MOD70 European Tour Leg 1 - Kiel to Dun Laoghaire - Day 2

MOD70 European Tour Leg 1 © Vincent Curutchet / Mod S.A

MOD70 European Tour Leg 1 © Vincent Curutchet / Mod S.A

MOD70 European Tour Leg 1 © Vincent Curutchet / Mod S.A

'Something rotten off the State of Denmark'

Light winds set to slow MOD70 fleet en route to Dublin

After a thrilling exit Sunday afternoon from Kiel, Germany, a high speed chase through the islands to the east of Denmark, an interlude of 27-30 knot headwinds potentially boat breaking conditions off Skagen point at the north corner, the leaders of Leg 1 of the MOD70 European Tour are now set to have their first ever real encounter - as a racing fleet - with very, very light winds.

Through the first 24 hours of this opening stage from Kiel to Dublin, via the English Channel, the fleet had already covered more than 450 of the 1238 miles, enjoying sustained bursts of 32-34 knots through the islands in the dark of Sunday evening, but an elongated high pressure system centred over the south of England and extending into the North Sea looks set to offer an entirely new challenge for the crews.

Winds over the next 24 hours may be as light as two or three knots for the new fleet of one design trimaran speedsters.

The only similarity to July's remarkable high speed Transatlantic dash, the KRYS OCEAN RACE is that the same top three boats are presently led, again, by Yann Guichard's Spindrift racing which managed to pass Michel Desjoyeaux's FONCIA team in the small hours of Monday morning.

"In an area where the wind died down for a few miles, we were expecting it to come back and did not set more sail. And it didn't... so the bolder Spindrift took the chance to overtake us." Recalled Desjoyeaux today.

Spindrift stayed some four miles further off the Danish coast and managed to power pass FONCIA to earn a lead, which they had grown to five miles by Monday afternoon. Seb Josse's Groupe Edmond de Rothshild lay third, just 14.2 miles behind the leaders, on the same SW'ly track.

The passage down and across the North Sea into the Channel had already seen Race for Water – with the combined talents of Stève Ravussin, Franck Cammas and Thomas Coville in play – making an early move to the NW from their trailing position, seeking to try and stay with the remnants of the breeze for longer by avoiding the centre of the ridge.

Mid-afternoon Monday the leading duo still had some 175 miles to make to the entrance and were progressively slowing, ready to deal with the slalom of marks and buoys marking out shipping lanes, wind farms, oil platforms, which Desjoyeaux calls the 'Pas de Calais gymkhana'

Race for Water's 25 miles hitch to the NW was matched a few hours later by fourth placed Musandam-Oman Sail. Sidney Gavignet's crew were just under 50 miles off the lead, ruing some small mistakes during the first night, but all well aware that there are at least three major transition zones where the fleet is likely to compact again before they reach Dublin.

Recent weather models show it might be Tuesday afternoon or early evening before a more stable, meaningful NW'ly breeze returns for the MOD70's, so patience and focus will be tested to the extreme over coming hours. ETA Dublin is still late Wednesday, early Thursday but that may be ambitious given the evolution of the weather over the next few days.

Standings at 1230hrs UTC: (Monday 2nd September)

1-Spindrift racing (Yann Guichard, EUR) at 780,4 miles from Dun Laoghaire
2-FONCIA (Michel Desjoyeaux, FRA) at 5,5 miles from leader
3-Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (Sébastien Josse, FRA) at 14,2 miles from leader
4-Musandam-Oman Sail (Sidney Gavignet, FRA) at 49,3 miles from leader
5-Race for Water (Stève Ravussin, SUI) at 70,6 miles from leader

Latest ranking can be found here

Quotes:

Brian Thompson (GBR) Musandam-Oman Sail on Monday mid-morning: "We are off the coast of Denmark going upwind on port tack in 18kts of breeze with a full main and the big jib, the Solent up, with reasonably flat seas and everything is good on board. It is looking like it will be upwind all the way across the North Sea so it will be very strategic. Race for Water tacked before us but we have three boats in front of us who have not tacked yet, so it looks like we can split across the North Sea and it will be interesting and there are light winds expected so all to play for. It was a great start in Kiel with so many people turning out to see us and hopefully we put on a good show. And it was really fast sailing last night through the Danish islands. The highlight was passing Race for Water about ten metres off when we were doing 33 knots and they were doing a sail change, just above them just as they were finishing their sail change. The leaders got away from us a little bit but there is a long way to go."

Michel Desjoyeaux (FRA) FONCIA (mail today): "After starting out with a fanfare from Kiel, pocketing three nice 3 bonus points, the climb to the point of Denmark saw us making good speed on a flat sea, a good time to slide along at speed. For 300 miles up to the Cape we managed to hold on to our opponents, but in an area where the wind died down a few miles we were expecting it to come back and did not set more sail. So the bolder Spindrift took the chance to overtake us.
The passage between Denmark and Norway was made upwind on a long tack along the coast in 30kts of wind and a short sea and so it was not easy to go fast, it slammed a lot. As it went NW the wind began to soften. The sea is flatter, it's really nice in the sun with organised watches on board Foncia. We should see the first course mark of the Pas de Calais gymkana in a couple of hours, and after the wind dies away tonight we might be here a while"

Spindrift racing, Master of the North Sea (from Spindrift racing)

Yann Guichard and his crew of Spindrift racing were first to enter the North Sea in the middle of last night, under a shining full moon and with Foncia (Michel Desjoyeaux) and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (Sébastien Josse) close at hand.

They sped all night in 25 to 30 knots of Westerly breeze along the Jutland peninsula in constant sail changes and maneuvers to run a safe race in tricky conditions. Rough seas and heavy winds made life onboard Spindrift racing quite difficult, "wet" as Yann Guichard succinctly put it.

Once Skaegen point at the northern part of Danemark rounded, sea conditions improved drastically and a new race, upwind, started. Guichard takes full advantage of his leading position as the fleet must go through a " security gate " set up by the Race Comitee in order for the trimarans to stay clear of the huge oil and gas fields, as well as of the main maritime routes.

But as the big MOD70s get closer to the straight of Dover, things will open up and Guichard expects plenty of action as his opponents will have the open Channel to try and pass him.

In the meantime, R&R, Rest and Recuperation, are the motto of the day. Spindrift racing crew is divided in 3 watches of two men each. While two men steer and control the boat, two men rest and stay alert in case of heavy maneuvers. The remaining two get a well deserved sleep.

But this cosy organisation should not last long as the fleet near the straight of Dover. A high pressure system is settling over the Channel and very light air is expected, making watch and anticipation on board all the most urgent, with all human resources available on deck.

Musandam-Oman Sail lies in fourth place after difficult first night at sea (from Oman Sail)

The crew of Musandam-Oman Sail were trying to get some sleep early this morning after a tough first night at sea in the 1238 nautical mile first leg of the 2012 European Tour from Kiel to Dublin which saw them rounding the northern tip of Denmark in 30 knot winds and steep seas.

The crew of Musandam-Oman Sail were trying to get some sleep early this morning after a tough first night at sea in the 1238 nautical mile first leg of the 2012 European Tour from Kiel to Dublin which saw them rounding the northern tip of Denmark in 30 knot winds and steep seas.

"The sea state was hard with a strange three metre vertical wave. It was tough especially when we passed the Skagerrak Straight. We made some big jumps and would come crashing down. It was very wet and cold and hard to sleep," said skipper Sidney Gavignet (FRA).

"We made two mistakes during the night which cost us a little distance to the three leaders but we are recovering now, the sea has eased off and the team is making progress."

He said leaving Kiel and heading up out of the Kattegat passage proved tricky for French navigator Jeff Cuzon who had to call for many course and sail changes and constant reefing as they avoided boats in the busy shipping lane and wind turbines in ever changing wind conditions.

But for Omani sailor Fahad al Hasni the first few hours out of Kiel were the most exciting as they fought a close battle and finally overhauled the fifth placed MOD70 Race for Water. Another highlight was hitting a top speed of 33 knots with him on spinnaker and Sidney at the helm in flat waters in the wind shadow of the mountains.

"We are in another battle now with Edmond de Rothschild who are just eight miles ahead but we are going faster all the time. It is great to be back racing offshore on the yacht. I love it. This is why we are doing it," said Fahad who was on the helm this morning.

Gavignet said a full moon gave good light on deck as they rounded Skagen Punt, the most northerly tip of Denmark after midnight.

"We had a great dinner of potato casserole and chilli con carne with rice but didn't get to sleep until 0600 so we only had about two to three hours before going up on deck again this morning," said Gavignet.

"I am not very happy with our fourth place position but it is a long way still and we should find plenty of opportunities to improve. The wind is expected to die away as we near the English channel, bringing the fleet together, and then we might even have a "restart" situation.

"The important thing now is to get the boat going fast and to catch up to the leaders. The conditions last night didn't make it easy for us to get straight back into the offshore routine. But everything is fine and the mood is always positive," said Gavignet.

Musandam-Oman Sail was averaging just over 17 knots in boat speed at 0600 and lying 16.7 nautical miles behind the current leading MOD70 Spindrift Racing. Foncia was lying second and Edmond de Rothschild third.

By 0900 this morning, British helmsman Brian Thompson said they were off the north west of Denmark in the North Sea.

"It is a bit more comfortable now. Fahad took the helm this morning and is doing a great job. He has a natural talent for the helm and we are picking up speed, sailing upwind in 18 knots. However we expect the wind to slowly drop off as we head south towards our next way point off Holland tonight."

On Tuesday Musandam-Oman Sail will be approaching the English Channel and heading down to the south coast of England before heading up again into the Irish Sea to Dublin.