Jules Verne Trophy - Groupama 3 crossed the starting line off Ushant at 3pm 50mn 22s UT, three days ago and since then has managed to clock up 708 miles in 24 hours.
Weather conditions are still favourable for Groupama 3, which is already at the latitude of the Cape Verde archipelago this Monday morning. By gaining nearly ten miles an hour on the reference time since midnight, the lead has stretched to over 360 miles...
Virtually a day and a half better! Franck Cammas and his crew are still in `turbo phase' at the start of this week: they've covered 2,185 miles since setting out from Ushant on Thursday afternoon... And the trajectory has been particularly pure since they gybed off Madeira: carving out a long, straight line across the North Atlantic on port tack under gennaker or solent according to the strength of the tradewinds and the squalls. Indeed, though the NE'ly wind is very stable in terms of direction, it is more inconsistent in terms of strength resulting in a number of manoeuvres to adapt to these variable conditions. The putting in and shaking out of reefs hasn't worn down the crew's energy however, and navigator Stan Honey is slowly recovering from his headache.
High temperatures under the tropics, big but regular seas, a wind in the process of easing off: this is the programme for this fourth day in the Jules Verne Trophy attempt. However, the tradewinds are still in evidence and if they ease it should still be possible to rack up an average of over 25 knots until midway through the afternoon: this would position Groupama 3 at the same latitude as Orange 2 in 2005, but with a lead of two days! There is still some uncertainty as regards the doldrums however, which is set to appear on the horizon from Monday evening: the speed at which the zone is traversed will depend on the intensity of the weather conditions and the manner in which things evolve inside, but according to the satellite images, Groupama 3 should come out the other side relatively quickly. The equator was just 1,000 miles ahead this Monday at 0700 UT and the reference time set by the giant trimaran in 2008 (6d 6h 24') could be considerably improved on...
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