Normandy Channel Race - Fleet rounds the Isle of Wight

by Kate Jennings on 27 May 2014 The competitors in the Normandy Channel Race rounded the Isle of Wight at dawn this morning. The war of nerves, combining gybes and currents, has begun. Following on from the pitfalls of the Solent, the fleet will have to be on the alert at Portland Bill, which they’ll reach over the course of this afternoon.

Portland Bill, a peninsula to the south of Weymouth, has its fair share of surprises in store for the 16 Class40s competing in this Normandy Channel Race 2014. This is especially true given that a wind shift isn’t likely to help them thwart the currents created by the peninsula.

Sébastien Rogues and Bertrand Castelnerac on GDF Suez were the first to enter the Solent at around 0300 GMT this morning: 'We made the Solent in the dead of night and the battle was intriguing! We had to fight against the current because once we were in the Solent, the wind eased. We opted to make our way along the Isle of Wight coastline but we may have been a tiny bit too close and we just scraped the bottom… Our bulb can’t look much like the bulb of a race boat now… It hasn’t prevented us from continuing with our race though fortunately!' Sébastien explained at the radio session.

Two hours later, at dawn, it was Serenis Consulting’s turn to make up ground on GDF Suez, it too hugging the coast, albeit the English one this time. From that point, the top ten competitors were embroiled in a classic battle requiring a series of gybes and tactical choices to avoid the worst of the current, which gives this region its infamous reputation.

Shortly before 0900 GMT, the whole fleet of Class40s had made it through the Solent at least. The wind is continuing to ease, with around five knots of breeze right now, and the 16 boats are spread out laterally from north to south. Damien Seguin and Jeanne Grégoire on ERDF – Des pieds et Des mains are furthest north, in Weymouth Bay, forced to grin and bear it as they await the wind shift. Damien Seguin at the noon radio session: 'We’ve just fallen into a calm patch and we’re waiting for the wind to put in an appearance again. It will probably kick back in via the north-east, hence our course choice. We’re still making headway with the current. Our playmates further south have a different wind offshore, but it is set to ease for everyone so we’ll see what the forecast has in store for us next.'

All the sailors had very little sleep last night, 30 minutes at best for some teams, and the upcoming forecast doesn’t seem ready to give them any respite. Unremitting effort and quick reactions are the order of the day and everyone is on the alert with regards to the wind shift and the imminent period of slack water, which is set to change the tone in terms of the currents. The head of the leaderboard is changing every 10 minutes, so it’s anyone’s guess how things will play out!

Reminder: Official retirement of Romerike Elektro AS: At around 2200 hours last night, Race Management welcomed back the Norwegian duo Rune Aasberg and Simen Lovgren at the lock gates in Ouistreham. Sailing downwind, the bobstay (cord which links the bowsprit to the hull) broke and, with the tension of the headsail sailing downwind, the two fittings pulled loose making the bowsprit unusable. Finding it impossible to effect repairs and with holes in the hull at each fitting, the duo has decided to retire and return to Caen.

Serenis Consulting – Jean Galfione: things are going very well aboard Serenis Consulting and we’re in contact with the others. There’s around five knots of breeze and we’re making 7-8 knots of boat speed thanks to the current. The Solent is a really nice zone to traverse and we’ve been playing around trying to avoid the currents. The battle with the other Class40s was on from the outset. There’s going to be a sail change soon so we’re remaining on the alert to respond very quickly to the upcoming situation and we’re keeping a close eye on our rivals…

Campagne de France - Miranda Merron: Right now we don’t have a lot of wind and so far our race has involved a great deal of trimming and a whole pile of sail changes. We got very little sleep last night. The others are really close so we’re having to constantly remain on the alert. I’ve no idea how things are going to pan out. There’s going to be a transition zone, which is sure to reshuffle the cards. We’re very sad for our Norwegian friends, who’ve had to retire and all our thoughts go out to them.

Advanced Energies – Carac - Louis Duc: All’s well aboard the boat. We’re in a small group of 6-8 boats jockeying for position, glued to the head of the race, which is nice. Last night we didn’t get much sleep and we spent a lot of time on manoeuvres. We hit a little more breeze than forecast to traverse the English Channel and the wind began to ease as we arrived in the Solent, with several options opening up. Some boats managed to make up a fair bit of ground. There were a lot of gybes right the way across the Solent and we just made it out an hour ago. The current’s with us for now, but the wind is continuing to ease… five knots with a little breath of air from time to time bumps it up to seven knots and it’s set to switch round to the north-west this evening. I was trying to sleep when you called but we’re proceeding with a short gybe so I’m heading back on deck.

Team Work – David Raison: It’s an almighty battle and everyone’s constantly jockeying for position! Everyone’s taking small options in every direction so it’s great… We made the Solent in the early hours of this morning, followed by a beautiful sunrise with the wind on the beam hunting down the gusts. It was fantastic! We linked together a series of gybes right the way across the Solent. We haven’t had a lot of sleep and I suppose the same is true for the others. The wind increased a little on exiting the Solent at around 0800 hours GMT, but right now it’s easing and there’s a chop, so it’s a bit annoying carrying the spinnaker. We have a Piedmont tuna salad on the menu this lunchtime with some surprise snacks to continue putting energy into our bodies. The battle is far from over, that’s for sure! There are still 5-6 days to go! For now though, we have more pressure than forecast, so things are heading in the right direction.

Concise 2 – Juliette Pêtrès: Last night, we alternated between a north-easterly wind and no wind at all, but we still managed to make good headway and the wind picked up on entering the Solent, which we traversed under spinnaker, so that was really enjoyable. We witnessed a fine sunset before things became too hard for the nerves, playing around with the sails on flat calm seas. Things are better now though. We’re making pretty good headway right now and we’re waiting for a change of weather. We’re happy to have negotiated the currents of the Solent. Philippa received a stack of messages on her telephone from her friends in England because it was her birthday. What a star! We’ve opted to drop southwards to anticipate the future weather changes. Our spirits are sky high and I’ve just had a siesta so I’m feeling good. It’s Philippa’s turn to sleep now.

ERDF – Des pieds et Des mains – Damien Seguin: It was very pleasant to sail in the Solent at daybreak. We opted for the most direct course for the next stage and it’s at the end of the Solent where we lost a bit of ground with a much lighter wind. However, there are still a lot of moves to be had so we’re remaining philosophical as there’s a long way left to go in this race. We’re remaining entirely optimistic and it’s a joy to sail with Jeanne!

Ranking: (at 1345 GMT)
1. L'Express - Trepia (Lautrou/ Ruyant)
2. Groupement Flo (Maisonneuve/ Aubrun) +1.9 nm
3. Advanced Energies - Carac (Duc/ Rousseau) + 2.2 nm
4. Serenis Consulting (Galfione/ Jourdain) +2.6 nm
5. ERDF - des pieds et Des mains (Seguin/ Grégoire) +4.4 Normandy Race website