20.11.2007
The fleet in search of the tradewinds
The passage of the gateway in the Canaries has caused the fleet of boats in the
Barcelona World Race no end of trouble. Whilst the two frontrunners slipped
between Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura virtually without being slowed, the rest
of the boats have had to battle through calm conditions followed by strong
winds, in order to make good their escape.
On this tenth day of racing, the distances between the boats in the chasing pack
have reduced considerably, less than 37 miles separating Hugo Boss, currently
3rd, and Véolia Environnement 7th. Although the two leaders have a comfortable
lead, in the midst of this second group nothing has been decided and to further
complicate predictions, the boats are currently adopting different routes.
“It was a hard night with a tricky passage where we had long spells of calm or
got stuck with a very fluky wind coming from all directions, with our sails
flogging and backing. And then suddenly, without warning, the wind kicked back
in at 25 knots, and we ended up in a right jumble with too much sail aloft. We
quickly had to bear away big time and drop the sails so as to avoid breaking the
gear. Between the islands, the wind accelerated sharply, and we found ourselves
with a good 30 knots on the nose, in fairly nasty seas. We really got a good
pasting" said Michèle when contacted earlier this afternoon.
The situation wasn't helped by two cargo ships passing a little too close for
comfort, and only added to what was already a particularly eventful night: “We
passed two cargo ships a little closer than we'd have liked. Thank you to the
AIS! The system enables you to identify cargo ships and to call them up by name
on the VHF. The fact that you are using their name makes them more attentive,
because they know that the call is directly aimed at them. The first replied and
changed course fairly quickly, but the second gave us a real fright. They never
answered and it was quite a long time before they modified their course. You're
never very pleased with yourself in that type of situation.”
Since the start, certain boats have been sailing in pairs virtually non-stop.
These tandems follow a similar course, join together in the choice of options,
often sailing within sight of each other and separated by a few miles at most.
This is the case with Virbac-Paprec and PRB, Delta Dore and Véolia
Environnement, as well as Temenos II and Estrella Damm.
“We found ourselves back with Estrella Damm early this morning. In fact we saw a
light downwind of the island last night. When we saw the dark sails we initially
thought of Hugo Boss. It's nice to see our traveling companion again!“ joked
Michèle
For want of being quicker, this first section of the race has at least seen fit
to keep up the suspense. Though everyone is hoping to hit the tradewinds
quickly, the routes adopted in order to reach them differ according to the
boats. The majority of the duos, including Michèle and Dominique, seem to have
been tempted by the promise of a N’ly wind generated by the zone of high
pressure at the approach to the African coast. This differs from the analysis
made by the skippers of Delta Dore and Véolia Environnement, who have opted for
some W'ly separation since exiting the Canaries archipelago.
“We have decided to continue southwards. It wasn‘t an easy decision to make and
we racked our brains for a long time over it, but the models were in agreement
for once. We’re going to play with the edge of a zone of high pressure, with the
risk that it may shift. We're hoping we have more luck with this system than the
previous one!”
Kate Jennings
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