Decidedly this Transat Ecover-BtoB will have been an excellent way to validate the boats in conditions, which have been considerably more lively than in the double-handed race down to Brazil. At times it is evident that the machines have been slightly ‘overstretched’  since, not only on this 4,200 miles course between Salvador de Bahia and Port la Forêt, but also during the Barcelona World Race (double-handed round the world race) which is being raced at the same time, a series of issues have affected virtually the whole fleet to a greater or lesser degree. Particularly as these technical problems concern almost all the different posts from the rig to the sails, to the keel and the ballast tanks... As a result a great deal of consideration will go into finding out the reasons for this damage after the finish, as well as resolving these issues. This time, it is Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) who has been hit by technical problems:

"In a big roar of carbon yesterday afternoon, the bob stay (a Kevlar rope measuring 15 mm in diameter) broke and the bowsprit exploded! I managed to gather up the pieces and above all roll in the sail itself… There’s no leak as the bowsprit is independent of the hull, but I have no pulpit and I can’t hoist either the gennaker or the spinnaker... I’ve not come out of it too badly since the wind has kicked in again since midway through the night and I can go quickly because teh breeze is more abeam of us... I’ll have fewer manoeuvres to make! I wasn’t obliged to do this race but we’ve been able to observe that this transat has been an excellent test for the round the world. When you see Mike Golding throw in the towel, it's evident that it's not a laughing matter... I could try to hoist the spinnaker if there were light airs but that’s not what’s forecast. I've still got my jib, solent and staysail though. I’ve had more than twenty knots since this morning with the front, which is to the left of us: we're in a band of wind between the Sponish high pressure zone and the Azores front. We're going to have to get a move so as we don't get caught by this front, which would bring us wind on the tail... The seas are less ordered so it's less chaotic " specified Michel Desjoyeaux this Tuesday morning.

Curved trajectory

The skipper of Foncia  was still sailing in contact and in sight of Kito de Pavant (Groupe Bel) off the Azores however and only had a forty mile deficit on the leader Loïck Peyron (Gitana Eighty): the route has become nicely orientated towards the goal after over 2,000 miles due North. In this way the leading group can now aim for a point offshore of Cape Finisterre and the finish in Port la Forêt with speeds in excess of 15 knots, but behind the situation is radically different! The chasing group situated off Madeira and the Canaries is bathing in a zone of high pressure, which isn't going to give all those behind Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat) a fast ride home: over 450 miles from the leader, Samantha Davies (Roxy) is battling with Yannick Bestaven (Cervin EnR) by seeking to gain northing in order to escape this meteorological slump as soon as possible. A little further back, Arnaud Boissières (Akena Vérandas) and Jean-Baptiste Dejeanty (Maisonneuve) are also neck and neck looking for the exit, which is going to be difficult to track down for the next day… As for our three valiant Anglo-Saxons, the configuration is even worse as they’re being forced to make NW'ly! Virtually at 90° to the direct course then with speeds varying between 1 and 7 knots. Fortunately, from Wednesday evening, the arrival fo a new Atlantic disturbance should modify the situation and enable them to sail in downwind conditions too, on a heading towards the finish...

 

Night Messages:

Sam Davies (Roxy): “Good morning from ROXY! The first half of the night was beautiful sailing, the wind was relatively stable and Roxy trickle along nicely, with only a couple of calm patches. Now it is a different matter, as the wind is decreasing and we are slipping along much slower. Looking at my track on Maxsea, we have just written an almost perfect "S"!!! Quite proud of my achievement on writing the first letter of my name, it is a little disconcerting however and I would prefer not to do any more letters!! The reason for the zig-zag is that what little wind there is is very shifty and I have to choose the best course for each moment, trying to get the best VMG North as possible (as our "exit" from the calms is to the North.) This is painstaking work and I am on my toes to tack, change sail, keel, stacking.... whatever necessary to keep going forward! Luckily I managed an accumualtion of nearly 5 hours sleep at the beginning of the night (a whopper!!!) so I am not too knackered, but if it continues like this all day it's going to be hard. On a slightly different subject, my flying fish macscot is still with me. "Godfrey" is the big fish with the very surprised expression that landed a few days ago on ROXY (I sent a photo.) For some reason, I couldn't throw him overboard and he has been keeping watch in the cockpit for me, with his big mouth, and one wing outstretched as ever! I have now become a bit attatched to Godfrey and it's going to be hard to get rid of him! Happy Tuesday!”

 

Dee Caffari (Aviva): "2314hrs UT; Aviva GBR 111 ; Position 27 07.5N  27 05.1W; COG 349  SOG 5.2

An unbelievable day! Absolute rubbish!  I spent most of the day going nowhere and it has been extremely frustrating. Twice I have got moving, a brief spell at lunchtime and then this is as fast as it gets at the moment. The top wind sped  have seen in 8 knots and it flashed once, most of the time the instruments have read 1 and 2 knots of wind. I got to the point today where I no longer cared in what direction I was moving so long as I moved. A long and tiring day that looks set to continue throughout tonight as well. I shall have to go

back on deck and do my wind dance again.

 

Derek Hatfield (Spirit of Canada) : "Its been a long frustrating day for the back end of the fleet I suspect. I know these slow days are the most stressfull type of sailing as you cannot leave the deck for fear that you miss an opportunity to make a small adjustment to the sail trim or the compass in order to gain a fraction of boat speed. So I have been on deck since yesterday literally 98 % of the time. I lay down in the cockpit for small naps but thats it. The miles to the finish line look long indeed at 3.59 knots of boat speed. I had a visit from a very large dolphin today, the first of the trip. I'm hoping he or she will bring me some better luck. The learning curve on the Open 60 is very steep right now but slowly it is starting to feel more like the first Spirit of Canada. Take Care”

 

Arnaud Boissieres (Akena Verandas): "Position: 29,37.76N , 26,39.39W

Speed: 3 knots, Course: 21 deg. All is well, becalmed…"

 

 Translation KJ

 Translation KJ