The first week of racing was certainly testing for the competitors in the double-handed transatlantic race between Le Havre and Puerto Limon (Costa Rica). After three low-pressure areas in a row passed over, the IMOCA monohulls taking part had to deal with getting around a high and the calms it was generating. Today, Thursday, those, who opted for the northern route – Virbac-Paprec 3 and Hugo Boss – have made gains in the rankings and seem well placed to win the race in Costa Rica. But there is still a long way to go and many hurdles along the way.
Le Havre, Wednesday 2nd November. This time, they’re off! After the postponement of the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre due to heavy weather in the North Atlantic the 13 IMOCA monohulls set off downwind at 1400 hrs GMT in a decent 20-25 knot SE’ly wind. Ahead of them, 4370 miles and a tough race. Groupe Bel got off to the best start ahead of Akena Vérandas, PRB and Safran. They soon got into the real stuff, covering the Channel in around twenty hours. “I’ve never made it out of the Channel so quickly!” said Kito de Pavant. During the night we sailed between 18 and 20 knots and were often faster than the cargo ships. We overtook them one by one.”
Three low-pressure areas in four days
The competitors tackled the first low with two goals in mind: avoiding damage on the one hand and trying to get to point where the wind shifted to the north west behind the front as quickly as possible. Strong winds and heavy, cross seas: the conditions were tough on the men and equipment. Arnaud Boissières and Gérald Véniard, forced to retire when their Akena Verandas was dismasted, were the first victims. As for François Gabart and Sébastien Col (Macif), they led the way south-westwards towards the Azores. Doing well with the wind on the beam, Bernard Stamm and Jean-François Cuzon’s Cheminées Poujoulat was not far behind. The crews formed by Thomson/Altadill (Hugo Boss), Dick/Beyou (Virbac-Paprec 3), Riou/Destremau (PRB) and Guillemot/Eliès (Safran) were ready to pounce. They all had to cross an area of light winds before a second front moved in, which was particularly violent. Shaken up, the fleet managed to get through the stormy conditions. But it was not over yet, as another very deep low, the third in four days was waiting for them to the north of the Azores. “It’s good that there are two of us, as if we were sailing alone, it would have been monstrous,” admitted Yann Eliès.
Choosing sides
The successive storms dealt a blow to three crews. Marc Thiercelin and Luc Alphand (DCNS) threw in the towel because of a lack of energy. Shortly after that, Cheminées Poujoulat suffered from a serious ingress of water. Bernard Stamm and Jean-François Cuzon triggered their beacon and were lifted off by helicopter. As for the duo on PRB, they headed for the Azores after a bulkhead exploded. On the fifth day of racing, Virbac-Paprec 3 took the lead of the fleet of nine still racing: this was the tenth change of leader since the start in Le Havre. The competitors hardly had time to regain their breath and had to deal with a tricky high-pressure area and its associated calms. There were two possible options: dive south hoping to pick up the trade winds, although it would mean losing ground to begin with; or go via the north and accept to sail upwind in more difficult conditions, but on a route closer to the Great Circle Route. A choice had to be made. Banque Populaire, Macif, Groupe Bel and Safran opted for the first option; Virbac-Paprec 3 and Hugo Boss favoured the second.
Gains and losses
Those who opted for the north gained from their decision and quickly extended their lead over the southerners, who were stuck in the high-pressure area. Those in the south could only wait patiently and watch Virbac-Paprec and Hugo Boss make their getaway, while those at the rear of the fleet sped back. Up until then, left some way behind, the crews formed by Mike Golding/Bruno Dubois (Gamesa), Dominique Wavre/Michèle Paret (Mirabaud) and Louis Burton/Nelson Burton (Bureau Vallée) edged north and got back in the game – to the extent that the Burton brothers were in third place in the 1000 hrs GMT rankings on Thursday, thwarting all the forecasts. The four crews in the south have finally managed to get away from the area of light winds. But the gap to the two frontrunners is now huge. Will they manage to catch up? It will be difficult, but they will not be giving up, as François Gabart said this Thursday: “In theory they have got way ahead and it is clear that Virbac-Paprec 3 and Hugo Boss are leading the way, and there is little reason why they won’t stay there. There is still the race and the weather, so a lot can still happen. It’s also a mechanical sport and damage is still possible. We are going to continue our race as best we can, and we’ll see what happens next.”
Rankings at the halfway stage (10th November- 1000hrs GMT)
1. Jean-Pierre Dick/Jérémie Beyou (Virbac-Paprec 3), 2513 miles from the finish
2. Alex Thomson/Guillermo Altadill (Hugo Boss), 21.7 miles from the leader
3. Louis Burton/Nelson Burton (Bureau Vallée), 239 miles from the leader
4. Mike Golding/Bruno Dubois (Gamesa), 258.9 miles from the leader
5. Armel Le Cléac’h/Christopher Pratt (Banque Populaire), 280.80 miles from the leader
6. Dominique Wavre/Michèle Paret (Mirabaud), 309.20 miles from the leader
7. François Gabart/Sébastien Col (Macif), 309.80 miles from the leader
8. Kito de Pavant/Yann Régniau (Groupe Bel), 400.30 miles from the leader
9. Marc Guillemot/Yann Eliès (Safran), 403.90 miles from the leader
