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Heavy before calms
According to weather forecasts, it seems that the course of the second leg of the race Les Sables – The Azores – Les Sables is going to be very tactical. Upwind as a starter, then a long heavy tack crossbeam, to finish in the calms of the Biscay Bay… All the necessary to make this way back to Vendée very tense ! But the wind was too strong on Tuesday 15th morning and the Race Comity decide to report the start to Wednesday August 16th at 13h02 UTC.
Skippers will have to be strong physically and mentally to find the optimum course between Horta and Les Sables d’Olonne. On Monday, two days before the start, the North Easterly wind blows in Faïal, more than 25 knots and strong tides. The exit of the islands following the gunshot on Wednesday, August 16th at 13h02 UTC, is going to be very tough as the wind should turn Easterly 15-20 knots at least till at noon. A compulsory upwind tack on starboard during some one hundred miles in strong winds that will progressively slow to some 10-15 knots when turning Northerly. Speed should then increase as soon as from Wednesday evening and skippers will have to be fast to get the benefit from this flood moving Easterly as long as possible : the Azores high indeed tends to grow moving the low that will bring bad weather and rain in France by the middle of the week.
They will then have to be very fast (we expect average speeds over eight knots) to reach the entry of the Biscay Bay as soon as possible. Apparently the rhumb line is the most logical… till then. Because, as soon as Sunday, it is nothing but question marks : there are supposed to be calms between Spain and Brittany. How are they supposed to finish this 1270 miles course ? By the North way, going along the Brittany coasts ? By the South way, following the Spanish cliffs ? By the centre, preferring the shortest way ? Wait for an Easterly flood or going close to the coasts to get benefit from the thermics?
The first day of race should then be tough either for the equipment or the bodies. The priority : save the boat ands reach as much as possible the North East. Then, four days of crossbeam wind fast, but wet because the sea should still be very rough. Then a little stop off the Cape Finisterre on Sunday. It is then very difficult to say now when the first Mini are going to arrive in Les Sables d’Olonne, but it is still possible they arrive on August, 24th, that is to say after eight days !
At last, they will be 58 for this way back ; indeed, the American Clay Burkhalter (Acadia) could not find a solution to repair his broken mast. Thirty prototypes who will try to take the first place to Adrien Hardy (Brossard) who arrived 1h23’ before the Slovenians Andraz Mihelin (Adria Mobil Too) and two hours before Fabien Despres (Soitec). Twenty eight production boats and definitively a big fight to separate the first threee leaders who arrived in Horta within fifteen minutes : Francisco Lobato (BPI), Jean-François Quélen (Galanz) et Antoine Debled (ADD Modules).
DBo.
 mardi 15 août 2006
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Fabienne Robin est arrivée
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