Saturday 24th November 2007
Transat ECOVER BtoB : Start Set for 29th November
Following discussions with the fifteen representatives of the IMOCA monohulls, the Race Management of the Transat ECOVER BtoB has fixed the start off the Salvador de Bahia Yacht Club late morning on 29th November. This 4,200 mile course bound for the Forêt-Fouesnant in North West France will have no course marks after the bay and should take around a dozen days to complete.
Given the delay of the finishers in the Transat Jacques Vabre and the fact that several Imoca monohulls will have to make repairs, the Transat ECOVER BtoB will finally set off late morning on Thursday 29th November in front of the Salvador de Bahia Yacht Club. It should be noted that the start line will reindex open until the following day, in order to enable the solo sailors who aren't quite ready, to participate in the race nonetheless. The fifteen solo sailors will only have to respect a single mark at the exit from the bay of Tous les Saints, in order to avoid a sandbank: the 4,200 mile course between Salvador de Bahia and La Forêt-Fouesnant is then free, the Azores archipelago able to be negotiated without any passage constraints amidst the islands. Like the Vendée Globe there will be no routing permitted and the frontrunners should take between twelve (15 knot averages) and sixteen days (11 knot averages) according to the weather conditions reigning over the Atlantic.
Fourteen monohulls registered in the Transat ECOVER BtoB have participated in the Transat Jacques Vabre (Derek Hatfield coming straight from Canada) and some must repair damage of varying degrees of seriousness prior to setting off: for this reason the race organiser, in agreement with the racers, has postponed the start till late morning on Thursday 29th November. The greatest work to be carried out is on Cervin en R (Yannick Bestaven) and Aviva (Dee Caffari), both of whom have ripped part of their carbon masts. Thanks to the support of the shore crews from the other boats, the racers have five days to calmly prepare their boat and rest prior to this transatlantic. The race looks likely to have a difficult final section with the change in weather conditions over the North Atlantic over the last few days.
A week from the start, the forecasts indicate a fifteen knot NE’ly air flow to accompany the fleet out of the bay of Tous les Saints, followed by a rapid E’ly rotation once the monohulls have gained northing. The doldrums is not very active around 30° West and the Azores high has finally stabilised to the South of the eponymous archipelago. The upshot of this will be a train of depressions, which will sweep across the Atlantic from Newfoundland to Iceland, and therefore generating a general W’ly flow from the latitude of Florida to Europe. It is worth noting that the Transat ECOVER BtoB acts as a qualifier for the Vendée Globe 2008 and that the radio sessions will be hosted by Pierre-Louis Castelli, a vibrant and celebrated French journalist, throughout the Paris Boat Show on the Bretagne-Finistère (Brittany-Finistere stand).
Dee Caffari (Aviva)
“We have been working towards the Transat ECOVER BtoB, which is a crucial element of my training and I'm praying that the mast can be repaired in time. I know that the team will do everything in their power so that I am on the start line. The guys have some long nights ahead of them and I’m very touched and grateful for the spare parts that the other teams have offered us. This demonstrates that despite great competitiveness on the water, there really is a superb spirit in the IMOCA class.”
Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia)
“Foncia is doing well! But when we saw everyone together at the Canaries, it had to said that the differences in potential are very small... The boat is ready to set off again for the Transat ECOVER BtoB!”
Marc Guillemot (Safran)
“The course for the Transat ECOVER BtoB perfectly corresponds with the last section of a Vendée Globe, and even though the winter period is not quite the same as a return in the springtime, the weather conditions are similar. Safran has demonstrated that it could go fast but that there were still some points to improve on. To sail single-handed over 4,200 miles can only be positive for refining my knowledge of the boat.”
Mike Golding (ECOVER)
“The boat is in good shape and we've learnt a great deal about it. ECOVER 3 has the potential to win the Vendée, but unfortunately that is the case for a lot of the new boats! It’s interesting to observe all the different choices made in view of this same goal. Foncia is rapid in certain conditions, Safran in others, Groupe Bel in different ones again. The question is rather: will it work in the context of a single-handed race? It’s difficult to make a ranking of the new boats but ECOVER3 is definitively one of the best. We’ll see how things shape up during the Transat ECOVER BtoB!”
Armel Le Cléac’h (Brit Air)
“The Transat ECOVER BtoB, which I’m about to work on in a few days time, will enable me to get to know my machine even better and to continue to measure myself in relation to the competition in some different conditions. My index objective is still the Vendée Globe, which in such a demanding and long race, a perfect symbiosis with your boat is a essential prerequisite if you want to perform well…”
Kito de Pavant (Groupe Bel)
“Leaving the course free between Brazil and Brittany is a good idea in order to open up the field of options, as the passage of the Azores may create some separation with the risk of big gales between the islands. The Transat ECOVER BtoB is excellent final preparation for this season as Groupe Bel is brand new but already very refined.”
Participants in the Transat ECOVER BtoB:
*Akena Vérandas: Arnaud Boissières (Groupe Finot 1998)
*Aviva: Dee Caffari (Groupe Finot 1998)
*Brit Air: Armel Le Cléac'h (Groupe Finot 2007)
*Cervin enR: Yannick Bestaven (Groupe Finot 1996)
*Cheminées Poujoulat: Bernard Stamm (Farr 2003)
*Ecover 3: Mike Golding (Owen Clarke 2007)
*Foncia: Michel Desjoyeaux (Farr 2007)
*Generali: Yann Eliès (Groupe Finot 2007)
*Gitana Eighty: Loïck Peyron (Farr 2007)
*Great America III: Rich Wilson (Nivelt 1999)
*Groupe Bel: Kito de Pavant (VPLP-Verdier 2007)
*Maisonneuve: Jean-Baptiste Dejeanty (Lavranos 2005)
*Spirit of Canada: Derek Hatfield (Owen Clarke 2006)
*Roxy: Samantha Davies (Groupe Finot 2000)
*Safran: Marc Guillemot (VPLP-Verdier 2007)
Kate Jennings
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Foto: Gilles Martin Raget
Fotos: Vincent Curutchet / DPPI
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