Transat Jacques Vabre finish just out of reach for Artemis

by Tim Kelly on 24 Nov 2009
Transat Jacques Vabre update from Sam Davies and co–skipper Sidney Gavignet onboard Artemis.

They are just over 1500 NM from the Costa Rica finish line, but Mother Nature has not been making things easy for Sam and Sidney onboard Artemis Ocean Racing and large squalls have plagued the duo over the course of the weekend. Tonight they should enter the Caribbean Sea, and so commence the final phase of what has been an exciting and often turbulent race.

Sam had a great night’s sailing last night, and this morning reported: 'the trade winds are rocketing Artemis towards the Caribbean and the fast and sometimes furious downwind sailing is exhilarating.'

Not long after I took over the helm, my faithful nightly 30-knot squall popped up behind me and started reeling us in. So, to be safe, I woke Sidney for moral support and ‘just in case’ action was required. This is the beauty of double-handed sailing (and sailing double-handed with someone as experienced and skilled as Sidney) - you have that security of the other person with you. Anyway, with Sidney standing next to me, no 30-knot squall can scare me, not even when there are nearly 500m2 of spinnaker up!!! And so Artemis whizzed along, albeit with the helmswoman's knuckles a little bit white!!! Bring it on....'

Artemis gybed three times in 24 hours on Saturday and Sunday, and the conditions once again meant that race strategy had to move aside for more ‘survival’ sailing as has become typical in this edition of the Transat Jacques Vabres. In one of Sam’s regular emails to the shore team she described her feelings as a squall approached:

'Last night's rainsqualls were not really the normal kind we find here in the trade winds. I think that they were escapees from the doldrums that were coming up to pester us!

It is always pretty impressive sight at night when the black squall cloud comes chasing up behind you, a menacing silhouette, in front of the starry sky. The huge 'cumulo-beastie' makes my heart beat faster - wondering what it's got in store for me: 25 knots, 30... 35? I hope not! It is that same feeling of intrepidation as Harry Potter must feel just as he is about to confront Voldemort......'

These gusts have also played havoc with Sidney’s opportunities for undisturbed sleep! Sam’s strategy is to wait until the last possible moment and then wake him, as she explains: 'Artemis is not really set up for a solo sailor and nothing is reachable from the helm, so we attack each squall with both of us on deck so as not to take risks.... The first gust hits - a cold contrast of temperature, as this air is coming from several thousands of meters above! It is solid puff too, 25 knots (there were only 10 knots before) and sends Artemis surging forward as Sidney eases the sheets and I bear away.'

We start hooning through the black night, the squall has hidden the stars, and the first drops of torrential rain start to fall. Then, after about 15 minutes, as quickly as it arrived, the squall passes over us, as if it is bored with us and wants to find someone else to annoy... The wind drops, Sidney jumps back into the bunk to carry on his disrupted sleep, and I start trimming everything back to light wind sailing again....'

The weather seems to have settled now and the pair are busy deciding upon a strategy to get them to the finish and find any possibilities for improving upon their final position on the leaderboard. They started the weekend ranked fifth, but light winds combined with the squalls mean that they are now in eighth, and as Sam concedes: 'the ‘catch-up’ plan is being foiled by a ‘rich get richer’ scenario.'

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