Peyron poised for victory in The Artemis Transat

by OC Events on 24 May 2008 Expected tonight around 21:00 local time (4:00 GMT), Loick Peyron looks to be on his way towards a third victory on the North Atlantic, and should become the first skipper to better Eric Tabarly's performance.

Still very concentrated when we spoke to him this morning, Gitana Eighty's skipper knows Armel Le Cléac'h is very close behind him, and one cannot expect a relieved smile on Loick's face before the line is crossed and left in the boat's wake. Of course, who'd blame him? Extreme carefulness is part of Loick's style, and the experienced racer knows better than anyone that... it's not over until it's over.

Wise, trusting his intuitions, always listening to his boat... Loick Peyron sailed The Artemis Transat in his unmistakable trademark style, taking an early lead and thus a psychological ascendant on his rivals, displaying both boat speed and tactical inspiration. Always remaining in the leading pack, observing and preparing his longer-term strategy, Gitana Eighty has always been considered a serious threat, and Peyron's status as race favourite did not put any pressure on his shoulders - only on his rivals. Having won the two last editions of the race he took part in (1992 and 1996), the amazing Breton multihull wizard was this year returning aboard a monohull, only to prove his fantastic talent is valid whatever the boat. Very focused when we spoke to him this morning, Loick was 100% in race mode, which somehow also reveals how much he's weary of his pursuer... The final sprint of The Artemis Transat certainly proves captivating!

'This is our last day in the Transat, which is always a bit sad, said Peyron, because it's the last day at sea. At the moment it's not very nice, everything is grey, humid and cold, but in a few hours I hope we'll arrive in Boston. Right now we are leading the race by 20 miles, which is not enough because the wind is not exactly in the good direction to be sure we can reach the line on one tack. If I have to tack... the race is not finished yet! ' Asked if he thought a safety tack might prove necessary, he replied: 'Maybe, the next position might show he has already tacked so depends on his position. Wind is a little bit more right [NW] and increasing but not easy to know what will happen - if it goes more right and increases its okay - if not, we might have to make 2 tacks, one now and one later. The tack I am now is perfect to make the finish line so we don't know now and that is what makes it complicated.' Regarding a possible third victory he declared 'I know a race has to be finished first before it can be won!'

Aboard Brit Air, Armel Le Cléac'h sounded equally concentrated, but could already enjoy the good work done so far - the young skipper has undoubtedly every right to be satisfied with his impressive second position. Armel, who celebrated his 31st birthday on the day of the start of The Artemis Transat in Plymouth 12 days ago, has already entered the big boys' league! His comments: 'We crossed the longitude of South Nova Scotia last night, it was a bit complicated with the fog and the shifting winds, but I got out of it eventually. I should be able to reach the line on one tack, with a wind that should shift to the right (NW), but I have to remain careful because there is a lot of traffic, and we still have significant wind at the moment (Ed note: this morning). There is also the fatigue we accumulated that we have to take into account, it's not the right moment to let the level of vigilance drop (...) It's been great to be able to confront the best boats during almost two weeks in this race, and especially Gitana Eighty at the end: she's a reference in terms of speed, and her skipper is very consistent, and to see we're finishing only a few hours behind after 13 days is a great satisfaction for the team.'
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If the two leading boats are very close and should cross the line within a couple of hours of each other, Yann Elies and Generali are expected to arrive tomorrow afternoon. Having sailed a very good race and leading on day 3, Yann paid the price of his northern option before crossing the ice gate - a choice that proved costly in terms of miles, yet the perspective of a place on the podium is more than satisfactory for the Breton, whose boat proved fast - his 24-hours run of 376 miles is unlikely to be bettered before the whole fleet reaches Boston. In 4th place, Marc Guillemot and Safran should cross the line on Sunday, while the battle rages on for 5th place: 4 boats are currently fighting very closely, and the situation will not be clear before Monday.

To break Mike Golding's 2004 IMOCA Open 60 record of 12 days, 15 hours, 18 minutes and 08 seconds, the winning boat must cross the Boston finish line by 04:17:08 GMT on Saturday morning (24th May) but Loick Peyron also has a time allowance of 2 hours 30 minutes awarded by the jury, following Vincent Riou's rescue.

1964: Tabarly's first victory kickstarts France's love affair with solo sailing
One has to remember the historical importance of Tabarly's first win in the OSTAR, which allowed for the subsequent development of France's solo racing scene. Being compared, as it is the case today for Peyron, to such an iconic figure is anything but benign... Here is a little reminder of Tabarly's first win... and peculiar character.
'With his victory, Tabarly became an overnight hero and for his endeavour was presented with his country's highest honour, the Legion d'Honneur by President de Gaulle. Nevertheless, the skipper never lost sight of his priorities, and declined the first presidential invitation because the ceremony coincided with the day he had intended to repaint his boat! A few month later, a somewhat begrudged De Gaulle sent another invitation, in the following terms: 'I would be delighted to be able to count on your presence. if the tide is favourable of course.'

IMOCA 60 - Positions - DTF - DTL at 14:00 hrs 23 May 2008
1 Gitana Eighty 120.6 0.0
2 Brit Air 155.5 34.8
3 Generali 258.0 137.4
4 Safran 490.2 369.6
5 Cervin EnR 592.3 471.7
6 Akena Vérandas 598.0 477.3
7 Roxy 600.3 479.6
8 Aviva 637.0 516.3
9 Spirit of Weymouth 784.2 663.6



Class40 News: A Huge night ahead for the Fleet

Shortly after 1800GMT on Thursday night, The Artemis Transat race leader, Giovanni Soldini, brushed the eastern end of the 130 mile long ice gate south of Newfoundland after a long beat south-west and turned Telecom Italia north-west towards the North American coast. As Soldini freed-off, his speed and distance over the rest of the fleet increased exponentially: overnight, the Italian averaged the highest speeds at 11.4 knots and increased his lead by 28 miles during the position blackout, leading 2nd place Beluga Racer by 82 miles at dawn. 'It was windy and wet last night,' said Soldini this morning with a soft laugh. 'But I have good sea conditions and 25 knots, sometimes 30 and this morning I had a gale of 40 knots, so I have 2 reefs in the main and the jib.' The mid-morning position poll showed a slight drop in boatspeed by about 1 knot: 'Right now, the wind has dropped down a bit,' he explained, 'but I'm not sure what to do because I know there is some more gales coming.' This afternoon, Soldini is back up to 11 knots, although the immediate future is unclear: 'At the moment I'm not sure which of the weather models is right or not.' he began, before the satellite link to Telecom Italia was abruptly severed. (see the brief weather analysis below)

Boris Herrmann on Beluga Racer and Thierry Bouchard on Mistral Loisirs - Pole Sante ELIOR stuck together for a steep, hard descent to the gate from the north. During the radio call this morning, 27 year-old Herrmann reported two reefs in the main and staysail as Beluga Racer slammed towards the ice gate: 'I'm pretty tired and my morale is not so good,' he admitted in immaculate French this morni