Good weather for the Ultimates
After 1,700 miles from Guadeloupe, Loïck Peyron has just crossed the halfway mark of this 10 ème Edition of the Route du Rhum. At this stage, he is ahead of Yann Guichard ( Spindrift 2 ) by 170 miles, or 10% of the distance still to be covered. Even if the skipper of Maxi Solo Banque Populaire VII is well on its way to winning the race, especially as the big trimarans will be entering a more established trade wind regime, so everything is still to play for. There may be a few gybes to set and some mistoufles around Guadeloupe. For the moment, Loïck Peyron must continue to steer his trimaran with a masterful hand and not make any mistakes, while keeping an eye on his main rivals. In the meantime, off the Canaries, the skippers are sailing under 25 degrees during the day and are accompanied by the full moon in the evening. They are taking advantage of this to sleep and recharge their batteries. Idyllic sailing conditions after the first days of chaos.
New gale for latecomers
After two and a half days of sailing for the Ultimates, the first Imoca and Multi50 boats are sailing southwest of the Azores, while the last stragglers are around the Bay of Biscay. Here the conditions are very different from the bright sunshine encountered by the ocean giants. Everyone is sailing close together in a steady SW'ly wind at the edge of a depression. The front that is forecast for this Thursday evening will be quite violent, with the strongest gusts reaching 55 knots. The boats most affected will be those sailing in the Bay of Biscay and up to Cape Finisterre. They are about ten in this case, a mixture of Class40 and Rhum Class which will all be under close surveillance from this evening. A few sailors who are undergoing a technical stop in La Coruña have wisely decided to wait before setting sail again.
François Gabart escapes in the Imoca class
François Gabart has been steering his boat with a masterful hand since the start in Saint-Malo. At the helm of Macif, he keeps an eye on his weather files and his chart, but he never forgets to look behind himâeuros¦ Yesterday Jeremie Beyou managed to catch up with the young skipper, but today this is no longer the case. François Gabart is now heading south of the Azores 45 miles ahead of his closest pursuer. But now he will have to negotiate the soft areas to the south of the archipelago. This evening, the wind will shift to the north-west while losing some strength, allowing the IMOCA boats to sail more comfortably. It is therefore time for the solo sailors to make tactical choices and repair the damage on board. If for the six IMOCA boats approaching the island of Santa Maria south of the Azores, the worst is behind them, Tanguy de Lamotte ( Heart Initiatives ) is sailing in 30 knots of wind, upwind, off Cape Finisterre.
Chase between Erwan le Roux and Lalou Roucayrol in the Multi50s
During the radio session at noon, Erwan Le Roux announced the color " Arkema Région Aquitaine is ahead of us, and the idea is to eat it. "A thing said, a thing done! The skipper of FenêtréA Cardinal has worked hard over the last 24 hours to catch up with his rival and reduce the gap to less than 9 miles. The two leaders are now in a real chase and Erwan is making 2 knots faster than Lalou Roucayrol. The five 15.24 m multihulls still racing, like the IMOCA boats, are impatiently waiting for the wind shift (from west to northwest), which should allow them to ease the sheets and finally sail flat. But the passage south of the Azores will not be easy and will certainly be very tactical to get through the tentacles of the anticyclone, these airless bubbles that must be avoided at all costs.
Thibaut Vauchel-Camus, heading towards the trade winds for Class40
Once again under the influence of a front, the head of the Class 40 fleet is progressing this Thursday upwind in a 15-20 knot SW'ly wind. At the helm since last night, Thibaut Vauchel-Camus ( Solidarity in the pack ) is taking advantage of his shift to the south. Well inspired, this Rhum rookie is opening up, at an average speed of 9 knots, the route that leads to the trade winds that the frontrunners should reach in the next 24-48 hours, offering the prospect of soon hoisting the spinnaker to finally taste the flavors of downwind sailing. In their wake, a first hierarchy is being built around ten boats in 70 miles. Further back, around Cape Finisterre and in the waters of the Bay of Biscay, the race threatens to take on a whole new dimension. The passage of the vast low-pressure system is forcing the latecomers back into the race after having made a stopover to once again get their backs into the thick of the storm.
Baston expected at Cape Finisterre for the Rhum Class
Out of the hoisting of Bob Escoffier this Thursday afternoon by the Spanish rescuers (water way on Guisnel Group ), several solo sailors preferred to head for the Spanish coast to take shelter: the Portuguese Ricardo Diniz ( Parisasia.fr ) is heading for La Coruña as is Benjamin Hardouin ( Krit'R V ) who escorted Bob Escoffier during his damage; Christophe Souchaud ( Rhum Solitaire-Rhum Solidaire ) reaches the Spanish port of Bayona. The Finnish Ari Huusela ( Neste Oil ) which has largely overtaken Cape Finisterre should also avoid the brunt of this gale which should pass quickly tonight. Anne Caseneuve ( Aneo ) took advantage of the situation to increase his longitudinal gap against the Italian Andrea Mura ( Vento di Sardegna ) still in the lead but 250 miles further north! Finally, the battle is fierce between four solo sailors within slingshot range: Wilfrid Clerton ( Cape to Cape Location ), Pierre-Yves Chatelin ( Destination Calais ), Jean-Paul Froc ( Berto Group ) and the British dean Robin Knox-Johnston ( Grey Power ).
Estimated time of arrival in Guadeloupe
Final monday, November 10 at mid-day
Imoca november 15
Multi50 november 16
