Transat Jacques Vabre - Anticipating the start

by Hélène Tzara on 27 Oct 2011 The Transat Jacques Vabre's tenth edition start is just four days away. The race is from Le Havre (France) to Costa Rica. The weather outlook for those critical early days of the course is beginning to preoccupy the minds of the thirty-six duos set to take part.

As is often the case with the North Atlantic in November, stormy conditions seem increasingly likely. After a quiet couple of days, some taking time away from Le Havre, the Autumn sunshine painted a perfect picture over the still waters of the Paul Vatine Basin. The skippers' had to turn their attention to this afternoon's extensive safety briefing.

Memories of the rescue of Sebastien Josse and Jean-Francois Cuzon off the Azores during the 2009 race are a reminder that such briefings have vital practical value, if required. Some skippers will have sat through a dozen such briefings but accumulating the knowledge to ensure that procedures and processes become second nature is appreciated by even the most experienced skippers.

Building the safety knowledge of the crews significantly increases the safety and security of the professionals who undertake such rescues in very difficult conditions. Such were the messages delivered today from representatives of the CROSS (Centre Régional Opérationnel de Surveillance et de Sauvetage) Jobourg. The crews of 24F (aircraft) and 32F (helicopters) all delivered informative and practical information covering every aspect of search and rescue, from what skippers can reasonably expect to detailed accounts of interventions in different conditions, films of rescues and practical advice. Race medic Dr. Jean-Yves Chauve also offered key advice of avoiding accidents.

In Class 40, there is a difference of potential between the first generation designs and the latest designs in the class. So much so that the competitors have set among themselves a totally unofficial category, 'vintage' to describe the crews who, unless gifted an exceptional combination of circumstances, don't really expect to step on the podium.

Within this subgroup are several teams such as Jean-Edouard Criquioche and Stephanie Alran (Phoenix Europe Express) and Eric Galmard and Francois Scheek (Avis Immobilier). On board Phoenix the experience of Jean-Edouard, with several transatlantic Class40s is complemented by the passion of Stephanie, a former top athlete who has taken up offshore racing will be needed to counter the attacks of Galmard and Scheek who have accumulated enough miles together to take on this course with complete confidence.

Damien Seguin and Yoann Richomme (ERDF - Des Pieds et Des Mains), are a formidable duo combining a Paralympic medalist and a regular from the world of the Solitaire du Figaro.

Maybe it is not good to be a favorite. After the mishaps which struck Yannick Bestaven and Eric Drouglazet (Aquarelle.com) who has just arrived after repairing rudder damage, it is now Tanguy de Lamotte (Initiatives - Alex Olivier) who has been forced to make a late co-skipper substitution after injury to Seb Audigane. Eric Peron has replaced the vastly experienced Audigane.

But there is a top group; Bureau Veritas – Dunkerque Plaisance (Stéphane Le Diraison - Thomas Ruyant), Comiris Pole Santé Elior (Thierry Bouchard - Gilles Berenger) and the young British pair on Concise 2 (Ned Collier Wakefield - Sam Goodchild).

Others see themselves as outsiders. Picoty Group (Jacques Fournier -Jean-Christophe Caso) Partouche (Christophe Coatnoan - Etienne Laforgue), Solo(Norway's Rune Aasberg - Simen Lovgren) or even 40 Degrees (Hannah Jenner –Jesse Naimark-Rowse) amongst them.

For others, the Transat Jacques Vabre will be mostly the opportunity to build experience and step up a level: Hip Eco Blue (Italy's Andrea Fantini - Tommaso Stella) as Lecoq Cuisine (Eric Lecoq - Eric Ironsides), Gust Buster (Anna- Maria Renken - Jacika Jesih) or 11th Hour Racing (Nick Halmos – Hugh Piggin) all start with strong ambitions and high hopes.

The early days of racing could cast the die for the race. Though the first twenty-four hours seem to promise a peaceful exit from the Channel, the situation will deteriorate rapidly. A deep depression in the Atlantic approaches which will provide very strong winds and rough seas. Going straight into these conditions the duos must quickly establish a good rhythm or be left behind and may even suffer breakages. So where to set the cursor? Setting the initial pace is a fundamental skill, the transition from land to the ocean is not always simple.

When he arrived in Le Havre to compete in his first Transat Jacques Vabre in the Autumn of 1999 Mike Golding had already completed three circumnavigations, having won a crewed round the world race and also sailed solo non-stop around the world against the prevailing winds and currents. But the IMOCA Open 60 was a new challenge, as was racing short-handed.

Since then Golding has raced in every subsequent Transat Jacques Vabre finishing on the TJV podium four times with a best finish of second in 2001 racing with Marcus Hutchinson as co-skipper. In 2009 he finished second with Spain's Javier 'Bubi' Sanso. This edition he races on his Gamesa with Bruno Dubois, who he raced with in 2007.

So Golding, racing three different generations of designs over the years, has been at the forefront of the changes in the IMOCA Open 60, has enjoyed the benefits and challenges of the significant advances in communications and navigation technology and been at the heart of the evolution from a race with many amateur and Corinthian skippers to the modern day highly professional sport.

'The first race it was still very young as an event but there were still many, many people came to the start, but the race was one of many others. And a lot has changed with Le Havre, then it felt like you were in among a lot of dark buildings and now it really is such a thriving place with so much regeneration going on. The first time I raced with Ed Danby and it was to Cartagena in Columbia. In fact the racing was very similar to now. There was less corporate involvement and much less communication on the water, the technology has changed so much but fundamentally what is nice is that the race remains the same.'

'The best race was the one with Marcus when I think it felt like everything just clicked and kept clicking and we felt like we were on a roll, but also the last race I did with Bruno, in 2007, was very enjoyable even if the boat was new and I spent half my time upside down with my head in the engine and we seemed to have quite a lot of technical problems, but we had a good time together.'

'I really enjoyed going to Salvador in Brasil a lot, and the race to Cartagena was not dissimilar. But the reality is that this course to Costa Rica is very different and it has changed the weather and the strategy a lot. Before, you crossed the Doldrums and the Equator and mostly it was a race to get south quickly. This year, and the last edition, you are essentially going into the North Atlantic in November and that can be a little scary.

In essence the last race there were three options; one north, one middle and one south and that is divisive in terms of the fleet, but I suspect that adds fascination for those watching from the land. But here we now have a Transat Anglaise type course in November, not June and that is at the ragged edge of what can be done. But, equally, it very much is a real test of boat and team, but there can be outcomes like in the last edition where boats were lost.'

'It is interesting how the boats have evolved. They are so much more powerful now which is good when it is going well, but they can be nasty when it goes wrong. We have taller rigs, higher power to weight ratios. For example in the first race I did we had rod rigging and now we are all carbon fibre rigging. In those first races we only had Standard C which was a telex based system via satellite. We could download a small, simple weather file and otherwise weather was from shore radio stations via fax over radio.

Now of course we have fleet broadband, which is quick and easy. Weather is quick and easy and we can send much more imagery, live video footage. So the 'job' has changed a lot. The boats are very complex and it is much more about managing the systems. It is much easier to use the technology. And we have always been early adopters of new technologies. That is certainly one of the attractions of the class, the ability to innovate.'

'Once there was a nice naivety, more of a mix of professionals and amateurs, now the profile is almost entirely professional which is good from the point of view of sponsors, but some of that camaraderie, that spirit is lost.'

'In a funny sort of way the old boats were easier to control. They were less powerful but were extremely fast. The changes have been incremental. Then we had four ballast tanks, now we have ten. Then we had a 25 metres mast, now it is 30metres and so there is so much more power. The boat is a pretty lively animal when the breeze is on.
But this time we are so much better protected from the elements. On Group 4 there was no protection in the cockpit from the elements, you were either wet or dry, you were either inside or outside, sometimes even getting wet inside the boat. Now you can sail the boat to its maximum in relative comfort. With our new coach roof protection you feel like you could light a candle in the cockpit itis so well protected.'

Transat Jacques Vabre website