Wednesday, 23th July 2008
On the chase amidst the wind holes
In the wake of the untouchable red multihull Crêpes Whaou! which rounded the Percé mark at dawn this Tuesday, the fleet of the 7th Transat Quebec Saint Malo is continuing to make headway as best it can towards the infamous pierced rock that forms the second course mark along the banks of Gaspésie. However, all 27 crews are battling with some extremely random conditions at the mercy of the light airs and the wind holes which are dotted about the course… Uncertainty is rife with nobody venturing the slightest forecast. Just one thing is certain: rounding Percé in glorious sunshine with a zone of high pressure is making things more than a little complicated…
Not seen, not caught… True to form, the 50 foot trimaran Crêpes Whaou! has taken off. Franck-Yves Escoffier and his crew have made their getaway. Rounding Percé under a beautiful moon (0510 UT), and benefiting from the last bursts of wind, the red multihull has made it into Saint Lawrence bay, bound for the archipelago of Saint Pierre et Miquelon at the gateway to the Atlantic. Contacted at today’s radio session, Yves Le Blévec, the most recent winner of the Transat 6.50, sets the scene aboard the only boat in the fleet still racking up good speeds: “We made a great passage of the Percé. We’re trying to go fast the whole time, without taking any risks either as regards our gear or our options. We’re in front because Crêpes Whaou! is fast, but we know we can’t afford to make any mistakes…”
The first to the Iles de la Madeleine, as the others approach Percé…
And the crew aboard the Saint Malo boat continues: “At the current time, 1200 UT, we’re set to pass to windward of the most N’ly of the Iles de La Madeleine in around an hour’s time. From then on the situation is more complicated as the N’ly winds which are rapidly propelling us along will pass to the east as they ease. If our weather info is correct, we’ll escape the Saint Lawrence bay between 1800 and 2000 UT, and then we’re set for a beat as far as Saint Pierre, which we should reach a little less than 24 hours later…”
At the latest ranking (1400 UT), Crêpes Whaou! was still displaying a lead of 132 miles over its immediate pursuer, Laiterie de Saint Malo (Victorien Erussard), the latter seriously slowed off Gaspésie where the wind vanished. The current scenario for the chasing pack is one of unbearably light conditions. Meantime their deficit is increasing steadily much to the horror of the young, impetuous sailors aboard. Just 24 hours ago, they were only 12 miles behind the leader!
Misfortune for one, often becomes good fortune for others and the only IMOCA monohull of the fleet has been able to make up for lost time and is making good gains now in the sunshine of Gaspésie thanks to less fluvial waters. Cervin ENR is now in contact and within sight of the multihulls on the hunt for Crêpes Whaou!: Laiterie de Saint Malo, as well as Imagine skippered by Pierre Antoine, more at ease in these light conditions.
Class 40: keep battling towards Percé…
For the smaller monohulls, the progress off the Pointe de la Gaspésie is proving to be even more laborious. Contacted at the radio session, all the sailors in the class had it in for the wind gods, who have made off, leaving the sails flogging and littering the course with zones devoid of air. It’s certainly hard-going in these conditions as they try to make headway towards the elusive pierced rock.
At the Argos position report this Tuesday afternoon, around fifty or so miles from the mark, the Italian crew skippered by Giovanni Soldini (Télécom Italia) are still leading the dance at a sedate pace. They have a lead of less than 1.5 miles over the crew of Khat 7 skippered by the La Rochelle sailor Eric Galmard, author of a promising start. Astern of them the reindexing fleet are caught in the clutches of the light conditions and there is a great deal of jockeying for position… For the time being, less than three miles separate the top five, who are eagerly spying on each other in the hope that nobody but themselves will find a little trickle of air to make good their escape. In these conditions, patience is the name of the game, as Norman, Halvard Mabire is all too aware aboard Pogo Structures. He may have lost a bit of ground but certainly not his good sense. “We may not be making good headway but at least the scenery is fabulous! We haven’t been very
successful over the past 24 hours. It feels like we’ve been offshore on a number of occasions when we should have been inshore. And vice-versa... We don’t always understand the rules properly though: probably because there aren’t any! Sometimes it’s those who are offshore who fly the coop, sometimes it works better inshore. In any case, on the boat, it means a lot of work…”
Last minute:
Laiterie de St Malo (Victorien Erussard) rounded Percé at 1355 UT
Quotes from the boats… (radio sessions and messages received)
Jean-Christophe Caso (Cervin ENR): Percé at dinner time?
“This morning we’re sailing within sight of two trimarans, Laiterie de Saint Malo and Imagine. It’s interesting sailing neck and neck with these multihulls. Close-hauled in little wind, we’re keeping up with them. Downwind in a medium breeze and we’d find it harder to stay with them under gennaker but if the breeze fills in we’ll give them a run for their money. For the time being we’re a long way off that and we’re making around 7 knots of boat speed. We’re all hoping that Crêpes Whaou! will come to a standstill for a while beneath Newfoundland where there’s a big zone of high pressure. Prior to that we’re going to have to round Percé, which isn’t likely to be before 1800 UT. There’s an excellent atmosphere aboard. Though Yannick is a solo sailor at heart, he’s a fantastic travelling companion. He gives everyone a chance to express themselves and all the decisions are made together.”
Christophe Bullens (An Ocean of Smiles): Fishing for the thermal…
“We’re blocked in a zone of light airs with the head of the Class 40 fleet. Blazing sunshine and a nervous wait for the wind: we’re hoping for a bit of thermal breeze near the coast. At the same time though we’re making the most of the opportunity to dry out the boat and consolidate the repairs to the central rib.”
Benoît Parnaudeau (Prévoir Vie): “A light airs regatta”
“We are contesting a light airs regatta! It’s the same for everyone though and it makes for some fun and games on the water. It’s a real confusion of boats. We are watching our rivals through binoculars and we go from solent to code 0 (light gennaker). The sea is smooth and we are opposite some wind turbines which aren’t moving much! Percé looks set to be complicated… We have no idea what’s in store for us. The closer we get to the shore the less wind there is... It’ll end up backing eventually! Aboard the atmosphere is great. We eat together and we’re listening to some music right now: reggae and afro beat predominantly, which is keeping us calm!”
Christophe Coatnoan (Groupe Partouche): “A more offshore option”
“The ranking is favouring us today but there’s no way you can shout victory too soon: there could be a lot of upsets yet. We still have a long way to go to the Percé mark too. We were a bit behind at Rimouski so we took a slightly more offshore option. It went well so here we are, a new day is beginning in the sunshine, but there is no wind. It’s pretty random out on the water. There are four boats close together and not one of them has the same breeze. You really have to choose your camp well…”
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