The Artemis Transat 2008 - Race leader BT out, PRB moves into first place

The Artemis Transat 2008
www.theartemistransat.com Übersicht

18 May 2008
Day 8: Race leader BT out, PRB moves into first place after the 36-hours blackout
- Disappointed but positive, Sébastien Josse heads home. The whole story here http://theartemistransat.com/60/article.asp?sid=15262
- A placed gained by Brit Air and a "secret" tack for Loick Peyron during the blackout
- Read Jean-Luc Nélias's analysis http://theartemistransat.com/60/article.asp?sid=15284 of the past 36 hours
- PRB leads a tight bunch - 60 miles separate the leader from the 3rd placed boat, Brit Air
- Upwind all the way to the ice gate, which PRB should cross tomorrow evening
- The Gulf Stream and the North Atlantic drift - read our Sunday feature here http://theartemistransat.com/60/article.asp?sid=15167

The big news this morning was naturally the retirement of Sébastien Josse, plagued by a broken indexsail headcar, and unable to climb up the mast given the sea state - the race certainly loses one of its great animators, yet the BT skipper managed to reindex positive about the incident: "Of course pulling out at that stage is a big disappointment, but you know these things can happen. We've seen the boat was capable of being ahead of the best of the IMOCA fleet, that means our optimisation process was based on the right choices. I'm going back towards Brittany under sails, and those miles will count for my Vendée qualifier - I'm not wasting my time! Moreover, we've done all our preparation in 5 weeks, and compared to the other teams who have been working for 2 to 3 years, if we would've won this race, somehow it would've been a hold-up." A rather magnanimous thing to underline, a statement which proves there isn't a hint of bitterness in Sébastien's perception of the situation. Now it's time to head home towards Lorient, end of the story - and don't count on Josse to make a big drama out of this.

The news was commentated throughout the fleet, and the leading pack - spearheaded by Vincent Riou aboard PRB - obviously felt sorry for Seb and his team. But the race goes on, and this morning was also a busy time for everyone who tried to analyze what had been happening in the dark during the 36-hours positions blackout. The most obvious move was Loick Peyron's tack, favoured by a wind shift to the west at about 22:00 GMT on Friday. "I had planned to tack, but of course I waited for the blackout", said Gitana Eighty's skipper this morning, "I think it was a good move in terms of saving some manoeuvres and efforts in the long run." Now repositioned further south, Peyron is second only 26 miles behind Riou, and has a 30-mile advantage over Armel Le Cléac'h's Brit Air, who moved into third position aver the blackout.

Route du Rhum 2006. PRB/ Vincent Riou © DPPI http://www.theirwebsite.com/ Still a bit stuck in the North and impatiently awaiting stronger winds, 4th placed Yann Elies aboard Generali pointed out an interesting fact when we spoke to him this morning. "The thing to remember is that Loick and myself are already qualified for the Vendée Globe, which isn't Armel and Vincent's case. It's still a long way upwind towards Boston after the ice gate, and we will be more comfortable pushing our boats since we don't have the same pressure regarding our presence in this winter's big event - that is an important factor I think. As far as I'm personally concerned, I'm still stuck up there, but there is a chance for me to dive at some point later during the coming night, so we'll see. For the moment, I don't know why light airs stick to me like that', concluded a very cheerful and well-rested Yann Elies. "I had a good sleep this morning, because one of the advantages of sailing upwind is that the pilot is as fast as the helmsman, so I might as well take naps." In the second pack, Safran moved into 6th place while losing ground on the new leader - Marc Guillemot's loss to PRB amounted to 35 miles when the blackout was lifted - a lot less than the boats behind him actually. Sam Davies aboard Roxy, who indextained her west heading, still manages to make good speed, but both Cervin EnR and Akena Verandas have gained south, being now positioned relatively better in the perspective of the ice gate crossing. Last boat in the IMOCA fleet, Pakea Bizkaia 2009 is now 450 miles from the leader in terms of distance to the finish, a gap which translates into roughly a day and a half at sea. The advantages of the blackout... by Yann Elies "It's certainly good to feel alone at sea, and the great thing about that positions blackout is that my wife can't call me every two hours to ask me why I'm not making better progress! It's also relaxing not to have the "eye of Moscow" - by that I mean my project manager Erwan Steff! - permanently looking at you" (laughs) Image © # Against the flow... The Gulf Stream, like all major currents, is governed by wind-induced circulation on the North Atlantic scale, circulation which intensifies on the western edge due to the earth's rotation. The Gulf Stream's movement is generated by the friction of the winds (which affects water up to a depth of 1500 to 2000 metres), and the relatively high temperature of the Gulf Stream is due to the fact that the current carries waters originating from an area located between Florida and the Bahamas. Thermohaline circulation (which results from a difference in water densities - as cold and salty water dives under warmer and less salty waters) affects layers below 2000 metres of depth. First part of our feature available here http://theartemistransat.com/60/article.asp?sid=15167 For Further information, please contact OC Events T: +44 (0)870 0630218 E: info@ocevents.org mailto:info@ocevents.org