Istanbul Europa Race sailors experience the difficulty of cruising around the islands of the Aegean Sea when the wind is missing. There's almost no meltem, the wind that usually blows at this time of the year and can reach 60 knots.
It creates tension in the race although on paper the route of stage 1 in the Istanbul Europa Race looks like a tourism guide for overstressed city-dwellers. With about 1000 miles to go before the finish in Nice, Kito De Pavant (Groupe Bel) still leads but he knows how fragile his situation is.
During the radio talk at lunch time on Monday, he mentioned that his progression had been neutralized for two hours. Looking at the positions, it's obvious that no hierarchy is set yet and everything can still happen. De Pavant has chosen a passage between the cape of the Peloponnesus while Michel Desjoyeaux, Roland Jourdain, Guillermo Altadill and Jean-Pierre Dick opted for a more eastern route. Marc Thiercelin stayed silent on board DCNS. They are busy putting energy into coming back into the game after losing more time in the Aegean Sea.
It's now time for the fleet to visit the Ionian Sea.
The Spanish team-mate of Jean-Pierre Dick and future skipper of Paprec-Virbac 2 doesn't complain about laying in fifth position. Everything remains possible, he said.
'The conditions are very typical of the Mediterranean. The sea is blue and flat with not much wind. It's been a complicated night. We've suffered like the rest of the fleet but the atmosphere on board is good. Sometimes during the night we don't see who we're talking to. A question might be asked in English and the answer comes in French. It's a pity that we're behind in the ranking but there are many hours of racing left and there is still room for improvement. As for myself, it's a great experience because Jean-Pierre Dick is passing his boat over to us. This is an ideal opportunity to take over.'
In the Istanbul Europa Race, Veolia Environnement remains the underdog. Jean-Luc Nélias talked about the islands.
'During the whole night it's been complicated to navigate in between all these small islands. Some of them have an altitude of 500 to 1000 metres, it regularly keeps us away from the wind. For holiday, it must be a great spot but not really for sailing fast. The geography explains why we are almost all back together again. The race is unpredictable.'
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