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Transat Jacques Vabre 2013
www.transat-jacques-vabre.com - Übersicht
Sunday, November 03, 2013
A Battle with the Channel
The 44 boats in four different classes which will take on the 5400 miles course to Itajaí, Brazil should take the start line off Le Havre at 1415hrs (local time) on Monday. While both of the MOD70’s will return to their docks for a couple of days to await their own start to Itajaí, all of the other duos are expected to start, heading into big winds and chaotic seas through the first days of the race.
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B.Stamm im Kanal
Foto: Th.Martinez/Sea&Co
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There are always moments of apprehension for the Transatlantic racers as they leave the dock, but given the forecast for the passage out of the Channel, across the Bay of Biscay to Cape Finisterre those nervous times may linger well after the start gun.
Starting under Cape de la Hève the fleet will set off on starboard tack out three miles to the first buoy, ‘France Info’. Tacking at the mark they will then go NE for 3.5 miles tacking then towards the Cotentin Peninsula.
Although the winds will be lighter than were seen through Sunday around Le Havre, the big, confused seas will be more of a problem than the wind. Winds will be around 20kts from the NW. And with strong tidal flows around the headlands the seas will be bigger there.
?During Monday evening and night the wind is forecast to back as the leaders reach the Channel Islands, building to a strong SW’ly at more than 30kts with stronger gusts. There will be a strategic choice of tacks which is likely to divide the fleets early.
As the IMOCA fleet pass Ushant and get down into the Bay of Biscay the breeze may drop slightly for a while, but Class 40 will struggle more with stronger reindexing breeze and bigger, unruly seas when they reach the tip of Brittany on Tuesday night. In fact the first 400 miles of the 5400 miles to Itajaí might be some of the toughest of the race. ?
The MOD70’s start too but will sail an eleven miles prologue before finishing off Saint Adresse and returning to the Paul Vatine dock. The difference between their finishing times will determine the delta which the prologue winner will cross Wednesday’s start line before the second placed boat as they head off for Brazil for the longest ocean race yet for the MOD70’s.
François Gabart skipper MACIF (IMOCA): "So we had an extra day to prepare and people who had come to see the start still spent some good time with us, so it was all pretty good. I did some media work, looked at the weather and we started to put a strategy in place . At the start there will be less wind than if we had left this afternoon. It will strengthen and there will be big waves and we need to be careful because there will be traffic and fishermen, We are ready we will do all we can to do our best."
??Jörg Riechers , skipper Mare (Class40): "The boat has been ready for several days. We take this extra day to eat well, to relax and enjoy being in a dry hotel bed before attacking the race. We look forward to racing the others Class40 . We have a boat of the last generation one of the fastest in the fleet with GDF- Suez and Tales 2. The start of the race will be hard in boat-breaking conditions."
??Ned Collier Wakefield, co -skipper of Concise 8 (Class 40): "We are studying the weather and trying to form strategy for tomorrow. We do not hide the fact that our goal is to win with our brand new boat even if we have not done a lot of sailing . But we have a lot of faith and confidence and are really looking forwards to it."
Full class by class preview
IMOCA Open 60
It has hard to look past Michel Desjoyeuax and François Gabart on the Vendée Globe winning VPLP-Verdier designed MACIF. Aside from Gabart’s slight speed advantage, which if anything has increased since the Vendée Globe – according to reports from Port La Fôret where the top five boats train – their partnership respresents a potent mix of Desjoyeaux’s wily experience and Gabart’s youthful vigour as well as both having a very similar high level ability to indextain very high average speeds and as much as anything MACIF proved extremely reliable on the solo round the wolrd race. ‘Fast not furious’ is the motto scrawled in marker pen as a reminder to Gabart but no one will be pushing harder, and one suspects that the senior member of the duo will be looking to at least complement Gabart’s turn of speed.
Previously Banque Populaire, second placed finisher behind Gabart in the Vendée Globe in the hands of Armel Le Cléac’h and third in the 2011 Transat Jacques Vabre, Maitre CoQis now in the hands of Jérémie Beyou who is sailing with Christopher Pratt. Beyou partnered Jean-Pierre Dick to victory in the last edition, racing to Costa Rica, whilst Pratt raced took third last time. Whilst MACIF has had a new rig since the Vendée Globe, Maitre CoQ is more or less as was as Banque Populaire other than a couple of new gennakers.
Marc Guillemot won in 2009 with Charles Caudrelier, an excellent weather strategist and navigator as well as top Figaro sailor in his own right. This time Guillemot sails with Pascal Bidégorry so forming a very similar type of partnership. Bidégorry has won the Transat Jacques Vabre before but in the ORMA Class in 2005 with Lionel Lemonchois.
When it comes to experience the match of 2004-5 Vendée Globe winning Vincent Riou with Jean Le Cam on PRB is one which is certainly could win. Riou’s PRB has been consistently fast in training, always consistent, but reliability has been his problem in major races so far.
Of the five latest generation IMOCA Open 60’s, MACIF, Maitre CoQ, PRB, Safran and Cheminées Poujoulat it is only the latter, Bernard Stamm’s boat which is not from the VPLP-Verdier partnership. The Juan Kouyoumdjian design showed exceptional reaching speed at times in consistent conditions during the Vendée Globe. Stamm sails with Philippe Legros whose first Transat Jacques Vabre this will be.
Half of the ten boat fleet should be at a very similar level and will probably be fighting for the podium.
Class 40
Class 40 is in relatively rude health judging not only by the number of 2012 and 2013 boats racing in this Transat Jacques Vabre but by the high quality of sailors. Seven of the 26 entries are 2013 launches from five different designers and three from 2012. ?Typically many of the most recent 2013 boats are relatively light on preparation time and hard miles and on this 5,400 miles course and an initial period of very tough weather, reliability might be at least as important as boat speed potential. ?Many are tipping GDF SUEZ, the Sam Manuard designed Mach 40, in the hands of Sébastien Rogues and Fabien Delahaye as a favourite. They have been the dominant force winning five events back to back. Winner of the Class to Costa Rica in 2011 Yannick Bestaven is back with the same Class 40, Watt &Sea Region Poitou Charentes – a Verdier designed Tyker (ex Aquarelle.com) – and races with Aurélien Ducroz who is a rather better known as a freeride skier.
Of the new boats there may be a lack of British presence in other classes, but the young English pair of Sam Goodchild and Ned Collier-Wakefield on the newly launched Ker Forty 1 Design Concise 8 are keen to take up where they left off in the last edition of the race. Goodchild again underlined his steady ascent in French ocean racing circles when he finished 11th overall in this year’s Solitaire du Figaro Eric Bompard Cachemire. Brian Thompson – Britain’s fastest sailor ever around the world – races with amateur, newcomer Mike Gascoyne on the former Formula 1 designer and team technical driector’s new Akilaria RC3 Caterham Challenge. And Botin Partners Tales Santander 2014 is another boat which has shown considerable speed in training and in the Fastnet Race fully crewed. Barcelona round the world skipper Alex Pella is joined by co-skipper Pablo Santurde.
Winner of the Route du Rhum Thomas Ruyant races with Bruno Jourdren on the 2012 launched Verdier Tyker Ev 3 Dunkerque Planent Entants and has podium potential too. Of the well proven, consistent performers Germany’s Jorg Riechers, overall 2012 champion, has a Manuard Mach 40, sailing with Pierre Brasseur. “If we can be in the top 5 with something like 20 miles to the lead after the Doldrums I am sure we have a chance to win it. I think we have the fastest boat.” Reichers affirmed today. And the vastly experienced Miranda Merron and Halvard Mabire on the Pogo 40 Campagne de France sail hard and are a constant threat among the top places.
Multi 50’s
The Multi 50’s are an interesting mix, some of more recently forged duos match a very experienced co-skipper who runs the programme and has optimised the boat, along with a successful co-skipper coming in from another ocean racing discipline, such as Kito de Pavant and 2012 and 2103 Solitaire du Figaro winner Yann Eliès Six of these 15 metre multihulls will participate in the 11th edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre and it is hard to pick a potential winner. Realistically there are probably four potential winners. With an older boat Eric Nigon / Samy Villeneuve aboard the trimaran ‘Vers un monde sans SIDA’ aims to be the first of the older boats and not too far from the newer generation Multi50’s. But for the likes of Gilles Lamiré and Andrea Mura on Rennes / St Malo Agglomeration (launched in 2009) a place on t the podium is the index challenge. Three other Multi 50 are also 2009 launches, FenêtréA Cardinal, Actual and Maitre Jacques while the latest, Arkema - Aquitaine, was only launched this year but has already won the Route des Princes this summer.
MOD70’s
So very evenly matched in terms of one design and crew experience, in fact the personnel are almost interchangeable between Edmond de Rothschild and Oman Air-Musandam. Sébastien Josse and Charles Caudrelier won the class in the fully crewed Route des Princes exhibiting an advantage on the inshore races. Caudrelier has won this race in the IMOCA class and won the Volvo Ocean Race with Groupama sailing with Oman Air-Musandam’s Damian Foxall. On this Transatlantic Jacques Vabre it will be as much about preserving boats and crew for key tough stages as out and out speed.
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
Sabina Mollart-Rogerson
International Press
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