18 May 2008
Day 8: It's still wide open in the North Atlantic
- A few surprises and general relief as the blackout lifts
- Non-stop position changes as the pack compresses
- Life on board becomes increasingly demanding
- The fatigue factor begins to count
As the 36 hour blackout lifted at 0600GMT on Sunday morning, the middle of the fleet was becoming claustrophobic with six yachts grouped within 9 miles in terms of distance to finish: a spread that increased by just 2 miles over the course of the day. "There's really nothing in it," confirmed Alex Bennett on Fujifilm this morning. In the afternoon, Bennett was in 7th place, only 2 miles behind Miranda Merron on 40 Degrees. "It's amazing how tight it is and this is as tight as offshore sailboat racing is ever going to get," he continued. "It's really neck-and-neck and there's everything to play for. I really think it's anybody's race."
One of the most pro-blackout skippers, Miranda Merron, explained her relief as the first position poll downloaded at 0600GMT: "I got becalmed for 4 or 5 hours last night and I was frantic that it was just me." There was no cause for concern and the positions revealed that 40 Degrees was in 5th, right in the thick of the compressed group of six yachts. "It really was fantastic racing in the blackout," continued Merron. "Not having to check the positions meant I could concentrate on sailing. Yesterday, I spotted three other Class40s and without the positions, it was really proper racing." By the afternoon, Merron had dropped one place as the positions constantly change within the pack by a mere handful of miles. Boris Herrmann in second place on Beluga Racer is currently trailing the race leader, Giovanni Soldini and Telecom Italia by 46 miles and agrees with the two British skippers: "I was a little bit surprised we were so close when the blackout lifted, especially because the wind was so shifty. Personally, I made 7 or 10 tacks in the night...I can't really remember," he reported earlier, the German skipper's fatigue becoming increasingly audible.
The Class40 fleet is now spread out over 186 miles north-south and the three distinct groups present before the blackout have generally dispersed, although the northern group of Yvan Noblet with Appart' City (5th place), Thierry Bouchard on Mistral Loisirs - Pole Santé ELIOR (3rd place) and Christophe Coatnoan with Groupe Partouche (8th place), have reindexed inseparable, keeping north with the race leader, Telecom Italia. For Yvan Noblet on his yellow Class40, the first position poll after the blackout brought few surprises: "I'm not too surprised by the rankings today," he admitted this morning. "For us in the north, the options were a bit limited." Slipstreaming the race leader in 3rd place and trailing Giovanni Soldini by 58 miles, Thierry Bouchard has grown accustomed to the Italian's ability to outpace the fleet: "We'll see Giovanni in Marblehead," he said this morning. "I really think first place has been decided, but the rest of the podium is wide open." Despite this opinion, Bouchard has averaged 7.5 knots during the afternoon, just over a knot faster than Soldini.
However, from the middle of the north-south spread, Alex Bennett is not so sure that the northerly position held by Telecom Italia guarantees first place with 1,700 miles left to sail. "We've taken the southerly option because of the position of the ice gate and the relative direction of the wind in relation to it." The Class40 fleet leaders are around 800 miles from the ice gate and Bennett reported sailing into a westerly Force 4 this morning. "We'll have to see, but at the moment, I think being below their layline to the ice gate is favoured." Conversely, Boris Herrmann is unsure that there is any tangible advantage north or south: "I'm not so sure it makes a difference," he commented earlier. "I think we'll have to tack every half a day for the next couple of days. I think Soldini and the others will stay on their layline in the north and - if the wind shifts right - they will be in a better position than us in the south." Routing software predicts that the Class40s should approach the ice gate on Thursday afternoon and Miranda Merron on 40 Degrees is looking four days ahead at conditions closer to Newfoundland: "Low pressure systems are easy," she told the race office this morning, "but there are a few obstacles ahead. indexly light airs near the ice gate."
Conditions on board
After a predominantly downwind start to the race, the upwind sailing is becoming increasingly demanding: "Last night was the worst so far," said Halvard Mabire in 4th place, reporting 27 knot headwinds earlier today. "Custo Pol is shaking about so much I can't even type. The keyboard is jumping about like a landed mackerel!" Both Mabire and Alex Bennett commented on an unusual sea state: "The sea is much bigger than you would normally associate with this sort of wind strength and it's a very confused state," said Bennett. "This makes it a bit more bouncy for me and the boat." Miranda Merron, though, is enjoying the conditions: "Now we're going upwind in stable conditions, I'll get a chance to send some emails and chill out a bit," she joked earlier. "In reality, I have boat checks to make, there's some water I have to get out of the boat and I've got to have a really good look at the weather."
The fatigue factor
After an exhausting downwind period in shifting, light breeze during which the skippers had to constantly monitor their boats to maximise speed, the physical hardship of slamming upwind may have a decisive effect, as Yvan Noblet on Appart' City suggested this morning: "I really believe that the physical condition of individual skippers will be vital over the next few days." Will endurance be a major factor? It is clear that the entire Class40 fleet are intensely competitive and none of the skippers involved in the current mid-Atlantic huddle are going to back-off until the finish line.
Positions and Distance to Leader data 1400GMT Sunday:
1 Telecom Italia 0
2 Beluga Racer 46
3 Mistral Loisirs - Pole Santé ELIOR 48
4 Custo Pol 48.4
5 Appart City 50
6 40 Degrees 55.8
7 Fujifilm 57.4
8 Groupe Royer 78.6
9 Prévoir Vie 83.3
10 Groupe Partouche 89.6
11 Clarke Offshore Racing 108.8
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