IMOCA fleet fight for lead - Transat Jacques Vabre

by Rivacom on 17 Nov 2007 A glance at the ranking is enough to see that the crossing of the Doldrums is reshuffling the deck, enabling the IMOCA boats positioned more to the west in lateral to get out first.

Foncia got the best out of the situation and emerged first from the zone. However, the competitors at Foncia's port side are still a threat to her as they will enter the southwesterly trade winds with a better navigational angle. As a result, they should pick up speed on their way to Bahia. The quarry to hunt at the end of the Doldrums is not yet known.

MONOHULLS - Imoca and Class 40
The four hour polls indicate which boat has the best speed/heading combination en route to Bahia, but it does not take into consideration the wind conditions the skippers will meet on their descent.

That makes a difference and is worth explaining: If we consider the situation today at at 4:00, Foncia is theoretically closer to Bahia than the boats behind her and is holding the pole position in the ranking. But, trick of the sailing races, if you add up the wind angle in which the boats are sailing to the speed, and heading, then the first today may not end up the one under the spotlight in Bahia.

As for the Doldrums lottery, Foncia has an advantage, still, as after heading slightly more west yesterday, she already reached some trade winds first. However, we need to wait for a few more hours to see in what condition the boats at her east -- Cheminées Poujoulat, Safran, Ecover 3 and Groupe Bel -- will exit the area. They are sailing close enough in lateral with Foncia to be able to run the extra miles and catch up with the leaders; the gap between Foncia and Groupe Bel, sixth, is only 71 miles after 13 days of racing. The picture should be clearer tomorrow in terms of the name of the lottery winner. Moreover, the frontrunners in the fleet will perform until Bahia in conditions they have never encountered before in the race. This will be the time for them to compare and assess their boats' speed and sailing angles, as they still have plenty to discover about their boat's performance and their sail configurations – as well as those of their competitors.

Brit'Air seems a bit far away (north and east)to manage to close the gap. Regarding Gitana Eighty, she is losing mile after mile, unfortunately, after opting for an eastern track. Générali is now in the wake of Roxy by three miles (4.00). The second half of the Imoca fleet have now entered the Doldrums while the Imoca frontrunners are now out of it.

Most of the fleet of the Class 40 seems to be picking up the eastern route to pass the Cape Verde Islands. But as the northeasterly trade winds are gradually fading away, starting in the north and shifting east/northeast, we see some of the skippers (40 degress and Sidaction, for instance) heading to the west to pass through the Islands. They are hoping for the accelerations the islands provide to try and make some gains. This is the last chance to gamble on an option before the Doldrums. As for the three last days of descent, the route between the Cape Verde Islands and the Doldrums will be a motorway, all boats on the same tack, eating the miles. However, the motorway will be faster for the frontrunners, the rear of the fleet once again slowing down.

Still, at the east of the entire fleet, ATAO Audio System is heading west to go around the islands (58 miles behind Telecom Italia). The boats now need to position for the Doldrums that are 1,000 miles away from the bows of the frontrunners. As they sail an average of 200 miles per day, the first and fastest should enter the tricky area in some five or six days. Novedia Set Environnement is now in 7th, racking up some more places in the ranking.

MULTIHULLS Class 50

Imprisoned in the Doldrums net, Crèpes Whaou! is watching Laiterie de St Malo closing in on her at 18 knots, only 44 miles away at 4 p.m. After 12 days in the lead, F. Yves Escoffier sounded a bit disappointed in today's audio session. We can only imagine how high his pursuer's spirits must be. However, the situation should not last for too long as Crèpes Whaou! should be out of the Doldrums soon and the boat will be back in motion, riding fast in the trade winds.