Transat AG2R La Mondiale - Advantage who?

by Transat AG2R La Mondiale/Sail-World.com on 7 May 2012 A little more left breeze than expected last night allowed the Transat AG2R La Mondiale sailors to head more to the west.

The Figaro fleet displayed similar paths on the tracking, although seperated in time. The group is split into two, those to the north and those to the south and what is clear this morning is that neither group has proper breeze. At 5:00, the advantage, in terms of speed, was with the southerners. The question is will this last?

'We play our wind' said Charlie Dalin this morning on the radio. Always reluctant to reveal too much information about progress and strategy, the co-skipper of Green Circle was first to jibe yesterday, around 19 hours. He did not detail the conditions under which the boat currently sailing.

However reading positions from the tracking, especially speeds and headings, it seems more likely that he does not have exactly the same wind as his competitors further south.

At the same latitude, but 45 miles behind him, Michael Bothuon (The Recyclers Bretons) had between 10 and 12 knots while further south Eric Peron (Nacarat) admitted he did see between 12 and 15 knots. These small differences in orientation and power are palpable this morning.

On current speed the southern boats are faster. Significant is the VMG (Velocity Made Good) and advantage to the southerners again.

However it is difficult to draw conclusions at this point.

'The weather data we've had for the past two days has been quite unreliable. With each new file, it is a new scenario' said Eric Peron.

He and co-skipper Erwan Tabarly, cannot hide a small concern about the positioning of Gildas Morvan and Charlie Dalin. 'It bothers us a bit to see them shifted 70 miles to the north, 30 miles ahead compared to the distance to the goal. Their situation is risky but if it passes, it can pay hard.'

The duo on Green Circle has taken quite a gamble. Gain or loss to come?

The conditions have forced Green Circle to be a little closer to the high pressure and therefore, the soft zone. They are looking for a new jibe to try and find more pressure to the south. Ditto for his opponents. Some, like Britain and Sepalumic Credit Mutuel Performance, have already gone south to begin a new port tack route, looking for an advantage over the fleet.




Charlie Dalin (Cercle Vert): 'We gybed late yesterday afternoon. We play a lot with the wind. We sailed to the west but it is unclear how long it will last. The wind came home late yesterday afternoon, it is rather on the starboard advantage. Each update file was a different scenario. We tried our best. Currently we are under spinnaker in a wind from the east, it glides well, it is between 7 and 8.5 knots.

'For the next few days the trend is likely to be: when we leave for Saint Barth the wind strength will rise very quickly with winds of 25-30 knots with a risk of it blowing hard in the middle of next week. In the meantime you subscribe to a wind that is still quite erratic, which requires more attention especially at night. '

Eric Peron (Nacarat): 'The wind is a little more left than expected which allows us a more westerly route. So much the better. The weather files are not very reliable at this moment, I do not know why. Strategies are a little difficult to implement. Wind was between 11 and 15 knots, it's not super windy but it's a bit more smooth, the boat sails better.

'It was a beautiful night with a beautiful full moon, it's pretty nice. The spinnaker does not stretch, slides right here.

'Behind us is a big chunk of the fleet 25 miles closer, which allows us a little comfort. It's bugging us that 30 miles further north from the direct route is Green Circle, which is disturbing because their is position in front and they are slightly better positioned if the weather remains as shown. But if the anticyclone expands, and if he gets caught up in softer winds, there may be danger for him.

'Looking at the speeds, we consult to see the speed he has. We think he has a little less wind than us. Overall it was the anticyclone which is very close to us, it was a little crushed and ejected eastward. We will have a passage of calm but that will quickly be replaced by another anticyclone on the finish and a return of fairly firm trade winds.

'Regarding our strategy, we will do what we can up that other anticyclone, we will play scales and position for the arrival of the trade winds.'

Michel Bothuon (The Bretons Recyclers): 'We had a small turn late yesterday afternoon. The wind was between 10-12 knots of wind. Nacarat sails very well but I do not see the rest of the fleet so I do not draw conclusions. It should not take long to jibe to avoid getting stuck in the soft breeze.'

Transat AG2R La Mondiale website