Please select your home edition
Edition
Sunstorm Marine - Cup Holders - RIB

Transat Jacques Vabre IMOCA analysis: Charal setting the pace

by IMOCA Globe Series 6 Nov 2019 04:58 GMT 6 November 2019
Full speed aboard Charal - Transat Jacques Vabre 2019 © Team Chara

It is patently obvious now to everyone that Charal is very fast and is setting an incredible pace at the front of the IMOCA fleet in the Transat Jacques Vabre. Since passing the Cape Verde Islands, when they were tacking alongside Apivia, the double-handed crew aboard Charal has continually accelerated, widening the gap to 120 miles today over their nearest rivals.

After nine days of racing, the leaders in the Transat Jacques Vabre are getting ready to enter the Doldrums, the infamous Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone that is so feared by skippers due to the great instability of the weather. Dominic Vittet, weather strategist and router for many sailors, gives us his analysis of the situation on Tuesday 5th November.

Dominic Vittet: "Charal has been able to reap the benefits of having a year more to prepare than the other new generation IMOCAs. We have been able to see that the red and black foiler was not necessarily faster than the others at the start of the race in conditions that were not favourable for the foilers. However, once she was reaching, Charal has been able to extend her lead, in particular over Charlie Dalin and Yann Eliès on Apivia between the Cape Verde Islands and the entry point into the Doldrums. We can also see that 11th Hour Racing (the former Hugo Boss) sailed by Charlie Enright and Pascal Bidégorry is a notch below them. It can be seen that the modified boats have not really been able to keep up with a well-tuned new foiler. Charal is therefore very fast, but she also sails better downwind in winds that are not too strong, which means she has been able to avoid all the gybes that some others have been forced to carry out."

Fantastic sailing at very high speed

"Jérémie Beyou and Christopher Pratt will start to feel the effects of the Doldrums today and the pace should slow a little. The Doldrums stretched out quite some way over the past few days, but is expected to shrink in the coming days, which should favour those chasing them. After that, Charal will have to look ahead to the St Helena High, pick up the SE'ly trade winds, which will back easterly and then NE'ly. It will then be full steam ahead again reaching after the Equator in ideal conditions for a high speed run down to Salvador da Bahia. It is likely that the winner in the IMOCA category will cross the finishing line on Friday or Saturday morning.

A strong from the non-foilers

"Some of the IMOCAs without foils have had a very good race, such as Banque Populaire (4th), Corum L'Epargne (8th) and Groupe Apicil (9th), as they have managed to keep up a very steady pace racing ahead of some of the foilers. Jean Le Cam and Damien Seguin, and not forgetting Armel Le Cléac'h know their boats perfectly and are managing to get 100% out of them. Conditions at the start of the race may not have been very favourable for the foilers, but it is nevertheless surprising to see these boats in the Top 10.

What can we learn from this race?

"The race has been very interesting as the skippers do not all have the same goal. Their strategies have therefore been drawn up differently to match their objectives. While Charal wishes to assert herself as the one to beat, confirming that she is the favourite, for some of the others, it has been more about qualifying for the Vendée Globe. Some boats therefore chose the easterly option, in order to make sure they finished the race and scored some valuable points for the IMOCA Globe Series Championship. Some others, like Hugo Boss, Maître CoQ, Bureau Vallée, Malizia 2, Prysmian Group and Advens allowed themselves to head west. That was a brave choice, which may have paid off, as in the end, the leaders in the group that went west are not very far behind. For others, this transatlantic race was a way to allow them to measure up against other boats after the Azimut Challenge (Initiatives Cœur, PRB, MACSF,...). To finish, we should note the excellent performance by Thomas Ruyant and Antoine Koch (Advens for Cybersecurity), who managed to get right back in the race and are now only just thirty miles from Arkea-Paprec.

Related Articles

2025 Transat Café L'OR is packed with surprises
73 boats sailed by 146 co-skippers will set sail on October 26th 73 boats sailed by 146 co-skippers will set sail on October 26th on the TRANSAT CAFÉ L'OR Le Havre Normandy. Posted on 4 Jul
A more sustainable Transat Café L'OR edition
The race aims to be innovative and a driving force for the transitions taking place in ocean racing For the upcoming 17th edition, the TRANSAT CAFÉ L'OR Le Havre Normandie is stepping up its commitments to take better care of the earth's climate and the natural, living planet. Posted on 7 Jun
Francesca Clapcich names Will Harris as co-skipper
For Transat Café L'OR double-handed race across the Atlantic Italian-American pro offshore sailor, Francesca Clapcich, has chosen Will Harris (GBR) to join her as co-skipper for the TRANSAT CAFÉ L'OR Le Havre Normandie, the double-handed bi-annual race from Le Havre, France, to Martinique. Posted on 21 May
Transat Café L'OR Cap Pour Elles 2025 routes
Four classes, four courses, four winning duos means four times the emotion On Sunday October 26, the ULTIM, the Ocean Fifty, the IMOCA, and the Class40 divisions will start their TRANSAT CAFÉ L'OR Le Havre Normandie at 15 minutes intervals. Posted on 13 Feb
Transat Café L'OR Cap Pour Elles 2025
Applications are now open Attention female sailors who wish to participate in their first competitive transatlantic race, the TRANSAT CAFÉ L'OR Le Havre Normandie is renewing its Cap pour Elles initiative. Posted on 24 Jan
Transat Jacques Vabre changes its name
Becoming the Transat Café L'OR le Havre Normandie On Sunday 26th October 2025, the most legendary double-handed transatlantic race will start with a new name: the TRANSAT CAFÉ L'OR Le Havre Normandie. Posted on 5 Dec 2024
4 fleets, 4 courses, 4 winners, 6 starts
77 boats finish Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre At the start in Le Havre in late October, a series of powerful low-pressure systems were sweeping across the Atlantic. Posted on 6 Dec 2023
Pamela Lee and Tiphaine Ragueneau complete the TJV
To take 29th place in Class 40 fleet Pam Lee and Tiphaine Ragueneau, the Irish-French duo, who raced the Atlantic under the Cap pour elles initiative, crossed the finish line of the Transat Jacques Vabre Posted on 27 Nov 2023
Italian boats dominate TJV Class Class40 podium
lberto Bona and Pablo Santurde del Arco cross the finish line in fourth place With Alberto Bona and Pablo Santurde del Arco on the Italian Mach 40.5 IBSA crossing the Class 40 finish line in fourth place on the 16th Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre this afternoon. Posted on 24 Nov 2023
Alla Grande Pirelli take first place in Class40
Ambrogio Beccaria and Nicolas Andrieu win the Transat Jacques Vabre Italian skipper Ambrogio Beccaria and French co-skipper Nicolas Andrieu sailing the all Italian Musa 40 Alla Grande PIRELLI took first place in the highly competitive Class40 race on the 16th Transat Jacques Vabre Posted on 23 Nov 2023