Guyader pour Urgence Climatique. Image copyright Piu Bella Photographie.
by Régis Lerat
As the Transat Jacques Vabre leaders pass the Azores comes a welcome change of conditions, deliverance from the pounding winds and waves, the succession of malicious Atlantic depression and into more useful breezes, warmer temperatures and the chance to prepare for some faster sailing later in the weekend.
With Seb Josse and Jean Francois Curzon recovering in the Azores from their ordeal after being helicoptered off BT yesterday evening, minds are fully focussed on maximum speed again and optimising the routing to Costa Rica. The pace at the front of the IMOCA Open 60 fleet has increased as Safran lead past the west fringe of the Azores last night with a margin of just over 40 miles from Mike Golding Yacht Racing. Speaking this morning to Paris Race HQ, Safran's Charles Caudrelier sounded markedly upbeat, clearly relieved that they had not just made it through the worst of the weather but have emerged with a decent lead.
Kito de Pavant's Groupe Bel is doggedly pursuing Golding and Sanso still some five miles behind and to leeward, but the leading trio have now 57 miles in hand over Alex Thomson and Ross Daniel on Hugo Boss who, from their more northerly position are now bow down, sailing a more southerly course, converging with the leaders' tracks.
Groupe Bel. Image copyright Gilles Martin-Raget.
Ahead they have the high pressure system which is offering some slightly complex conditions and they will need their wits about them before another small depression sends them briskly on their way down the track.
The southern group have their work cut out, still in lighter upwind breezes in the transition zone on the edge of the high pressure. Somewhat painfully they have seen their arrears increase still more on the leaders who are on, or close to, course for Costa Rica.
Whimsical as ever, Foncia skipper Michel Desjoyeaux noted a temporary tenfold decrease in their breeze as they ran up against this area of variable winds, from 48 knots to 4.8 knots. In ninth Foncia is over 400 miles behind. A year ago to the day Desjoyeaux was 610 miles behind in the Vendée Globe after re-starting and still went on to win but...
The crew on Safran. Image copyright A. Courcoux.
Charles Caudrelier Bénac (FRA, Safran): “It's slamming still but much less than before. It is almost comfortable. I'm quite relieved now. I'm tired after what was a stressful phase. I've rarely seen such seas. If I had the choice I'd not do it again. During the night we were a bit cautious to set more sail and made sure to wait. It's been really different for three hours in fact. But it looks like the Bronx inside the boat, it could be better!
"Marc started to tidy up a bit when he was off watch, but we need to make a complete check over the boat to see that we don't have any damage, and we have some repairs to make. What has happened to some of the others is a reminder what we've been through and the boat will have suffered too. If this were a Vendée Globe maybe we'd struggle to finish it, but we are unscathed really and that's not always the way our luck runs. We could have pushed harder but we were careful. For the rest of the track I don't think it looks really too complicated to the West Indian section. I feel we have a good position compared to the remainder of the fleet. We'll slow a bit at the high but we have not really looked after the Antilles yet. But it is all going well.”
Transat Jacques Vabre
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