Brest Atlantiques: Gybing to the finish
by Sabina Mollart-Rogerson 5 Dec 2019 13:39 PST
5 December 2019
Actual Leader - Brest Atlantiques Day 28 © Alexis Courcoux / Brest Atlantique
After more than 30 days at sea, MACIF and Actual Leader now have less than 1,000 miles separating them from the finish of Brest Atlantiques. With MACIF just out in front by 50 miles at 3pm today, the two trimarans will be gybing all the way until they arrive in Brest between Friday night and Saturday. It still remains to be seen in what order...
After being crowned the winner of Brest Atlantiques yesterday morning, Maxi Edmond de Rothschild left the Quai Malbert today at 4pm to return to her base in Lorient. MACIF and Actual Leader, meanwhile, are continuing to fight tooth and nail to cross the line in second place.
In westerly winds of around twenty knots today, and dropping to 15-18 knots tomorrow, the two trimarans, together with their routers (Jean-Yves Bernot for MACIF, Christian Dumard for Actual Leader), will have to make a series of gybes before the finish line in Brest. The challenge will be in choosing the right moment each time in order to position themselves on the best possible route.
François Gabart and Gwénolé Gahinet were the first to gybe today at 3pm, changing direction slightly more towards the south. A choice which at first made them lose ground against their competitors who, between the 11am and 3pm rankings, managed to gain 25 miles on MACIF. However, will the gap separating the two boats increase once again when Actual Leader have to make their first gybe? All will be revealed in the next few hours, when we'll know for sure their final podium positions.
For more information visit www.brestatlantiques.com.
To find all the videos from on board and also ashore, please go to the Brest Atlantiques YouTube channel.