Saturday 22nd May - Morning
Halvard and Peter in home waters
For the second time in less than 6 days, those competing in the Normandy
Channel Race are passing Lizard Point, on the SW tip of Cornwall and
entering the English Channel for the final sprint to the finish of what is,
theoretically, a 1,000 mile course that began last Sunday 16th May. As was
the case on the way out, it’s "Destination Dunkerque" skippered by Thomas
Ruyant and Tanguy Leglatin, who continue to lead the way. However, over the
past 24 hours the leading crew, which includes the winner of the last
Transat 6.50 Charente Maritime -Salvador de Bahia, has been steadily losing
its advantage with every ranking. 30 miles astern at one point in the race,
"40 Degrees" (Halvard Mabire- Peter Harding) has now made up the lost ground
and was within just 7 miles of the leader at the 0600 GMT ranking. Still
sailing upwind, as has been the case for the majority of the Normandy
Channel Race, into an E’ly breeze, "Tom and Tang" are taking a bit of a
knock as they reposition themselves in relation to the direct course.
Meantime Halvard Mabire and his British co-skipper Peter Harding, have
passed very close to the coast and are currently benefiting from a
favourable angle in relation to the wind, which will enable them to adopt a
virtually direct route perpendicular to that of the leader. This little game
is set to take place again and again throughout the day, with the advantages
switching along the way, as far as the dreaded passage of Jobourg on the
western tip of the Cotentin peninsula. With the boatspeeds pretty evenly
matched at the front, though Ruyant fears the performance of "40 Degrees"
upwind in light airs, it’s the tempo of the tack changes that will determine
the upcoming rankings. Nearly 150 miles from the finish, the Normandy
Channel Race is providing us with fabulous suspense as regards the outcome
of what has been a long and exhausting week’s sailing.
Behind the two leading boats, there is the same intense battle for the top
spots. Yvan Noblet and David Taboré (Appart City) have managed to get the
advantage in their struggle with the Dutch-Belgian duo on "Moonpalace",
Roelland Franssens and Michel Kleinjans. Just 4 miles separate these two
boats, with the former ploughing straight through the Scillies last night,
and they certainly aren’t out of the running for ultimate victory. Meantime
Tanguy De Lamotte and Jean Galfione (Novedia Initiatives) are bringing up
the rear of the fleet, a huge 112 miles astern of the leaders, but are still
proving to be a threat to "Groupe Partouche" skippered by Christophe
Coatnoan and Pierre-Yves Lautrou.
The word from Mabire (Forty Degrees): "...It’s done. We passed the Lizard at
around 0100 GMT so we can really consider ourselves to be in the English
Channel now. If the Lizard marks the end of the Atlantic record, then
logically it means that that’s where the Atlantic stops after all. The edge
of the Channel would then follow the line between the Lizard and Ushant.
However, oceans don’t have very well defined borders, because water is
constantly moving and mixing together. Furthermore the currents carry a few
thousand million m3, which merrily cross these imaginary borders without a
word to anyone. Ultimately everyone places their barriers where they want
really. For me, for example, the Basse de Portsall is the rightful entrance.
When returning from the South, once I’m past there I feel like I’m home. All
that to say that it feels like we can smell home now, even though there are
still a few miles to go yet and we haven’t really gone far or been gone for
very long. One thing which is a bit of a novelty to negotiate, outside the
currents, the tides and the winds, is this sort of forbidden zone, smack
bang in the middle of the sea. It’s a big rectangle where we’re not allowed
to stray. It’s the "traffic separation zone" which is a kind of town square
organised by traffic lights, zebra crossings, etc, to prevent cargo ships
entering into it. The policeman directing the traffic isn’t in a booth in
the middle of the crossroads as used to be the case in towns, instead he is
perched on top of the Hague and you have to watch out because he’s got his
eye on you! Nothing North of the Casquets escapes him, and thanks to the
Jobourg coastguard, there’s a mass of potential collisions avoided.”
Yvan Noblet’s delight (Appart City): “...We’ve just got through the Scillies
via the North-West channel and seemingly our Dutch friends didn’t want to
accompany us. It was a magical little tack, amidst the rocks of this
fabulous archipelago, and with the moon to accompany us too. All’s well
aboard”.
Pierre-Yves Lautrou in the stars (Groupe Partouche): “... It doesn’t take
much to reconcile a sailor whose relationship with the open sea is a bit
strained: give him or her a sunny evening, followed by a starry night, on a
boat which slips along homeward on its own and it’s a done deal. That was
last night’s menu aboard Groupe Partouche, with some shooting stars thrown
in. It’s a welcome change after all these days spent becalmed in the fog!
Thanks to an inspired manoeuvre, we even offered ourselves the luxury of
getting ahead of Novédia yesterday afternoon…”
Follow the Normandy Channel Race by visiting :
http://www.normandy-race.com/, an official position report will be online
each day at 5, 8, 11, 15 and 1900 hours
Rights free photos for the press and web by Jean-Marie Liot
www.jmliot.com
User name: media@ncr2010.com
Password: ncr2010
Translated by Kate Jennings – Expression
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