photo Mark Lloyd
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Bruno Dubois and Mike Golding in the new cockpit of Gamesa... photo Mark Lloyd
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As the IMOCA Open 60 fleet slide into the second half of the Transat Jacques Vabre the race is on again as the whole nine boat fleet start to enjoy some trade winds sailing. Even if they have remained a fitful and shifty, after 36 hours rooted to a high pressure system, the five boat group to the south is off and racing again into decent breeze, trying to close to down the miles that they have lost, especially to the runaway northern duo Virbac-Paprec 3 and Hugo Boss. In the IMOCA Class it is something of a topsy turvy world compared to the last edition in 2009 when Safran and Groupe Bel ran away into the trades with Ecover 3 (now Gamesa) giving chase. Ironically Safran – who won in 2009 – are ninth and Groupe Bel eighth sharing a 350 miles deficit to Dick and Beyou. Gamesa emerged from the series of low pressures into calmer seas where Mike Golding climbed the rig (the job he hates most) to replace both sets of wind vanes that they lost early on in the first storm. Back up to speed and reaching down to cover the southern group they crossed in front to hold third place before........ Perhaps the unlikeliest story of the Burton brothers Louis and Nelson (who have a Welsh father). They have worked long and hard with their budget to buy the Farr design which was formerly Beyou’s Delta Dore which they only re-launched in August. Profiting from a northerly route that have been able to skirt the worst of the high and passed Gamesa to hold third on the last ranking on Thursday. With a launch for the Vendée Globe solo round the world race in London – notable absentees being messrs Thomson and Golding – there was reason for cheer as Britain had two IMOCA Open 60’s in the top three on the early morning rankings. No sooner had Gamesa been replaced briefly by Burtons’ Bureau Vallée, than Hannah Jenner with American co-skipper Jess Naimark-Rowse took over third in Class 40 on their Owen Clarke design 40 Degrees, emerging from their final storm of the race – they hope – to joust with Groupe Picoty for third. The French stalwarts and winners of the Les Sables-Horta-Les Sables race then returned to third on the afternoon rankings. “Finally our gambles have paid off.” Yesterday Jesse said: “we are either going to wake up in 24 hours looking like heroes or looking like idiots, so luckily we are looking good.””The sun is shining, we have 23kts of wind, are reaching along, we still have quite a lumpy sea just passing the final Azores island to our port side and we are looking forwards to the conveyor belt to the south west to Costa Rica.” Bubbled Jenner this afternoon, when joined with the Radio Vacs in Paris Certainly the fleet leaders look like they will have this soft zone – perhaps the leading duo Virbac Paprec 3 and Hugo Boss will be better off in their slightly northern position in the medium term. That there is potential for a shake up in the middle ranks of the IMOCA Class is obvious, but it is difficult to see a reason why the boats in the north will not prevail, given that those to their south have a wider belt of light winds before getting to the downwind conditions which would spur them towards the West Indies island chain about 1500 miles ahead. Today, Friday, on Armistice Day there are certainly still battles to be won and lost, even if Virbac-Paprec 3 continue to dominate the rankings, making more than 18kts in the quick downwind conditions of today. Jean-Pierre Dick and Jérémie Beyou are steadily widening their gap to Hugo Boss. Mike Golding and Bruno Dubois are back up to third place again on Gamesa though they were slightly slowed on the 0800hrs ranking. Negotiating this buffer of light winds could be critical to the finishing order of this race. |
