Route du Rhum-Banque Postale Start 29. Oktober 2006 - St.Malo www.routedurhum.org - Übersicht 04.11.2006 APPROACHING POINTE A PITRE… OR THE AZORES ! The 60-footer ORMA (half boat - half bird, according to Lionel Lemonchois) are surfing the Trade Winds, approaching the Guadeloupe at high speed and about to break the record of the Transat Jacques Vabre crossing (12 days 8 hours – Laurent Bourgon in 1998). Gitana XI is awaited on Monday at the end of the afternoon or overnight in Pointe à Pitre, and needs now to negotiate the rounding of the islands in weak Trade Winds. Bourgnon in den Tradewinds At the same time, the reindexing members of the Transat Jacques Vabre – La Banque Postale fleet is just passing the Azores or approaching them. For the overall leaders, the race will last approximately 10 days, while for the 40-footers and the less competitive boats the crossing should take 20 days or more. Some of them started the race not even sure whether they would arrive before the finish line closes (10 days after the 1st IMOCA has passed it). But what a thrilling adventure ! The ORMA pilots are enjoying the fast track rides, with no major dramas at the moment, but the runners are frustrated in not having more tactical opportunities to fight with the dominant Lionel Lemonchois. The 40-footer leaders have shown amazing speed averages for the last 4 days, and as for the multihulls, they seem to have extra power under the hand, the pace increasing as the race unfolds. They will have a tough night with winds up to 45 knots, and random conditions when they cross over to the Trade Winds, where the situation is not yet known to them. The cards might be dealt differently when they get there…. Copyright © 1996-2016 - SEGEL.DE