15.09.2009
Thunderstorms and Skirmishes off Cap PalosTuesday
Just as in the third leg of the race, the Istanbul Europa fleet have
once again found the Mediterranean's weather gods in capricious mood. Now approaching the Alboran Sea, the last stretch of the Med before the Straits of Gibraltar and the frontier with the Atlantic, the
sailors are experiencing the robust conditions of a low pressure
system: squalls, thunderstorms, flashes of lightning and sudden,
brutal bursts of acceleration as they are caught by the fierce gusts.
And as the boats pass Cap Palos, the battle for places in the ranking
is fiercer than ever.
The Mediterranean has chosen to show its worst side to the six sailors.Jacques Vapillon ® Veolia Environnement (Roland Jourdain) started the day in first position, bringing to bear the weight of considerable experience in big seas and heavy breeze, but by midday it was all change as Groupe Bel (Kito de Pavant) stole the lead. The early gaps opened up during the night evaporated in the testing conditions, with all hands on deck in a constant struggle to adapt sail plans to the rapidly changing wind regime, wildly unstable both in velocity and direction. In fact it is almost as if there has been a re-start off the rugged Spanish coast, with considerable skirmishing between the race leaders, no-one able to drop their guard for an instant.
This afternoon, after a little over 24 hours of racing in decidedly stormy weather, only DCNS (Marc Thiercelin) shows any appreciable deficit in miles, about 30 miles behind the pack. That the Mediterranean has chosen to show its worst side is testified to by the news received from aboard Foncia: "The start was a foretaste of how these first 24 hours were going to be: rapidly changing wind, and of course thunderstorms, warm showers, and lightning wherever you looked.
It was really everywhere, including right over our heads, though it never quite got us! It was time to break out the foulies too, and we haven't slept much because of all the manoeuvres. And still it goes on...” Kito de Pavant's crew, although now in the lead, has had a price to pay: they are suffering a potentially disabling electronics breakdown, which the skipper hopes can be solved when conditions improve. That will not be before they have got away from their present weather system, after which the fleet can look forward to a single long tack towards Gibraltar, into a westerly flow blowing directly down their course through the Alboran Sea. The Mediterranean has certainly not been an easy ride !
|
