Oceanracing 2007 - Transat Jaques Vabre 2007

Transat Jaques Vabre 2007
von Le Havre nach Bahia - Start 3. November 2007
www.jacques-vabre.com - Übersicht

11/07/2007
http://www.bernard-stamm.com
Turning point for Cheminées Poujoulat

After a windy night, the Open 60 fleet has been slowed by light airs. Cheminées Poujoulat, currently lying seventh to the east of the open ocean, has the same strategic decisions to make as the rest of the fleet: decisions that could completely change the face of the race. So watch this space… closely!

Veteran of southern waters Bernard Stamm likes windy conditions. So much so that in this morning's radio report, Bernard seemed almost disappointed to find that the high winds of last night, which had given some of his direct competitors such a hard time, were clearly dropping. Nevertheless, the elements didn't spare Cheminées Poujoulat either. “Unfortunately, the wind off Cape Finisterre didn't last for long”, sighed Bernard Stamm. “It was only lively for 24 hours at the most. We came out of it with a minor problem, but one that could have ended up as serious. The spinnaker sock split, and we had to furl Cheminées Poujoulat's small spinnaker like a normal one. We got thrown about a bit, rather like you do on the Bay of Quiberon!”

This short windy episode threatens to be the only real blow of the entire race. The east-northeasterly wind from southern Portugal is forecast to veer south-east and drop over the coming hours, creating a weather situation that will force the fleet to choose between two options. Either to continue southeast off the African coast in slack winds, or to take the longer offshore route to the southwest, and cope with a headwind…

The fault lies with a depression sitting over the Azores in place of the customary high pressure system.

“At Cape Finisterre, all we had to do was step on the gas and get going, but now we've got to rack our brains to work out where we might find a breath of wind. Whoever finds it first will have a hell of a head start over everyone else.”

Currently seventh and east of the open ocean in company with Loick Peyron and Jean-Baptiste Le Vaillant's Gitana Eighty, Cheminées Poujoulat is 70 miles behind race leader Safran, which is now on a more westerly track. It's time to put up or shut up!

So the next 24 hours could well prove a turning point for this Transat Jacques Vabre.