Tuesday 5th February – Press Release No.70
JULES VERNE TROPHY
(CREWED ROUND THE WORLD VIA THE THREE CAPES)
LIGHT PATCH?
Whilst the Cape of Good Hope is shaping up on the horizon, the atmosphere aboard
Groupama 3 was less serene this Tuesday lunchtime with the reading of the
weather reports… Forced to remain on a fairly N’ly course, Franck Cammas and his
nine crew will not simply extend their course but also stumble into a zone of
high pressure!
23 hours separate Orange II and Groupama 3 in the space of three years! Bruno
Peyron’s maxi-catamaran ‘virtually’ passed along the same trajectory as the
giant trimaran this Tuesday at 0800 UT with a deficit of 590 miles… This is good
news since Franck Cammas and his men have thus saved two and a half hours on the
reference time since their passage of the equator, despite a succession of gybes
slowing their pace. Indeed, though the averages have grazed and even exceeded an
average of 27 knots over the past two days, the trimaran has extended its course
by performing successive hooks to the SW to get clear of the pitfalls of the
Saint Helena High. Bruno Peyron’s catamaran didn’t have to resolve such
problems, instead scribing a perfect curve from the equator to 40 degrees at
equivalent speeds. Result: more route at the same speed and Groupama 3’s room
for manoeuvre has been reduced by 80 miles in half a day…
Hope at the Cape of Good Hope?
Nevertheless, like all sailors, their eyes are on their bow and not on their
wake! And in fact the situation has become complicated by entering the Indian
Ocean on Wednesday afternoon. Franck Cammas and his nine crew will find a low
pressure system which, unfortunately, won’t last very long! Indeed, a zone of
high pressure has just slipped under the African continent and will catch the
multihull up, providing light S’ly and then N’ly winds in this landscape swept
by swells, which come alternately from the NW and the SW. The multihull and its
crew are expecting a big shake-up!
“We are sailing in 25 knots of W’ly wind: we had to reposition ourselves a few
times last night but the seas are 15°C and coming from the right direction. It's
also very nice outside, even though it’s grey with a front coming from the
South, which will serve up a bit of a chill. We’re expecting a final rotation of
the breeze to gybe, as the wind will head and pass to the SW so we can then make
E'ly... Next though we’ll be blocked between a big sea and a header wind… We’ll
be forced to remain on a fairly N’ly course whilst we await the next front! It’s
not a very joyful forecast… The passage across the longitude of the Cape of Good
Hope is still scheduled for late afternoon on Wednesday, but above all else
we’re trying to manage what will happen afterwards… We’ll have to go South at
some point!” indicated Franck Cammas
The forecast for the next few ‘Indian’ days are therefore not very optimistic
and Franck Cammas reacted to this during the radio session this Tuesday
lunchtime. However, Groupama 3 has already proven in its descent of the
Atlantic, that it is still extremely fast in breezes in excess of ten knots. It
also remains to be seen if this zone of high pressure will stay in place under
the Cape of Good Hope as it expands or if it will get pushed by a new
depression, which is expected on Thursday evening to the South of Cape Town. In
the first instance, the sluggish pace could eat away Groupama 3’s lead over the
reference time; in the second, this little 'light patch’ could just be a scratch
on the spirits of a crew, who don’t yet seem to have consumed a single slice of
its confidence capital!
Today’s interview
Interview with Franck Cammas, skipper and helmsman
“I think that we would have been capable of doing better in terms of the passage
of the Cape of Good Hope, but the weather hasn‘t been very favourable since the
start. We still have a long way to go though and we're hoping to make up some
ground in the next stage. The first part of the Indian Ocean will be difficult
with the risk of losing a day and a half: a high pressure system is climbing up
on us! We won’t have enough speed to get ahead of it… It’s not great for the
morale but the crew is well and we're right into our watch rhythm.
Groupama 3 is rather quick in the light airs and the medium wind, and in the
Atlantic we can play with the pressure and get close to the calm zones, but in
the South, we'll be better off seeking out the downwind conditions with a good
sea state. We won’t stop ourselves from going into the strong wind but it will
have to be well orientated. We can precisely anticipate the weather for around
48 hours in terms of a reliable forecast.
The first albatross I saw yesterday morning was a bit like a remote controlled
glider. Its size was impressive as was its effortless flight… It was a beautiful
image, like the one I saw in the books before coming this far!”
http://www.windreportmedia.com/sailing/groupama/fc050208a_fr_e.mp3
During the record, find Franck Cammas and his crew everyday at 1100 GMT live
from Groupama 3. For this nothing could be simpler: www.cammas-groupama.com or
connect to the Groupama 3 / WindReport platform and ask your questions, by
calling 0 825 15 30 70 (0.15 € / min).
References: Jules Verne Trophy
Today’s figures
Start on 24th January at 07h50’17’’ UT
Arrival before Saturday 15th March 2008 at 00h09'21'' UT
Day 12 at 0800’ UT
*Distance covered on the water in 24 hours: 641 miles
*Distance covered since the start: 6,431 miles
*Distance to the finish: 18,099 miles
*Average on day 11: 26.71 knots
*Average since the start: 22.33 knots
*Lead in relation to Orange II: 590.8 miles
Find a detailed cartography at: http://cammas-groupama.geovoile.com/julesverne
All about the tour
*From Ushant to the equator: 6 days 6 hours 24 minutes (Groupama 3 in 2008)
*Lead over Orange II’s passage of the equator in 2005 (7d 02h 56'): 20 hours 32
minutes
Kate Jennings
TEMENOS
Fluctuating tradewinds
Still upwind in the tradewinds, the fluctuating wind of the past 24 hours has
prevented the monotony setting in aboard Temenos II. Successively heading,
easing, backing, filling, Michèle and Dominique are following these incessant
variations and adjusting their sail trim accordingly. Since this morning, the
duo have benefited from an air flow, which is barely any livelier than a slight
fifteen knots, more or less established in strength but not yet in direction.
Even though there’s still a ‘shaker atmosphere’ aboard, as Michèle confirmed
when contacted this afternoon, the gain in speed in relation to last night has
enabled the boat to slip along better in the big tradewind sea, which is still
proving very demanding. The temperature is becoming less and less stifling as
the monohull makes northing and living conditions are improving as a result.
In the next 2 to 3 days, the duo will have to cross a ridge of high pressure
situated level with the Azores, where they hope to slip along to the South of a
low, which is forecast at that point.
“We spent part of the night in an easing wind, which is oscillating at around
thirty degrees. Once the boat has slowed a little, the seas on the nose have a
tendency to brake its speed. This morning, the wind kicked in again but it is
still oscillating at around thirty knots. The boat goes from upwind to upwind
full and by, so we constantly have to mirror its whims with adjustments to the
sheets, and that also forces us to helm a fair bit. For some hours now the wind
has backed and the boat is accelerating. It goes through the waves better and
aboard it’s still like being in a shaker but it's a little more pleasant.
It is still a similar picture as regards the weather forecasts. We are
continuing to count on the arrival of the low to pick up the pace, but the most
important move will be traversing a ridge of high pressure off the Azores in
around 3 days time.
The skies still haven't cleared so it remains grey blue. We can’t see the stars
anymore at night. It’s a shame as we’d hoped to see Jupiter and Venus. We’ve
already been able to see them getting closer during our climb up the Southern
Atlantic, but at the moment the tradewinds are too light to clear the sky.
Showers of flying fish come crashing down on the deck overnight. You can hear
them hitting the hull and you really feel bad for them. Surprisingly there seem
to be a lot less during the day, which makes you think that they must be able to
see us in the daylight and be able to avoid us better.”
--
Kate Jennings
Expression.
P.O. Box 26,
Dartmouth,
DEVON.
TQ6 0YG
United Kingdom
+44 (0)7795 116699
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