30.11.2008
The hour of reckoning
The spectre of high pressure is finally distancing itself from the leaders.
At the heart of the group, fortunes have been varied, and the price paid to
Saint Helena has been heavy for some. And though the two leaders have
managed to sneak furtively beneath the zone of high pressure without too
much hassle, it hasn’t been the same for their pursuers. The deficits have
increased and Ecover in 9th and less than 20 miles behind the leader at
midday yesterday, has been relegated to over 100 miles astern just 24 hours
on.
For Temenos II, the analysis is positive. Dominique may not have managed to
close the gap separating him from the two top boats, but he has made up part
of his deficit on the leading group. Questioned at the radio session by Race
HQ, the skipper didn’t think he was out of the woods yet and was reindexing
very vigilant. The wind had certainly shifted, leaving a hint of an exit
from the high pressure, but there was still a threat of clouds not far off
the monohull’s course. “It’s not very stable yet. I am experiencing a clear
spell; a small hole filled with sunshine but surrounded by clouds. There are
various cloud types right across the horizon; high pressure stratus and
still some small cumulus. It’s probably one of those which floored me this
morning. I’d just completed a gybe. I was in the process of stacking down
below when the boat broached violently. Everything I’d started to shift
across to the other side fell back to leeward with me in the middle. It was
a white squall and it completely took me by surprise.” In the light
conditions the skipper was quickly able to right the boat and get back on
course, but in a steadier breeze the consequences for the gear can be
considerable.
It was a lively night all in all aboard the boats, with a number of sail
changes, manśuvres and trimming, so Dominique is sure to have been satisfied
by the first ranking of the day. The battle with Bahrain Team Pindar
continues, and in the early hours, Temenos II in 11th position, had regained
the edge.
Now clear of the threat of the high pressure, the time is still ripe for
strategic choices aboard the monohullls. The skippers are concentrating on
finding the best trajectory and though the grib files seemed to indicate
more wind to the south, this tack takes them away from the ice gate, which
is the next passage point situated on the longitude of the Cape of Good
Hope. It’s all about compromise but it’s a “tricky exercise” as Dominique
indicates. “You have to try to follow the oscillations in the wind. We’re
all visibly hesitating between making a bit of southing in the search for
wind, and making easting to make headway along the course. It’s exciting to
monitor the boats and see how things are evolving.”
As they approach the roaring forties, the cold is surreptitiously
infiltrating its way aboard the boats and though Dominique was attributing
the early sighting of his first albatross to a “GPS error”, after the
fleeces and boots it’s now time to get out the sleeping bag again. The sun
is still out and Dominique was intending to make the most of it despite it
losing intensity bit by bit. “I’m helming and trimming a great deal. I
appreciate it because the weather is superb. The conditions are still
enabling me to be on deck without being too cold, and with the manśuvres and
stacking sessions I’m even managing to get hot.”
Downwind under spinnaker, we can but imagine the delight of ‘flat sailing’
once again. And though the end of the week promises to be a little less
rosy, Dominique is keen to benefit as much as possible from the moments of
respite. “I’m itching to hit the long stampedes of the Deep South. It’ll be
great to feel the boat slipping along ; that’s what they’re made for. I’m a
bit wary of what awaits us late in the week. We’re in for some strong winds
in 3 to 4 days, so we’ve still got a bit of time to make the most of these
conditions and enjoy slipping along.”
Translated by Kate Jennings – Expression
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