Sail-World.com : Class40 fleet claustrophobia in Artemis Transat
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Class40 fleet claustrophobia in Artemis Transat |
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'Yann Elies onboard Generali Photo: Yann Elies / Generali - The Artemis Transat 2008'
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As the 36 hour blackout lifted at 0600GMT on Sunday morning, the middle of the Class40 fleet was becoming claustrophobic with six yachts grouped within nine miles in terms of distance to finish: a spread that increased by just two miles over the course of the day.
'There's really nothing in it,' confirmed Alex Bennett on Fujifilm this morning. In the afternoon, Bennett was in seventh place, only two miles behind Miranda Merron on 40 Degrees. 'It's amazing how tight it is and this is as tight as offshore sailboat racing is ever going to get,' he continued. 'It's really neck-and-neck and there's everything to play for. I really think it's anybody's race.'
One of the most pro-blackout skippers, Miranda Merron, explained her relief as the first position poll downloaded at 0600GMT: 'I got becalmed for four or five hours last night and I was frantic that it was just me.' There was no cause for concern and the positions revealed that 40 Degrees was in fifth, right in the thick of the compressed group of six yachts. 'It really was fantastic racing in the blackout,' continued Merron. 'Not having to check the positions meant I could concentrate on sailing. Yesterday, I spotted three other Class40s and without the positions, it was really proper racing.' By the afternoon, Merron had dropped one place as the positions constantly change within the pack by a mere handful of miles. Boris Herrmann in second place on Beluga Racer is currently trailing the race leader, Giovanni Soldini and Telecom Italia by 46 miles and agrees with the two British skippers: 'I was a little bit surprised we were so close when the blackout lifted, especially because the wind was so shifty. Personally, I made seven or 10 tacks in the night...I can't really remember,' he reported earlier, the German skipper's fatigue becoming increasingly audible.
The Class40 fleet is now spread out over 186 miles north-south and the three distinct groups present before the blackout have generally dispersed, although the northern group of Yvan Noblet with Appart' City (fifth place), Thierry Bouchard on Mistral Loisirs - Pole Santé ELIOR (third place) and Christophe Coatnoan with Groupe Partouche (8th place), have remained inseparable, keeping north with the race leader, Telecom Italia.
For Yvan Noblet on his yellow Class40, the first position poll after the blackout brought few surprises: 'I'm not too surprised by the rankings today,' he admitted this morning. 'For us in the north, the options were a bit limited.' Slipstreaming the race leader in 3rd place and trailing Giovanni Soldini by 58 miles, Thierry Bouchard has grown accustomed to the Italian's ability to outpace the fleet: 'We'll see Giovanni in Marblehead,' he said this morning. 'I really think first place has been decided, but the rest of the podium is wide open.' Despite this opinion, Bouchard has averaged 7.5 knots during the afternoon, just over a knot faster than Soldini.
However, from the middle of the north-south spread, Alex Bennett is not so sure that the northerly position held by Telecom Italia guarantees first place with 1,700 miles left to sail. 'We've taken the southerly option because of the position of the ice gate and the relative direction of the wind in relation to it.' The Class40 fleet leaders are around 800 miles from the ice gate and Bennett reported sailing into a westerly Force 4 this morning. 'We'll have to see, but at the moment, I think being below their layline to the ice gate is favoured.' Conversely, Boris Herrmann is unsure that there is any tangible advantage north or south: 'I'm not so sure it makes a difference,' he commented earlier. 'I think we'll have to tack every half a day for the next couple of days. I think Soldini and the others will stay on their layline in the north and - if the wind shifts right - they will be in a better position than us in the south.' Routing software predicts that the Class40s should approach the ice gate on Thursday afternoon and Miranda Merron on 40 Degrees is looking four days ahead at conditions closer to Newfoundland: 'Low pressure systems are easy,' she told the race office this morning, 'but there are a few obstacles ahead. Mainly light airs near the ice gate.'
After a predominantly downwind start to the race, the upwind sailing is becoming increasingly demanding: 'Last night was the worst so far,' said Halvard Mabire in fourth place, reporting 27 knot headwinds earlier today. 'Custo Pol is shaking about so much I can't even type. The keyboard is jumping about like a landed mackerel!' Both Mabire and Alex Bennett commented on an unusual sea state: 'The sea is much bigger than you would normally associate with this sort of wind strength and it's a very confused state,' said Bennett. 'This makes it a bit more bouncy for me and the boat.' Miranda Merron, though, is enjoying the conditions: 'Now we're going upwind in stable conditions, I'll get a chance to send some emails and chill out a bit,' she joked earlier. 'In reality, I have boat checks to make, there's some water I have to get out of the boat and I've got to have a really good look at the weather.'
Afer an exhausting downwind period in shifting, light breeze during which the skippers had to constantly monitor their boats to maximise speed, the physical hardship of slamming upwind may have a decisive effect, as Yvan Noblet on Appart' City suggested this morning: 'I really believe that the physical condition of individual skippers will be vital over the next few days.' Will endurance be a major factor? It is clear that the entire Class40 fleet are intensely competitive and none of the skippers involved in the current mid-Atlantic huddle are going to back-off until the finish line.
Class 40 Positions and Distance to Leader data 1400GMT Sunday:
1 Telecom Italia 0
2 Beluga Racer 46
3 Mistral Loisirs - Pole Santé ELIOR 48
4 Custo Pol 48.4
5 Appart City 50
6 40 Degrees 55.8
7 Fujifilm 57.4
8 Groupe Royer 78.6
9 Prévoir Vie 83.3
10 Groupe Partouche 89.6
11 Clarke Offshore Racing 108.8
IMOCA Open 60
The big news this morning was naturally the retirement of Sébastien Josse, plagued by a broken mainsail headcar, and unable to climb up the mast given the sea state - the race certainly loses one of its great animators, yet the BT skipper managed to remain positive about the incident: 'Of course pulling out at that stage is a big disappointment, but you know these things can happen. We've seen the boat was capable of being ahead of the best of the IMOCA fleet, that means our optimisation process was based on the right choices. I'm going back towards Brittany under sails, and those miles will count for my Vendée qualifier - I'm not wasting my time! Moreover, we've done all our preparation in 5 weeks, and compared to the other teams who have been working for 2 to 3 years, if we would've won this race, somehow it would've been a hold-up.' A rather magnanimous thing to underline, a statement which proves there isn't a hint of bitterness in Sébastien's perception of the situation. Now it's time to head home towards Lorient, end of the story - and don't count on Josse to make a big drama out of this.
The news was commentated throughout the fleet, and the leading pack - spearheaded by Vincent Riou aboard PRB - obviously felt sorry for Seb and his team. But the race goes on, and this morning was also a busy time for everyone who tried to analyze what had been happening in the dark during the 36-hours positions blackout. The most obvious move was Loick Peyron's tack, favoured by a wind shift to the west at about 22:00 GMT on Friday. 'I had planned to tack, but of course I waited for the blackout', said Gitana Eighty's skipper this morning, 'I think it was a good move in terms of saving some manoeuvres and efforts in the long run.' Now repositioned further south, Peyron is second only 26 miles behind Riou, and has a 30-mile advantage over Armel Le Cléac'h's Brit Air, who moved into third position aver the blackout.
Still a bit stuck in the North and impatiently awaiting stronger winds, fourth placed Yann Elies aboard Generali pointed out an interesting fact when we spoke to him this morning. 'The thing to remember is that Loick and myself are already qualified for the Vendée Globe, which isn't Armel and Vincent's case. It's still a long way upwind towards Boston after the ice gate, and we will be more comfortable pushing our boats since we don't have the same pressure regarding our presence in this winter's big event - that is an important factor I think. As far as I'm personally concerned, I'm still stuck up there, but there is a chance for me to dive at some point later during the coming night, so we'll see. For the moment, I don't know why light airs stick to me like that', concluded a very cheerful and well-rested Yann Elies. 'I had a good sleep this morning, because one of the advantages of sailing upwind is that the pilot is as fast as the helmsman, so I might as well take naps.'
In the second pack, Safran moved into sixth place while losing ground on the new leader - Marc Guillemot's loss to PRB amounted to 35 miles when the blackout was lifted - a lot less than the boats behind him actually. Sam Davies aboard Roxy, who maintained her west heading, still manages to make good speed, but both Cervin EnR and Akena Verandas have gained south, being now positioned relatively better in the perspective of the ice gate crossing. Last boat in the IMOCA fleet, Pakea Bizkaia 2009 is now 450 miles from the leader in terms of distance to the finish, a gap which translates into roughly a day and a half at sea.
The advantages of the blackout... by Yann Elies. 'It's certainly good to feel alone at sea, and the great thing about that positions blackout is that my wife can't call me every two hours to ask me why I'm not making better progress! It's also relaxing not to have the 'eye of Moscow' - by that I mean my project manager Erwan Steff! - permanently looking at you.' (laughs)
The Gulf Stream, like all major currents, is governed by wind-induced circulation on the North Atlantic scale, circulation which intensifies on the western edge due to the earth’s rotation. The Gulf Stream’s movement is generated by the friction of the winds (which affects water up to a depth of 1500 to 2000 metres), and the relatively high temperature of the Gulf Stream is due to the fact that the current carries waters originating from an area located between Florida and the Bahamas. Thermohaline circulation (which results from a difference in water densities – as cold and salty water dives under warmer and less salty waters) affects layers below 2000 metres of depth.
IMOCA Open 60 Positions
1. PRB
2. Gitana Eighty
3. Brit Air
4. Generali
www.theartemistransat.com
by OC Events
12:27 AM Mon 19 May 2008 GMT
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