Tuesday 16th March – Press release
JULES VERNE TROPHY
(CREWED ROUND THE WORLD VIA THE THREE CAPES)
Time to beat: 50 days 16 hours 20 minutes and 4 seconds
Breaking even
On the 44th day at sea, Groupama 3 has made up the ground on Orange 2 very
quickly and is now ahead of the reference time. However Franck Cammas and
his men have yet to traverse a ridge of high pressure. At that point the
giant trimaran is bound to slow down in the lighter breeze, where it will be
necessary to put in a gybe before hooking onto a low which will propel her
as far as Brest.
Twenty-two days behind, twenty-two days in front! This round the world
course, now less than 2,500 miles from completion, marks an important phase:
the reversal of the trend. Amassing a lead of up to 620 miles (6th day) and
a 492 mile deficit (40th day) off Brazil, Groupama 3’s progress has often
been thwarted by rather unfavourable weather. This Tuesday comes as a great
relief then for all the crew aboard Groupama 3, who can now view the next
stage of the programme in a slightly more relaxed manner and with more
clarity, as the forecasts are encouraging for this Atlantic sprint.
“We have some good conditions, we’re going fast and there’s a great
atmosphere on deck, but we’re going to have a battle on our hands with the
ridge of high pressure that’s lying across our path. Nevertheless, we can
really smell home now! We’ve been waiting for this moment to get ahead
again… At times recently, it’s been possible to read a bit of doubt on our
faces. However, our routing was right and we’re beginning to make gains now.
We remain humble because we’ve still got a way to go yet and there may be
some obstacles across our path, such as containers or the like…
Nevertheless, the strategy that’s taking shape is giving the crew something
to be enthusiastic about! In principle, we shouldn’t be lacking in wind at
the end and we’re still envisaging a finish this weekend” indicated Jacques
Caraës during the 1130 UTC radio session with Groupama’s Race HQ in Paris.
In time for spring…
Suspense continues to reign today though as the completion of the course
will depend on the time Groupama 3 takes to traverse the ridge of high
pressure: if the wind is greater than ten knots, the giant trimaran could
hook onto a front the minute she escapes the high pressure. However, if the
zone of high pressure shifts across at the same time as the boat, the time
frame may be considerably longer and Franck Cammas and his men might have to
bide their time until they can hook onto another disturbed system… The least
favourable routing gives an arrival on Sunday morning.
“The last few days will be pretty tough and we’re going to have to stay on
our guard, because we’ve certainly accumulated some fatigue along the way.
Some of us have lost weight and all of us have weaker legs due to not moving
round much aboard Groupama 3. We’ve had a balanced diet, even though it’s
not excellent everyday! The boat has also lost weight and you can feel that
she’s lighter... Five years ago on Orange 2, we weren’t spoilt after the
equator with a very W’ly course and two ridges of high pressure to traverse.
We didn’t really get going again until we were level with the Azores. We’ve
certainly got an advantage today, especially as Groupama 3 has a superior
speed capacity when sailing close-hauled. We’re also driving the boat a bit
harder because Bruno Peyron had a bit more room for manœuvre to beat the
Jules Verne Trophy in 2005: he always remained below the maxi-catamaran’s
potential.”
The final high pressure trap
“A ridge of high pressure is a barrier of light winds. However, that’s not
the only difficulty before the finish as there will be some fronts to
negotiate. Groupama 3 has been well positioned since exiting the Doldrums,
by shifting across to 40°W. Indeed the trajectory will be able to bend
northwards and as the wind eases, the giant trimaran will accompany the
rotation to the SE, then the S, gybing once the breeze has clocked round to
the SW. The axis of the ridge of high pressure, where the winds are lighter,
should be reached early this Tuesday evening. The zone which contains wind
of less than fifteen knots stretches around 400 miles, with a particularly
sensitive phase of around fifty miles with just ten knots or so of breeze…”
says Sylvain Mondon from Météo France.
Once through this tricky zone, the wind is set to pick up considerably from
Wednesday afternoon: an initial low is passing across the Azores to join up
with Europe, whilst a second is due to follow suit. As such the wind will be
established over this final section of the course through until the middle
of next week, which means we can be fairly optimistic about the finish off
Ushant. “The probabilities on a round the world in winter indicate that the
strongest winds are in the Bay of Biscay: there will be waves of up to four
to five metres and forty knots of breeze or more…”
Groupama 3’s log (departure on 31st January at 13h 55’ 53’’ UTC)
(Number of miles covered in relation to the optimum course for the Jules
Verne Trophy)
Day 1 (1st February 1400 UTC): 500 miles (deficit = 94 miles)
Day 2 (2nd February 1400 UTC): 560 miles (lead = 3.5 miles)
Day 3 (3rd February 1400 UTC): 535 miles (lead = 170 miles)
Day 4 (4th February 1400 UTC): 565 miles (lead = 245 miles)
Day 5 (5th February 1400 UTC): 656 miles (lead = 562 miles)
Day 6 (6th February 1400 UTC): 456 miles (lead = 620 miles)
Day 7 (7th February 1400 UTC): 430 miles (lead = 539 miles)
Day 8 (8th February 1400 UTC): 305 miles (lead = 456 miles)
Day 9 (9th February 1400 UTC): 436 miles (lead = 393 miles)
Day 10 (10th February 1400 UTC): 355 miles (lead = 272 miles)
Day 11 (11th February 1400 UTC): 267 miles (deficit = 30 miles)
Day 12 (12th February 1400 UTC): 247 miles (deficit = 385 miles)
Day 13 (13th February 1400 UTC): 719 miles (deficit = 347 miles)
Day 14 (14th February 1400 UTC): 680 miles (deficit = 288 miles)
Day 15 (15th February 1400 UTC): 651 miles (deficit = 203 miles)
Day 16 (16th February 1400 UTC): 322 miles (deficit = 376 miles)
Day 17 (17th February 1400 UTC): 425 miles (deficit = 338 miles)
Day 18 (18th February 1400 UTC): 362 miles (deficit = 433 miles)
Day 19 (19th February 1400 UTC): 726 miles (deficit = 234 miles)
Day 20 (20th February 1400 UTC): 751 miles (deficit = 211 miles)
Day 21 (21st February 1400 UTC): 584 miles (deficit = 124 miles)
Day 22 (22nd February 1400 UTC): 607 miles (deficit = 137 miles)
Day 23 (23rd February 1400 UTC): 702 miles (lead = 60 miles)
Day 24 (24th February 1400 UTC): 638 miles (lead = 208 miles)
Day 25 (25th February 1400 UTC): 712 miles (lead = 371 miles)
Day 26 (26th February 1400 UTC): 687 miles (lead = 430 miles)
Day 27 (27th February 1400 UTC): 797 miles (lead = 560 miles)
Day 28 (28th February 1400 UTC): 560 miles (lead = 517 miles)
Day 29 (1st March 1400 UTC): 434 miles (lead = 268 miles)
Day 30 (2nd March 1400 UTC): 575 miles (lead = 184 miles)
Day 31 (3rd March 1400 UTC): 617 miles (lead = 291 miles)
Day 32 (4th March 1400 UTC): 492 miles (lead = 248 miles)
Day 33 (5th March 1400 UTC): 445 miles (lead = 150 miles)
Day 34 (6th March 1400 UTC): 461 miles (lead = 58 miles)
Day 35 (7th March 1400 UTC): 382 miles (deficit = 100 miles)
Day 36 (8th March 1400 UTC): 317 miles (deficit = 326 miles)
Day 37 (9th March 1400 UTC): 506 miles (deficit = 331 miles)
Day 38 (10th March 1400 UTC): 321 miles (deficit = 384 miles)
Day 39 (11th March 1400 UTC): 255 miles (deficit = 309 miles)
Day 40 (12th March 1400 UTC): 288 miles (deficit = 473 miles)
Day 41 (13th March 1400 UTC): 503 miles (deficit = 483 miles)
Day 42 (14th March 1400 UTC): 445 miles (deficit = 403 miles)
Day 43 (15th March 1400 UTC): 482 miles (deficit = 216 miles)
Day 44 (16th March 1400 UTC): 401 miles (lead = 72 miles)
Jules Verne Trophy record
Orange 2 (2005): 50d 16h 20'
Find all the latest about the Groupama trimarans on:
www.cammas-groupama.com
Translated by Kate Jennings – Expression
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