Normandy Sailing Week - Day 1
by Kate Jennings 10 Jun 2014 20:42 BST
9-15 June 2014
The M34 fleet starts Normany Sailing Week with a 134-mile offshore course around the Baie de Seine © Sirius Events
At 0800 GMT this morning, the skippers of the seven M34s competing in Normandy Sailing Week were able to put pedal to the metal as they set sail on the 134-mile offshore course around the Baie de Seine. Groupama, skippered by Franck Cammas, is setting the pace!
The wind and sunshine were playing timid this morning for the start of the M34s' offshore course. The five to eight knots of SSW'ly wind nevertheless enabled the seven competing boats to slip away towards Antifer and then on to Dieppe.
Franck Cammas' crew on Groupama got off to a flying start this morning and were first around the windward mark just ahead of Courrier Dunkerque skippered by Daniel Souben. A long procession of boats followed suit, beam onto a building breeze of around 10 knots as far as the first mark at Antifer. Initially the fleet is intending to make the most of the last bit of favourable tide by heading offshore of Étretat. It will then very quickly head inland so as to try to elude the strength of the current, hugging the white cliffs of Normandy on the approach to Fécamp, to the great delight of the local walkers!
The tide is set to turn at 1730 hours, enabling the seven M34s to set a steady course towards Dieppe, though they'll have to take into account the easing wind as it shifts round to the north-east at the end of the day. After rounding the Dieppe mark, the M34s will be punching tide again and the tacticians know that it's going to be a long night before they make the Merville mark offshore of the River Orne.
Precision will be key for Groupama, which will have to control its playmates if it wants to continue to head the fleet. Its pursuers have the bit between their teeth and there is sure to be a lot of jockeying for position on the cards.
The weather forecasts and the current speed of the fleet indicate an ETA for the frontrunners of around 1100 GMT tomorrow, Wednesday.
Follow the M34s' offshore course on the website, which will be updated every fifteen minutes on Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 June: www.normandy-week.com