Brest Atlantiques Day 28: Brest is now in sight
by Sabina Mollart-Rogerson 2 Dec 2019 10:03 PST
2 December 2019
Maxi Edmond de Rothschild - Brest Atlantiques Day 28 © Yann Riou / Polaryse / Gitana SA
The finish line is fast approaching for Maxi Edmond de Rothschild. Franck Cammas and Charles Caudrelier are now heading straight towards Brest, where they are expected to arrive any time from Tuesday night to Wednesday. Behind them, MACIF and Actual Leader are still battling it out for second place.
Having crossed the Azores archipelago this morning, Maxi Edmond de Rothschild is in no way hanging around, today reaching high average speeds of between 30.5 - 31.5 knots. The conditions have clearly been ideal for the two skippers, who made the most of a southerly wind of around 20 knots to advance directly towards the finish line.
Even if the skippers slow down a bit, not wanting to take any risks at the last minute, they are still likely to cross the finish line during Tuesday night, after around 28 and a half days at sea. Needless to say, Franck Cammas and Charles Caudrelier must now really focus on preserving their trimaran and take care around other passing boats as they approach Europe.
Behind them, the heat is on between the skippers of MACIF and Actual Leader who, as expected, have since this morning been slowed down considerably by a large area of no wind. Once they manage to sail around the high towards the west, they too will then be able to head directly back towards Brest.
Around fifty miles separated the two boats at today's 3pm ranking. This gap could be reduced to almost nothing by Tuesday. Gwénolé Gahinet gives his thoughts: "The end of this race is turning into quite a challenge, we're going to have to be in great shape and not give up." After more than a month at sea, there could very well be a photo finish for Brest Atlantiques...
To find all the videos from on board and also ashore, please go to the Brest Atlantiques YouTube channel.