Transat Jacques Vabre - Day 9

by Transat Jacques Vabre 2013 15 Nov 2013 11:29 GMT 15 November 2013

The equator is already passed for both of the MOD70's while the last Class 40 is off Lisbon. Now the fleet of the 11th Transat Jacques Vabre is spread over 3000 miles but the weather is quite similar, moderate trade winds, cloud cover to unsettle the breeze and good, effective speeds.

The MOD70 duo passed into the Southern Hemisphere last night. Around 2030hrs UTC it was Edmond de Rothschild (Josse-Caudrelier) across first and then two hours later for Oman Air-Musandam (Gavignet-Foxall), the duo in good SE trade winds of 20kts, making them speeds of around 25kts has they head towards the Brazilian coast where they should reach this afternoon. At the current rate the first to finish this Transat Jacques Vabre is expected in Itajai on November 19th, after less than 12 days at sea. But there are still potential pitfalls between the passage of Cabo Frio where the low pressures spin out from the coast, and then light winds perhaps in to Itajai. Edmond de Rothschild's lead is cut to just over 60 miles with Charles Caudrelier admitting, "We are in great shape but we have made a big mistake in the Doldrums against Oman. I think Sidney and Damian will have a better angle in the coming hours, but we will see."

Stop in Cape Verde

IMOCA Open 60 leaders PRB have chose to make a technical pit stop in Sao Vincente in the Cape Verde islands, arriving before dawn this morning. The pit stop should only be very short and not really affect their strategic routing. Vendée Globe winners François Gabart and Michel Desjoyeaux on MACIF, at eight miles in their wake, were racing on the wheel of PRB but will not want to divert to evaluate the leaders' skills on the pit stand. Their NE'ly wind, at 12kts, is a little hesitant. The chasing group, at eighty miles to the west and 90 miles behind, will pass nearly 100 miles to the west of the island group, but notwithstanding the outcome of PRB's pitstop and who does better in the west, a general re-grouping is expected near the 'in door' to the Doldrums (ICTZ).

Sea and surf but no sun

For the first two Multi -50s up ahead of the IMOCA Open 60's life is good. It is warm but with a lot of clouds, light breezes and a good course to the Doldrums which they will reach tomorrow night. FenêtréA Cardinal (Le Roux - Elies) has pulled out a few extra miles on their pursuers Actual (Le Blévec and de Pavant) while Rennes Saint - Malo Agglomeration (Lamiré -Mura) is going well along the Mauritanian coast 600 miles from the leaders, who are between the Canary Islands and Cape Verde.

Class40 ' are passing to the west of Madeira in trade winds conditions which are slowly improving, up to twenty knots in a much more regular sea. Headsails have been changed and the overall risks reduced. Making speeds to 14kts the leaders are pursued by two groups, those in their wake and those working out to the east who will pass to the east of Madeira and perhaps through the Canary Islands. GDF SUEZ (Rogues-Delahaye) and MARE (Riechers-Brasseur) are still conclusive leaders.

www.transat-jacques-vabre.com/en

Quotes:

Michel Desjoyeaux (IMOCA Macif)
"We are in the vicinity of the Cape Verde Islands. There are lights of Sao Vicente. We are 26 miles from the archipelago of Cape Verde. The trade wind has dropped a bit over night. As PRB passed between the islands we learned they stopped. You have to be careful of the wind shadows. I have been through the middle of the archipelago several times and there was always the wind. We decided to keep in touch with the leader, because there was a Transat Jacques Vabre winner a few years back who said he was stopping and he did not and the others were had. There is still some distance to the Doldrums but we are beginning to analyse. We watched the MOD70's and they chose different passages and it opens the game. It works well on board, François spends a lot of time at the computer because he likes it, he makes the routing."

Pierre Brasseur (Class40' Mare)
"It's great it was a magical night, the boat goes fast well. The wind has eased a little, it was about 25 knots and the sea calmed down and we can reall push it in the waves. These are ideal conditions for good speed in the waves with a beautiful moon. We are going quick and we take advantage ! But we see from the last positions that GDF will as well."

Erwan Le Roux (Multi-50 FenêtréA Cardinal)
"You woke me up, I 'm at the bottom of the bunk... We thought we were a bit affected by the wind shadow of Cape Verde but not really we passed without much problem. We made some good averages yesterday and last night but for an hour now the wind begins to ease.
The Doldrums are quite high (north) and wide. I think it went well for the MODs but it will be more complicated for us. We'll see tonight."

Charles Caudrelier (MOD70 Edmond de Rothschild)
"It's going great! We are into the southern hemisphere. It was hard work to get here but it's good but Brazil is in front of the boat! It was the worst Doldrums I have seen, lots of squalls, changes in direction, 35kt gusts, it was more difficult in the west than for Oman Air-Musandam. Now we have 25 knots of south-easterly trade winds because it has veered the last two hours and we'll see between 25 and 30 knots. The sea is relatively flat, it's hot, almost too hot! In 10 to 12 hours we'll be at the forefront of Recife and then it will be enjoyable. We are in great shape but we have made a big mistake in the Doldrums against Oman. I think Sidney and Damian will have a better angle in the coming hours we will see."

Duelling along the coast of Brazil (from Edmond de Rothschild)

After the ordeal of the Doldrums, Sébastien Josse and Charles Caudrelier were the first to cross the equator on Thursday at 2035 GMT, after just 7 days 8 hours and 35 minutes of racing from Le Havre; a spellbinding time in double-handed configuration and reminiscent of the record time sailed fully crewed. The two men are now hammering along, heading due South as they approach the latitude of Recife, which they're likely to pass this evening. Still boasting a lead of over 70 miles (130km), the crew of Edmond de Rothschild are going flat out in the south-easterly trades, despite being hosed by the spray washing over the deck. It's the same scenario for Sidney Gavignet and Damian Foxall aboard Oman Air-Musandam, which is further over to the east, ready to pounce the minute there is an opportunity to make up ground on the leaders.

Though the two 70' trimarans in the Transat Jacques Vabre are already making headway offshore of Brazil, the suspense of this 'oceanic duel' still has some great hours ahead of it. In fact, with over 1,500 miles (2,780km) to go before they reach the port of Itajaí, some 700km to the south of Rio, the two duos, who have been keeping up the pressure on one another for the past eight days, will have to display nerves of steel and make sure they're physically strong enough for this final sprint, which will require a fair amount of tactical finesse.

A double-handed 'run' worthy of a Jules Verne Trophy

Whilst the rest of the Transat Jacques Vabre fleet is continuing to make headway in the northern hemisphere, yesterday the two Multi70s crossed the equator within two hours of each other. Sailed double-handed for the first time since they came into existence, these 21m one-design trimarans have been throwing the speedos into turmoil since the start. Indeed the Edmond de Rothschild duo took 7 days 8 hours and 35 minutes to cross the equator from Le Havre and just 6 days 11 hours and 35 minutes from the north-west tip of Brittany (St Mathieu). This latter pace is highly reminiscent of the time racked up by Groupama 3, helmed by Franck Cammas, during his first Jules Verne Trophy attempt in 2008. His crew of ten completed the course from Ushant to the equator in 6 days 6 hours and 24 minutes.

Pedal to the metal in the trades

"We've picked up speed in 25 knots of south-easterly breeze and we're making headway at 25-30 knots on fairly flat seas," Charles Caudrelier admitted this morning. "At this pace, we'll be off the Recife headland in 12-13 hours (17-1800 GMT this evening) at which point it should become pleasant again." Decidedly chirpy today, skipper Sébastien Josse echoes this sentiment: "All's well! We're in the sunshine making good speed and soaked to the skin, but that's par for the course: you don't get something for nothing! The central hull is creating a constant jet of water and the minute you come out from under the cuddy, you're soaked."

With a few sail adjustments according to the intensity of the tradewinds, it's the piloting that is the current focus aboard the trimaran fitted out by Baron Benjamin de Rothschild. In these conditions, the major options are a thing of the past. Right now they need to make headway to the south as fast as they can and keep their rivals at a safe distance.

Oman on their tails

And theirs is a tough rival! By shifting across to the east as they negotiated the Doldrums, the 'challenger' has managed to reduce its lateral separation in relation to the leader, but for now it doesn't appear to be benefiting from a very significant advantage either in terms of angle or speed.

However, Sébastien and Charles are remaining vigilant. "We weren't sparing of our efforts last night" the skipper admits. "We were on the attack and taking it in turns on a regular basis to get the most out of the boat. With their easterly separation on exiting the Doldrums, we still had a fight on our hands with Oman and we wanted to ensure we came out of the zone well ahead of them."

Gearing up for a breathtaking finish

Though the conclusion of this duel is still a long way off (ETA late Monday to Tuesday), the general opinion is that to the south of Cabo Frio, the weather situation is getting complicated and, some would say 'highly random' over the final miles to Itajaí.

Oman Air-Musandam gains overnight on MOD70 rival in Transat Jacques Vabre match race to Brasil (from Oman Sail)

Positioning Oman Air-Musandam to the east of rival Edmond de Rothschild paid off overnight with a gain putting them just 70nms behind the leader doing 25 to 30 knots of boat speed in 20 knots of south easterly trades. The advance was short lived however as Edmond de Rothschild reached more wind than Oman's flagship campaign this morning.

"We gained overnight, but not enough before Gitana reached more breeze ahead of us and we haven't been able to make any more ground on them since then," said co skipper Damian Foxall (IRL), this morning. "But the race is far from over yet – we still have a number of challenges before the finish with the approach to Rio de Janeiro and Cape Frio to negotiate."

Oman Air-Musandam router, Jean-Francois Cuzon (FRA) described some of the challenges ahead: "The guys are in good shape, they know that there are more challenges to come and 70 miles on a multihull is nothing! There will be another phase in the race from Sunday when they get past Cape Frio and have to deal with the next weather system. We could very well see a reshuffling of the deck at this point – with only two hours between the boats, anything could happen. It will all depend on how the rivals decide to negotiate the next system," he said.

Skipper Sidney Gavignet (FRA) and Foxall had a bumpy ride out of the doldrums yesterday with two big squalls and rough seas. "Our passage out of the doldrums wasn't at all what was in the brochure, instead of flat glassy conditions, we had 23 knot squalls. With the full main and J1 it was exciting sailing, but we were very glad to see the blue skyline of the equator ahead of us!" said Sidney.

"We are both in good shape and are working very well as a team; we don't leave the other one alone, when we are off watch we sleep in the cuddy. Having said that, it is surprisingly straightforward to manage the boat alone doing 30knots!"

The two boats crossed the equator overnight with Oman Air-Musandam just a couple of hours behind and fighting hard to make up ground. At their current pace, the frontrunner and Oman Air-Musandam will reach Itajaii between the 19 and 20 November, just 12 days after leaving Le Havre!

More news from Oman Air-Musandam on Sunday.

Morning Expresso - PRB's rapid rudder stop

PRB arrived in the port of Mindelo on the island of Sao Vicente in the Cape Verde islands at 0645hrs UTC where the technical team of Jean-Marc Failler and Philippe Laor were poised with a new rudder blade.

PRB's port rudder was damaged during the Monday night. Everything was in place for a rapid, express pit stop so the co-skippers Vincent Riou and Jean Le Cam would not be too adversely affected by halt.

The French duo seemed extremely motivated and now return to the Transat Jacques Vabre with their boat at 100% of its potential.

"We could not have done anything faster. Everything is good. We should not have lost too much in the rankings. This is certainly how we planned things." Riou said as PRB left Mindelo.

Mother Nature is not a garbage disposal (from Team 11th Hour Racing)

Back on the race course, Team 11th Hour begins data capture for 5 Gyres - tracking debris as they race across the Atlantic

Hannah Jenner checks in from the Transat Jacques Vabre race course with an update on marine debris, plastics and not throwing any trash overboard.

"I admit it, in January this year I was one of those offshore sailors who threw soda cans, paper, magazines and glass over the side flippantly, taking it for granted that in a couple of weeks the salt water would have taken care of it. Mother Nature's own garbage disposal. Although seeing plastic floating on the water horrified me and I have never been guilty of that, I didn't really stop to think about what I was doing. After becoming an ambassador for 11th Hour Racing and competing in the Atlantic Cup - a first of its kind carbon neutral sailing regatta - I began to think about how disrespectful I had been to the ocean despite being immensely passionate about the incredible environment I sail in. After Rob and I sailed across the Atlantic in June this year throwing no trash over the side at all and making note of the floating garbage we passed it now makes me so angry to think that anyone would find it acceptable to turn our oceans into a wasteland.

Today we began our data collection for 5 Gyres and within minutes we had spotted a plastic bottle and some styrofoam floating on the surface. Both had marine growth on them enough to suggest that they had been floating around for some time. Sadly both will still remain drifting somewhere in the ocean for all of my lifetime and that of the next generation and the one after that. Is that really the legacy that we wish to leave? I wish I could bring all of you out here to see what an incredibly inspiring place the ocean is. When you are on a small 40 foot boat watching marine life play in the waves, waves that each possess their own fascinating characteristics and colors, it's hard to believe that intelligent humans would ever even consider polluting this environment.

It is now against the racing rules of sailing to throw trash over the side and we hope that all competitors in this race will abide by this rule although it is hard to police. As professional sailors we need to stand up and set an example. We need to engage the whole sailing community to get involved in data collection for organizations like 5 Gyres and we need to educate about the far reaching effects that a damaged ocean has on life - marine life first and foremost but a polluted ocean ultimately affects all of us sailors and non sailors alike.

So as we push on towards Itaji with our hydrogenerator whirring away and our solar panels backing up the charge we are finding it no trouble at all to leave no carbon footprint and no trail of trash. So next time you are at sea, near the sea or on the beach just make sure you leave nothing behind that shouldn't be there. Trust me the dolphins out here have enough fun playing in the waves they don't need any 'dolphin toys' (floating trash) to play with!"

-Hannah