09.06.2004
THE TRANSAT: A RECORD BREAKING NIGHT AND MORE TO COME...
'One man, one boat, the sea...The Transat established in 1960 as the OSTAR'
IN BRIEF:
* THREE ORMA MULTIHULLS TROUNCE TRANSATLANTIC RACE RECORD...
* CLOSE RACING ACTION IN THE OPEN 60 MONOHULL FLEET AND CURRENT ETA's PREDICT ANOTHER RECORD BREAKING FINISH...
* BRITAIN'S MIKE GOLDING EXTENDS LEAD BUT KIWI MIKE SANDERSON MAY HAVE BETTER POSITION IN THE NORTH...
* AMERICAN MATCH RACE AT FRONT OF 50FT MONOHULL CLASS...
Current holder of the Omega 24hr record Michel Desjoyeaux/Geant 440 miles
See the official Omega clock showing race time http://www.thetransat.com
IN DETAIL:
Overnight, three of the eleven 60ft trimarans racing in The Transat 2004 arrived in Boston. The top three boats - Geant (Michel Desjoyeaux), Sodebo (Thomas Coville) and Groupama (Franck Cammas) have all trounced the existing course record by finishing in under nine days - all taking a over a day and half of the race record set four years ago by Francis Joyon. Both Desjoyeaux and Coville pinpointed the moments in the race where it was won and lost: "He [Thomas Coville] tacked just 150m, no more, I come back again then I get away, goodbye. Then one and a half days later I was very far from him because he made a mistake of 150m," said Desjoyeaux on arriving at Rowes Wharf last night (see full quotes below from both skippers). While the French podium skippers attended a round of press conferences, media de-briefings and celebratory parties, the second wave of ORMA multihulls is approaching the finish. Lead by Alain Gautier on Foncia - 184 miles from the finish line at 0700 GMT this morning - with Banque Populaire (Lalou Roucayrol) and Sergio Tacchini (Karine Fauconnier) fanned-out astern, the cluster are spread by only 97 miles west/east. Foncia is the most northerly ORMA and has recently crossed into the shallower water of Georges Bank and is positioned approximately 140 miles east of Cape Cod. Gautier is expected to arrive at the finish in Boston early this evening.
The Open 60 monohull fleet are also set to provide a tight finish. Mike Golding (Ecover) has increased his lead over Mike Sanderson (Pindar AlphaGraphics) and now leads the IMOCA yachts by just under 30 miles - approaching the North American coast on the same latitude as Boston. Third place Temenos (Dominique Wavre) is heading west on a similar latitude to Golding, but Sanderson has chosen to keep further north which may benefit him in the long run. In fourth and fifth place, Skandia (Nick Moloney) overtook Hellomoto (Conrad Humphreys) during the night and is holding a 16 mile lead. The existing order could alter dramatically as the leading Open 60s still have over 750 miles to race but current ETA's for these leaders predict another record breaking arrival. The Open 60 monohull record was set by Yves Parlier in the 1992 race of 14 days, 16 hours and 1 minute. If the front runners arrive this coming Saturday or Sunday, they have the potential to shave a considerable chunk of time off this long-standing record.
Competition is also intense in the 50ft monohull fleet and Americans Kip Stone (Artforms) and Joe Harris (Wells Fargo-American Pioneer) have less than 2 miles between them. Stone re-took the lead last night and with 1161 miles to the finish line an intense match race looks set to develop. However, typical North Atlantic weather will hamper their progress across as long-range forecasts show a hard upwind slow to the finish.
QUOTES FROM MICHEL DESJOYEAUX - WINNER ORMA 60 CLASS:
Finish time 2129 GMT
Race duration 8d 8h 29m 55s
Average speed 13.61 knots
Broke existing transatlantic race record set by Joyon by 38h 52m
Did you have any problems on board? "I had no problems of sails, no problems of battens, no problem of engine - just one day I was afraid as I tried to start the engine and nothing. It's the Vendée Globe again, not that! [In the 2000/2001 Vendée Globe, Desjoyeaux's engine failed as he was leading. It took a complex procedure of tying a rope round the engine motor to the end of the boom then gybing the boat to kick-start the motor]. In fact, it was just a small problem with a plug in the fuel pipe."
What did you see as the definitive moment in the race? "When you went to go out of the high pressure you sail port side and in the high pressure at a moment there was a big shift in the wind. He (Thomas Coville) tacked just 150m, no more, I come back again then I get away, goodbye. Then one and a half days later I was very far from him because he made a mistake of 150m."
How do you know when to push or not? "The advantage of flat water, like today [in approach to Boston] I was flying on one hull. On flat water with stable conditions, you can go fast if you have a good angle at the right moment. No problem, the boat goes fast by itself, no pushing, it's not hard to do that. But in big waves you have to know when to slow down. But it is knowing when you can push - that's the problem - and you never know that before it breaks and it's too late:
QUOTES FROM THOMAS COVILLE - 2ND ORMA 60 CLASS:
Finish time 2338 GMT
Race duration 8d 10h 38m 0s
Average speed 13.47 knots
Did you think you pushed as hard as you could? "I was there to win. The only occasion I have seen [not to be pushing] was a storm when I could have pushed the boat harder but that was the position I was in. But, for me, the 'between' of pushing the limits and to be conservative about the boat, so you are able to push the limit another time. I had the feeling that, that time was not a good time and Mich had the feeling he could push hard at that time. The difference has been done at this point. I respect what Mich has done, at that moment."
"I don't have any regrets about what I've done. I think I feel like that at the moment - if you think like that you are always having regrets all your life."
"Such races show the difference between the knowledge you've got between you and your boat. You can disassociate yourself between you and the boat and the differences you have, but I am good with my boat."
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