Thursday, October 31, 2013
MOD70 the Atlantic Match Race.
There is no second place.
Two identical MOD70’s go head to head across the Atlantic in what promises to be a mouth watering match race on this Transat Jacques Vabre. The two duos, Sidney Gavignet and Damian Foxall on Oman Air-Musandam and Sébastien Josse and Charles Caudrelier are all long-time friends, some former crewmates together on different ocean races, occasional sparring and training partners, but from the start gun of this Transat Jacques Vabre, no quarter will be given, they are hard bitten rivals all with the same drive and desire to get to Itajaí first. For the MOD70’s, this time, there is no second place.
The biggest challenge: to sail double handed on the MOD70
The two teams have worked with each other to make small technical changes to make the identical racing machines, which are designed for crewed racing, suitable for double handed racing. These changes include autopilots, anti capsize systems which release the sheets at a certain heel angle and rear ballast tanks. But the teams know only too well that two MOD70’s have already capsized this season on relatively inshore waters, and indeed three of the four skippers have experienced their own flavour of disappointment and disaster on this often cruel Transatlantic race, and so their determined drive will be tempered with ample caution at times.
The key words are anticipation, concentration, trust and care.
They said:
Sidney Gavignet , skipper of Oman Air - Musandam: "As competitors we will push the boat hard but reindex reasonable, two capsizes occurred this year and they are a real reminder of what can happen. And so we all feel some trepidation. It is healthy to keep a constant vigilance."
Damian Foxall , co -skipper of Oman Air - Musandam: "We will always have a way out: reefing, changing course... The objective is that the boat never take precedence over us."
Sébastien Josse , skipper of Edmond de Rothschild: "On a MOD you can do almost nothing on your own. Any operation requires four arms and one is never far from ready to react quickly. This means a greater solidarity, a greater togetherness as a duo. Life on board is basic and noisy. Comfort really is somewhere down the list!”
Charles Caudrelier , co-skipper of Edmond de Rothschild: "The route is marked by strategic choices out of the English Channel, crossing the Bay of Biscay, at the Azores, the equator and the Doldrums. Then we will catch the trade winds in the southern hemisphere before a complex and uncertain to finish into Itajaí. There can be tension to the end."
Sidney Gavignet (FRA), skipper Oman Air-Musandam: “The course is great for the MOD70’s. The start out to Cape Finisterre is difficult. When you do the routing on the computer then you can hopefully expect some great downwind days, 15-20kts of wind, but the start coming out of the Channel in the winter is not easy with all these low pressure systems coming one after another. You have the shipping channels, you have the fishing boats, you have the coast on both sides; so those are the difficult points. But it could be quick, just like coming out of Brest and turning left and in no time you could be at Cape Finisterre in no time, but equally you could be upwind for five days and in that case we could be sailing all the way up to Fastnet and then keep going. That is a totally different race. I think the last 36 hours from Cabo Freo to Rio and beyond there are some small low pressures generated there and again there can be some changes there. It is great course for the MOD70’s and a great course for suspense. It could be decided near the finish, even for us that is what we would like, suspense to the end.”
The Channel Factor
The first hurdle for the 44 boats in the TJV is the escape out of the English Channel with its unique characteristics. It is a Channel that is not found anywhere else in the world considering the huge amount of shipping that passes through it (representing 20% of the world's movements), its tidal currents, among the strongest on the planet and the way it funnels the winds moving in from the Atlantic. The duos will have to overcome this hurdle, which involves 200 miles of sailing and will have a huge influence over the rest of this transatlantic race.
Le Havre lies pretty much in the middle of the Bay of the Seine and is about 200 miles from Ushant out to the west and 100 miles east to the Pas du Calais which delimits the Channel. But it is the Western Channel extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Cotentin peninsula that creates the most pertinent effect, a "wall" that causes a significant increase in the amplitude of the tidal ‘wave’ approaching from the west.
The tidal differential is still surprising
What is striking about the configuration of the Channel is the tidal range between Aber Wrac'h at the west entrance and Granville in the corner of the Cotentin peninsula, particularly at the likes of St. Vaast-la-Hogue at the bottom of the Bay of the Seine and at Boulogne / Mer on the edge of the Pas-de-Calais. On Monday November 4 the tidal coefficient reaches 101 in the afternoon at a range of 6.25 meters in Brest (HW 1722hrs) but reaches 12 metres in Cancale in the east with HW at 1934hrs. In fact there are nearly six metres of height differential between the corner of the Cotentin Peninsula and the opposite extremities of the Channel As the tidal ‘wave’ comes from the west to pass up the Channel to the North Sea it hits this "Norman Wall ," meaning the range is one of the biggest in the world at 13 metres at Mont Saint Michel (Canada’s Bay of Fundy is the biggest at 17metres). This big movement of the Channel waters means especially strong tidal currents over the night of Sunday 3rd to Monday 4th indeed more than 7kts are anticipated in the Raz Blanchard between Guernsey and Cherbourg. At start time on Sunday, November 3 at 1302h the tide will have been dropping for three hours so the IMOCA Open 60’s are unlikely to be as affected by the tide off Cherbourg but for the Class 40’s they will likely see the middle of the rising tide and so that will be difficult for them. So it might be expected to see some head more directly for the English coast before tacking back after the Channel Islands if it is a beat.
Traffic Contra Flows
As well as the tidal complications there is the large volume of sea traffic. 20% of the global maritime transportation passes through this area. This requires traffic separation zones (DST’s), or ‘lanes’ to be established which are closed, no go zones for the Transat Jacques Vabre fleet. The first DST area lies north of the Channel Islands so the racers need to hug the Normandy coast and the Raz Blanchard by Alderney or to head towards the NW by Torquay on the English coast. And in the W’ly wind when the fleet are tacking upwind this often means the stakes are higher in terms of early strategic choices.
The other DST is at Ushant where it again can again drive a wedge into the fleet if they are tacking upwind, choices include going through the channel of Fromveur off Conquet where tidal currents are usually too strong (more than six knots) or going north away from the rumb line course to Brazil ...
And the wind
The SW’ly winds of the prevailing low pressure become very unstable over N Brittany and on the Cotentin peninsula when the wind is slowed and deflected by the terrain such as at the Raz Blanchard! The escape from the Channel is often the most delicate section of the Transatlantic crossing when it is into a low pressure system, not least because there are often chaotic seas and difficult winds. Ideally you need to be in the leading pack to position yourself well for the rest of the course, but especially to get to the NW’ly shift and cross the Bay of Biscay before getting to the second big hurdle Cape Finisterre.
2011 title Defenders
Monohull 60':
Virbac-Paprec
Jean-Pierre DICK & Jérémie BEYOU
15days 18h 15min 54sec
Multihull 50':
Actual
Yves LE BLEVEC & Samuel MANUARD
17days 17h 7min 43sec
Class 40':
Aquarelle.com
Yannick BESTAVEN
& Éric DROUGLAZET
21days 17h 59min 8sec
|
