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Breakaway
The race is on : upwind is following upwind ! But this time on one tack, rhumb line to Les Sables d’Olonne. Two distinct groups emerge from the lively exit of the Azores Archipelago : five production oats just in the stern of the leader Thomas Bonnier and eight prototypes leaded by Andraz Mihelin. The chasing is open …
Once again, the leaders of the first leg are the scouts : eight prototypes and five production boats have broken away. The pack is already more than fifteen miles behind, even more. Karen Leibovici (Tam Tam) brings up the prototypes rear, more than 110 miles behind the slovenian and the production boats who had), are more than 130 miles behind the first of their category Thomas Bonnier (Architecture(s) Elémentaire(s)) when the fleet still has more than 1000miles to complete …
In the first place, Andraz Mihelin (Adria Mobil Too) who had chosen to pass in the North of Graciosa island the night of the start, has chosen to go free in the eight twelve knots Northerly wind of the area : he is now the southest with Peter Laureyssens (Ecover) and his compatriot Kristian Hajnsek (Adria Mobil) who is on the same course just behind him. Some twenty miles in his North is a compact pack including Adrien Hardy (Brossard), Jérôme Koch (Meteor), Isabelle Joschke (Degrémont), Xavier Haize (Carben Composites) and François Salabert (Aréas Assurances) :busy flow in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. They all have a heading between 60° and 80°, this group should then divide in latitude next days. Some prefer a souther course to favour the speed (6,5 knots with 75° head), hoping that the breeze will turn again North-westerly : their idea is then to arrive by the South and replace around the Cape Finisterre. Others prefer heading (6 knots with a 60° head) in order to gain some miles in the North and finish the course without getting close to the Spanish coasts and take benefit of the thermic breeze before reaching Vendée.
Because the direction of the wind is now relatively stable, even if now it is light and should lighten in the future : the high pressure edge is slowly taking place in the area of the solo sailors. Skippers than have to anticipate the entry of the Biscay Bay where they should find light winds, even calms and a breeze that can come from the West along the Brittan coasts as well as from the east, close to the Spanish coasts.
The situation is the same for the production boat except that they only are five who have broken away : Thomas Bonnier is methodically setting up his advance with Vincent Barnaud (STGS.fr) and the surprising Bertrand Castelnérac (Alan France) with his old Pogo 1, the young Thibault Reinhart (Les blouses roses-Colas) and the leader of the first leg, Hervé Piveteau (Jules). The latitude difference is over 80 miles between the Southern (ADD Modules) and both “Icelandic” in the extreme North, Gerard Marin (Escar l’escarla-CN Llanca) et Dominik Zurrer (Ubik 245).
In this case, once again, the gaps will increase as the hours go as this group has an average speed of 5,5 knots when the late hardly reach 4 knots … Just as for the prototypes for which the difference between the forerunners and the “ backrunners ” is more than one knot ! And the situation will not get better as the calms come from the back … If they keep on at this rhythm, leaders should need at least nine days to arrive (i.e. arrival for the August 25th-26th) and last ones two or three days more (i.e. around August 28th-29th). By the way, the organizers of the race Les Sables-Les Açores-Les Sables have have decided to postpone the Prize Giving ceremony till August, 29th in the evening in order to wait for all the competitors’ arrival.
DBo. & AM.
 samedi 19 août 2006
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Fabienne Robin est arrivée
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