Saturday 8 november 2008
Eve of battle with weather on the mind
Weather and options. That is a brief summary of the programme facing Marc Guillemot during his final hours ashore before he leaps into his first Vendée Globe. Safran is ready for the start. She will leave the pontoon in seventh place at 9h39.
Everything has been completed on board Safran. Marc Guillemot's VPLP-Verdier designed boat is ready for her first Vendée Globe. Friday was spent on the final, tiny checks inside the boat and loading the fresh produce. Although Marc Guillemot has been busy with the media, he has been spending the final hours going over the weather again and again with Sylvain Mondon of Météo France. « We're very much in demand, but that is only normal, even if that means it is difficult to find any time to rest before the start,» admitted Marc Guillemot.
Rough weather forecast
On Saturday, Marc and the 29 other contenders in the solo round the world race attended their final briefing. The weather is going to be rough, making this the major topic of discussion. «The south-westerly flow coming straight at the boats will be around twenty knots, gusting to thirty with two to three metre high waves at the start. Then quickly, the wind will strengthen to 25 knots, gusting to 35 in the afternoon,» explained Sylvain Mondon. The first night spent in the rain will be even tougher, «with the wind increasing to 30 or 35 knots on average and gusting to 45 knots with 4 to 6 metre high waves.» The wind will then veer north-westerly and then northerly sometime on Monday afternoon, while easing off to between 15 and 20 knots.
«There will be some small variations to play around with in the Bay of Biscay,» said Marc Guillemot, «but we'll need to reflect on that, as we all know how much time and effort is required to change tack. Ideally, we should be heading off west to begin with and going down to Cape Finisterre on two tacks, but there are bound to be other options to consider.» Sylvain Mondon agrees, adding: «Right up until the final moment, we'll be working on that together.» Marc reindexs determined: «We need to do our utmost to be in the leading pack at Cape Finisterre ».
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