre des forces, c’était d’essayer de dormir. On a juste réussi à manger quelque chose de chaud hier soir. Là, la mer est plate, on en profite pour récupérer avant l’arrivée des vents d’ouest. La situation était aussi complexe car il nous fallait passer la porte des glaces sur un seul bord. On y est parvenu, mais on a dû frôler l’extrémité de la ligne… J’ai même cru qu’on allait toucher la bouée ! Maintenant, notre défi, c’est de doubler les filles, on leur a promis.»
Pepe Ribes, Estrella Damm: « Actuellement, nous avons 25 nœuds de vent. Les dernières quarante-huit heures ont été très difficiles. On a essayé de faire au mieux, mais on ne connaît pas forcément très bien les limites du bateau. On continue d’apprendre tout en restant dans la course. On devrait passer la porte de la Nouvelle Amsterdam dans la journée de demain. On a maintenant attaqué la nourriture pour les mers du sud avec des plats autrement plus consistants et calorifiques que lors de la descente de l’Atlantique. Durant toutes ces dernières heures, on essayait de se détendre avec un peu de musique, mais c’était vraiment difficile.»
Barcelona World Race
