Please select your home edition
Edition
Leaderboard brokerage

lHydroptère DCNS in weather-watch mode: Interview with Jacques Vincent

by l’Hydroptère DCNS 10 Aug 2012 17:17 BST 10 August 2012
l'Hydroptère DCNS awaiting a favourable weather window to set sail for Honolulu © T.Lesage / l'Hydroptère DCNS

For the past three weeks, l'Hydroptère DCNS has been on stand-by in Los Angeles. The crew is awaiting their first favourable weather window to set sail for Honolulu. The flying trimaran is ready for take-off and all eyes are on the wind gods now. A fitting moment for a round-up of the situation with Jacques Vincent, co-skipper of the boat, as the crew anticipate a key element in a record attempt: the weather.

Q: What is the main weather parameter that will trigger the start procedure?

JV: "We're targeting a phase when the North Pacific High is in the perfect position so we're keeping an eye on how this zone is evolving. Ideally, the zone of high pressure has to be further North and slightly across to the East or West if possible. That would enable us to be as close to the direct course to Honolulu as possible and provide us with some good gybing angles for approaching the islands.

"From such scenarios, we'd prefer for the zone of high pressure to be set slightly over to the West. That would ensure we have lighter winds along the Californian coast and hence a more moderate sea state along the first quarter of the crossing."

Q: What kind of weather pattern are you expecting for the crossing attempt?

JV: "On the big day we'll leave port at around lunchtime. The wind will be light, but we know that a thermal breeze is likely to pick up at around 1400 hours. If things pan out as they should, this will be sufficiently strong to get us away from the coast and efficiently negotiate Catalina Island, which will be our first obstacle.

"Offshore of Catalina, we'll hook onto a north-westerly air flow, along the eastern limit of the North Pacific High. The further away from California we get, the more the north-westerly winds will veer, switching round to the North and then the North-East.

"Midway along the course, the wind will ease a little as it clocks round to the East, which will call for us to put in a tack that will set us slightly higher and to the North of the direct course. Three-quarters of the way along, we'll need to plan for a gybe, which will distance us from the centre of the anticyclone and its associated overly light winds, at which point we'll set a course to the South-West and the islands. During this section of the course, the wind will continue to veer, enabling us to make for our destination on a direct course.

"As we approach Hawaii, the wind will funnel between the islands and the resulting increase in wind strength will cause the seas to build. That will doubtless be the trickiest element of the crossing, with the famous "Molokaʻi Channel", at the end of which lies the finish line."

Q: Do you have a general idea of the speeds over each of these portions of the course?

JV: "Between the start and Catalina Island, we'll be sailing upwind at around 18 knots I think and we may have to put in a tack to get around it. After Catalina, we should be able to make headway at an average of 25 knots. Some 150 miles from Los Angeles, we'll more likely be making about 30 - 35 knots. To finish off, as the wind veers, we'll switch to a downwind point of sail, which should see us making 25-30 knots of boat speed again."

Q: How would you weigh up the impact of the choice of weather window on the chances of success in your record attempt?

JV: "It's crucial! It's the weather which enables you to exploit the boat's potential."

Q: What kind of plan does the team have in place for surveying the weather and how are you organising yourselves?

JV: "Among the crew, Yves Parlier and I are on permanent weather watch. Alain, Jean and Luc are also running the routing software and passing on their comments to us at regular intervals. For the time being, during the stand-by period, the weather watch has focused largely on some fairly in-depth calculation models. We're constantly running the routing and the minute the results begin to resemble the record reference time, we study the departure possibilities in greater detail.

"During the stand-by phase, we're being supported by Christian Dumard, (Great Circle/TVSailing News), a professional router. Over the record period, he'll also be keeping a watch, directly linked to l'Hydroptère DCNS.

"From a more technical viewpoint, with regards the computing element, we're running the boat's polars* on the American (GFS) and European (CEP) models. For the start zone we're using the COAMPS files provided by Saildoc. When the 2 models converge on the same departure period there's a strong chance that it will be a good weather window."

*polars: theoretical speeds of a yacht according to a given angle and wind strength.

Q: Why have you chosen this timeframe to come to California?

JV: "The ideal timeframe begins in mid-June, continues through July and closes up again over the course of August/ early September. In summer, the anticyclone climbs North and the depressions become increasingly rare. These weather conditions enable you to take a more direct route towards Hawaii, without being disturbed by a northerly swell. A second favourable factor is the thermal breeze, which is highly active during this period."

Q: What have been the weather windows so far?

JV: "We witnessed some very good weather windows over the first few days of July and since then there hasn't been anything solid. It's all down to the vagaries of the weather."

Q: And the upcoming weather windows?

JV: "We haven't lost hope. With a bit of luck, a weather window may present itself between now and the end of August. On our files, we can view the situation over a ten-day period. In any case, for now we're fully focused on the routing and l'Hydroptère DCNS is ready for take-off."

hydroptere.com

Related Articles

Hydros team breaks Lake Geneva record
With lHydroptère.ch On Tuesday afternoon, Hydros broke the Blue Ribbon Lake Geneva record, part of the SYZ & CO Leman Sailing Speed Records, by crossing the lake (Geneva (Port Noir) - le Bouveret - Geneva) in 4 hours and 45 minutes. Posted on 22 Aug 2013
Hydroptère set to return to the Pacific
Alain Thébault back for record attempt On Wednesday 17th April, in the Parisian workshop of the architect Jean Nouvel, Alain Thébault and his teammates Jean Le Cam and Yves Parlier announced the continuation of the ocean program for Hydroptere. Posted on 18 Apr 2013
lHydroptère.ch concludes a record-filled season
Great time on the Ruban Bleu course The experimental hydrofoil catamaran Hydroptère.ch has concluded its record-chasing 2012. Its results were excellent, including one of the best times of all times on the Ruban Bleu course despite adverse weather conditions. Posted on 6 Nov 2012
Hydros takes off
Three ambitious projects underway The Swiss Hydros team, based in the Parc Scientifique dEcublens, is jointly pursuing three ambitious projects. The team is now ready to report on the major progress and concrete milestones it has achieved to date. Posted on 9 Oct 2012
Transpacific record put on hold
lHydroptère DCNS delays attempt until Spring The pilots of lHydroptère DCNS will have to wait until next season to relaunch their Transpacific record attempt between Los Angeles and Honolulu. Posted on 25 Sep 2012
37.5 knot nautical mile
San Francisco record for LHydroptère DCNS The fastest yacht on the planet*, which arrived in California in July in a bid to secure the Transpacific Record (Los Angeles - Honolulu), set the record around the legendary San Francisco Bay yesterday, 31 August 2012. Posted on 2 Sep 2012
lHydroptère DCNS continues standby
In San Francisco Bay ahead of Transpacific record attempt lHydroptère DCNS, the fastest sailboat on the planet, that made it to Californian shores back in July arrived in San Francisco last night. Posted on 22 Aug 2012
First test flight in Los Angeles
For lHydroptère DCNS On Sunday afternoon, lHydroptère DCNS carried out her first sea trials in the United States. The flying trimaran initially put in some tacks offshore of Long Beach before heading towards Catalina Island. Posted on 24 Jul 2012
lHydroptère.ch sustains damage
During new record attempt The experimental catamaran was well within the record time when it sustained damage to one of its hulls. Posted on 19 Jul 2012
lHydroptère DCNS launched in Los Angeles
Ahead of her transpacific record attempt lHydroptère DCNS was launched on Tuesday in Los Angeles after a weeks work in the dry in Cabrillo Way Marina, San Pedro. Posted on 19 Jul 2012