05.12.2008
In search of fresh wind
Since midday there’s been a reversal in the situation at the head of the
fleet. Gitana Eighty is leading the way once more. Positioned to the north
of the leading group, Loick Peyron has managed to make headway along a
narrow corridor of wind, whilst the boats further south have been slowed by
a zone of high pressure. The front has gone through overnight, and the
speeds racked up in the first rankings of the day remind us that high
pressure and calms are also part of the package served up by the southern
seas. Indeed it was disconcerting to hear the skippers evoke speeds of 27,
28, 29 and even 30 knots reached last night and then see the slowest of them
barely making 3 knots at the midday ranking.
Contacted at 1530 hours, between manoeuvres, trimming and DIY, Dominique was
keeping busy aboard Temenos II today. You couldn’t make out any fatigue in
the skipper’s voice who, despite some hellish "runs" last night, had managed
to rest. You could sense a slight nervousness amongst those entering the
austral seas for the first time, but aboard Temenos II, experience does the
talking and the crazy nocturnal speeds hadn’t upset the skipper’s serenity.
“Between manœuvres and small repairs to be done aboard the boat, it feels
like I haven’t stopped this morning. I’ve still got around twenty knots and
I have all the sails aloft. Overnight the speed picked up a touch and I was
surfing at 27 knots. We’re still a long way off Temenos II’s record (35.3
knots on the GPS during the Barcelona World Race). I adjusted the sail area
as a result because with this wind it’s out of the question to risk those
kinds of moves. As soon as you feel the boat power up in the surf and plough
violently into the waves, you know the rig is suffering and that it’s time
to reduce the sail area a bit. It’s still as noisy as ever when the boat
accelerates at these speeds and just as spectacular. You never tire of it.”
Positioned to the north, away from the high pressure, Dominique benefited
from a good vein of wind throughout the day, and was managing to keep
Temenos II on a good point of sail. The skipper was making the most of this
golden opportunity to try to shift southwards without losing too much ground
on the leaders, who were being slowed by the high pressure at that time.
“The zone of high pressure is shifting away to the east so the plan is to
dive just behind it and try to attack the front with the best possible wind
angle, which is set to meet up with us in the south tomorrow. There is still
some wind and that will enable me to position myself in the south without
losing too much ground.”
The frontrunners are set to pass the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope from
tomorrow but sights are essentially fixed on the next ice gate.
“Our whole strategy is centred around the gate at the moment. We’re running
the routing with various hypotheses; with a passage to the east, west and
the middle of the gate, but for the time being the weather models agree and
all of the routing is urging us to plunge southwards.”
As a result we can expect to see Temenos II continue on the same tack for
the next few hours, on the hunt for the stronger wind expected to the south
of the fleet.
Translated by Kate Jennings – Expression
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