18.11.2008
A closing of ranks at the heart of the fleet
A feeble tradewind which abandons the boats all too soon, a Cape Verde
archipelago emerging across their course, a Doldrums stretching nearly 300
miles taking shape in front of a fleet which is more honed than ever before:
decidedly nothing more is needed to spice up this tremendous planetary race.
For two days now, we’ve been witness to a general bunching of the fleet and
the suspense is tangible. By repositioning itself to the west with a view to
its passage through the Doldrums, the top trio has lost some ground on the
chasing pack. The numbers speak for themselves. Whilst the 8th boat had a
deficit of 107 miles on the frontrunner just two days ago, it is now barely
60 miles astern.
For Temenos II the gains made on the leaders are just as pronounced. 303
miles astern some 48 hours ago, Dominique was just 223 miles behind Loick
Peyron at the 1600 hour ranking, the latter managing to hold onto pole
position. And though the skipper of Temenos II can’t allude to long sessions
slipping along towards the equator, Dominique is still hanging onto a breath
of air in the sails of his monohull for the time being. By distancing
himself around a hundred miles offshore of the Cape Verde archipelago, the
skipper succeeded in limiting the impact of the wind shadow from the
islands. Meantime Roxy, which nevertheless sailed around sixty miles away,
seems to still be in its throes and has dropped back in the ranking.
As regards those favouring an E’ly option, such as Akéna Vérandas, though
they seem to have been benefiting from a slightly steadier wind over the
past few hours, it is highly likely that they’ll have to shift over to the
west sooner or later, as they line up for the Doldrums, and concede some
precious miles to the rest of the fleet.
Questioned by Race HQ at midday, Dominique showed a certain satisfaction
about having made up some miles: “I’ve just seen the rankings and I feel
happy about them”, some miles gained as well as a place, with the monohull
up into 13th position at the 1600 hour ranking, less than 2 miles behind the
12th boat, Bahrain Team Pindar.
“We can’t really allude to crazy sessions slipping along; I’m making ten
knots, which isn’t out of the ordinary, so it’s quite gentle. The conditions
are a little bit special because we should be sailing in the tradewinds
beneath a beautiful blue sky in theory. However, I can’t deny that I’m
enjoying myself and I’m happy to have made up some places.”
The inter-tropical convergence zone, particularly active across over 300
miles, could once again see the fleet bunch together. In any case that’s
what the skipper is hoping, though he certainly doesn’t want to risk any
bets on the forecast: “the zone is very spread out. I hope things will go
well for me and that the deficit on the leaders will be minimal when I get
into the South Atlantic, but I can only guess what’s going to happen. For
the time being I’m also telling myself that I should make the most of the
present moment, the enjoyment of being at sea on a fine boat which makes
good headway. If I get obsessed about the deficit I have on the frontrunner
then I’m likely to dampen my enjoyment a bit. And the better you feel at
sea, the better your performance.”
Contacted later in the day by his shore crew, Dominique had just completed
his second gybe of the afternoon and was preparing to tackle his third.
Despite the hundred miles which separate him from Cape Verde, the skipper
was still slightly suffering its influence. “I have between 8 and 10 knots,
which is feeble. I’m following the wind shifts due to the channels of wind
between the islands and I’m trying to gain ground to the west the minute the
wind shifts a little. In fact it’s in the process of shifting again so I’ll
have to gybe again soon.”
Despite the intense activity on the deck of Temenos II, her skipper is
managing to spend a bit of time at the chart table and is currently pouring
over the difficult decision centred on where he’s going to pass through the
Doldrums; a zone which the frontrunners will likely have to deal with
tomorrow. There is no doubt that Dominique will be watching the passage of
these lead boats very closely.
Translated by Kate Jennings – Expression
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