GUYOT environnement - Team Europe Leg 2 Day 14: In the roaring forties
by Offshore Team Germany 8 Feb 2023 06:47 PST
8 February 2023
The picture of the race has changed since the yacht arrived in the roaring forties © Charles Drapeau / GUYOT environnement - Team Europe
The GUYOT environnement - Team Europe has arrived in the roaring forties of the South Atlantic on the second leg of The Ocean Race. In the night to Wednesday, 40 degrees degrees south latitude was exceeded. This completely changed the picture of the leg.
After the heat under the vertical sun when crossing the equator, which could only be endured on the black yacht with T-shirts and shorts, the crew with skipper Robert Stanjek, navigator Sébastien Simon, pit Anne-Claire Le Berre, bowman Phillip Kasüske and onboard reporter Charles Drapeau now sailed in complete heavy weather gear again.
Sporting fortunes have also turned around. The team had to painfully experience in the past few days how the lead on the easterly course turned into a glaring deficit as competitors in the west found better winds and were able to jump on the low pressure system with the direction of Africa earlier. In the choppy seas of the South Atlantic, it also became apparent that the flight mode on the only older-design IMOCA was difficult to balance. The speed fluctuates between great acceleration and abrupt braking when the yacht crashes into the wave. This means that the average speed is much lower than that of the other yachts. But GUYOT environnement - Team Europe is fighting on, hoping to make up some ground when the fleet has to cross another high-pressure area before the leg finish in Cape Town.
"We're in the roaring 40s," Robert Stanjek reported from on board on Wednesday morning, describing the scenery. "It's greyer, colder and we're sitting here with our hats on. It's a bit wintry. But the sun is coming up early. We've lost ten degrees in temperature in two days. But for me it's good. The heat was too much."
Over the past few days the crew have had a lot of work to do - for science, with boat maintenance and through some sail damage. By launching a drifting weather buoy, GUYOT environnement - Team Europe is taking part in the scientific research made possible by The Ocean Race. The weather buoy was launched at the latitude of 20 degrees. Through its drift anchor, it will now drift with the ocean current, measuring the temperature of the surface water and the air pressure. Just in time before diving into the cold climes of the South Atlantic, the window seals, which had developed small cracks, were also freshly sealed.
And then sails had to be rescued and patched again. After the A2 had already burst, the crew now noticed a hole in the A3. While the FR0 was set, a patch could be glued on the A3. But just as the repair was done, the head of the FR0 suddenly hooked out. The sail fell into the water. With a lot of effort, the sail could be recovered.
Looking at the race tracker did not help to raise the spirits. Because the competition in front was able to push the pace more in the low-pressure area. "We have to continue south as fast as we can. Behind us is the high pressure area and we have to get into the low pressure to have more wind," said Sébastien Simon. Looking back at the past few days, the navigator explained, "It's frustrating. The eastern route was a good option, but then we couldn't choose the position we wanted. We kept getting stuck under big clouds and didn't have the option to move over to the west and avoid the St Helena High. But that's offshore sailing. It's never finished."
The team's hopes are now pinned on an area of high pressure as a major hurdle in the crews' path, offering another small chance to close the gap. In any case, the team's morale is unbroken.