Imerys makes a play for power in the Normandy Channel Race
by Denis van den Brink 16 May 2017 16:53 BST
14 May 2017
The highlight of what is already the second day of racing in the 8th edition of the Normandy Channel Race, surely has to be the thrilling takeover of power by the British-Spanish pairing of Phil Sharp-Pablo Santurde aboard the Manuard design Imerys.
The two men, respectively second and winner of the 2016 edition have, without any word of warning, put up a brutal attack since rounding Land's End and the Wolf Rock course mark, launching into a downwind sprint that left their more impetuous rivals standing. Indeed, though the duo formed by Maxime Sorel-Antoine Carpentier (V and B), leader at the western tip of Cornwall, switched onto a downwind point of sail early last night with a lead of over 4 miles on Imerys, they lamented a deficit of over 11 miles by the early hours of this morning. On the attack and in a controlling position, Imerys was able to put Tuskar behind her by mid-morning with a slender lead, before tackling a tricky upwind hullabaloo, headed by what is still a strong SW'ly wind of over 25 knots.
The midway mark in 48 hours!
We're just 48 hours into the race and the leaders of the Normandy Channel Race have already ticked off the first half of the race. Indeed, leading the way thanks to a truly impressive performance, Phil Sharp and Pablo Santrude have already covered nearly 460 miles on a direct course, at an average of 9.4 knots. This afternoon they'll be tackling the most outstanding passage of the event, the 140 miles that separate Tuskar lighthouse and that of the Fastnet, off southern Ireland, in what have to be the most extreme conditions for any sailors, wind and waves on the nose. "Fortunately, the current is flattening the sea state a little," explained Halvard Mabire aboard Campagne de France. The slowing up of the leaders due to this new race configuration has led to a certain amount of bunching up of the fleet, with no fewer than 11 boats packed into an 18-mile area off Tuskar. Though the wind is gradually set to ease over the course of the day, it will also clock further and further round to the West so they should be able to free off a little, doubtless reshuffling the cards and hence the rankings with the boats sailing so close to one another. Particularly impressive downwind, will Imerys be able to hang onto her lead in this new action-packed chapter of the race? Now with less than 11 miles between her and V and B, and just a dozen in relation to Calvados and Sensation Class40 (Lepesqueux- Monnet), the pressure could well have switched sides, forcing Phil and Pablo to maintain a blistering pace, which is sure to be exhausting for both man and machine.
9 boats were still making for Tuskar midway through this afternoon. Stéphane Bry and Simon Day (Team SPM) are still bringing up the rear, albeit with some satisfaction at having somewhat stemmed the haemorrhage of miles in relation to the head of the race. They're making headway with a deficit of 110 miles behind the leaders.
Claire and the Coastguards
Somewhat symptomatic of the extreme conditions encountered by the competitors in the Normandy Channel Race, there was a minor incident at midday today involving Claire Pruvot and Louis Duc on their Class40 Calvados. Suffering a real pasting in the very choppy seas, their distress beacon attached to the boat's pushpit was unintentionally activated, prompting an immediate response from the Irish coastguard. However, the noise on boats on a beat in choppy seas is such that neither Claire nor Louis heard the Irish calling them over the VHF radio. It was Miranda Merron aboard Campagne de France, making headway just a short distance away, who heard the call and got a visual on them to check everything was okay aboard Calvados. Without response from the Calvados herself, the Irish contingent rushed a lifeboat to the location as a precautionary measure, where everything on board was normal.
Quotes from the boats:
Phil Sharp, Imerys
"So far the race has lived up to expectations and the weather is typical of the Channel and Irish Sea, dark and drizzly. The sea and sky literally blurs into one big grey image. After rounding the Isle of Wight it was a struggle to match speeds with V&B and Serenis, as their boats are faster on this reaching angle. So we pushed hard to keep in the front pack and tried not to lose too much distance. Rounding the Isle of Wight was seriously wet, it's always complicated in these waters. It was really gusty and drizzly, definitely not cruising weather! Then we were faced with the long upwind slog, close-reaching and seriously uncomfortable, with a monotonous smashing against the waves. It was a relief at the end of the day to bear away at Lizard Point. We hoisted the gennaker and then extended our lead. We knew this point would be a game changer and we'd have to be on form to face the new fast conditions, so we made sure we were rested enough. We pushed really hard through the night up to Tuskar Rock. The conditions were similar to the Quebec St Malo sprint, with strong winds and surfing down waves. The only difference was the dull weather! This morning we were surprised to see no boats around us. Life was so full on during the night that we didn't have the time to download the positions until a few hours ago - so it was a big surprise to see how far we have pulled ahead. Heading towards Fastnet Rock now, we're expecting a lot of upwind, and a lot of tacking. So we are getting back into the rhythm of upwind head-banging and will be trying our best to seek out some good tactical advantages to keep our lead. Common question on board: why aren't we racing in the Caribbean?"
Claire Pruvot, Calvados
"It's not easy to send you information outside the 4G zone. Our computer is hanging on in there with the help of the Holy Spirit. As such, we're only using the bare essentials; Adrena and the grib downloads. Last night was pitch black and very wet. We were speeding along flat out under small spinnaker in a heavy swell. We sailed well and rounded Tuskar with Marc and Jean Charles. However, we've lost a bit of ground again and now we're trying to contain Galfione. We're weaving along upwind in breezy conditions and heavy seas to take shelter from the current on the Irish coast... In a few hours the wind is set to ease a little and I hope the boat will slam less at that point...!"
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