In the theatre, when the red curtain falls, you know the show is over. In a stadium, when the referee blows his whistle for the end of the match, the two teams know that the battle is over. At sea, the arrival of the frontrunners doesn't spare the rest of the fleet from completing the race, the end seeming to stretch further and further away.

Initially it is a little point of light on the horizon, which appears between the lighthouse on Île aux Moutons and that of Penfret on the Glénan islands. Then, little by little, the most youthful gazes manage to make out, in the pitch black, the contours of the sails followed by the yacht's hull, homing down on them at full tilt. Past the finish line and its ritual of spectator launches, spotlights lighting up the boat and its skipper for the customary photos, numerous ribs full of their shore crews... In the space of a few minutes, the skipper comes out of his or her two week's of solitude... The return to shore begins.

When the orchestra attacks "Love me tender", the dancers who regularly attend the ball know that the night is drawing to a close. Like every week, there will be those who head home happy with the party, those who are still in hope of meeting their soul mate in the last few steps of the dance and those who know that they'll have to wait for another such evening to really get the most out of it...

In these blessed times of ocean sailing, you would imagine that once launched, a boat must undergo a ‘bedding-in’ period, that’s to say a few trips out on the water, which would enable them to adapt some recommended solutions and the architectural options to the constraints revealed by the way the new craft behaves at sea. With less than an year to the Vendée Globe, the tradition holds true.

Tonight is likely to be very favorable in terms of options being taken by the solo sailors in the Transat Ecover BtoB. Eight hours during which the informer of the general rankings will have a break and each of the sailors is then face to face with his or her solitude. The cover of darkness can thus be rich pickings for those wanting to try something rather daring...

When you listen to the radio sessions with Race HQ for the Transat Ecover B to B, the novice could sometimes get lost in some of the phrases from the sailors. A mix of technical requirement, virtually scientific precision and a taste for metaphors, the skippers have ended up with a slightly esoteric language, which warrants a little clarification.

A loud, ominous noise… then quiet. A strange second of tranquillity before reality hits. A dismasting which ruins, in an instant, all the hard work accomplished over several months. That of Armel le Cléac’h once again demonstrates how much major damage can put a well founded project in danger. And yet sometimes something good comes from something bad.

The first competitors in the Transat Ecover BtoB have finally escaped the doldrums. Though it is a deliverance for everyone to finish with one of the most unsuitable areas for sailing, it is also time to assess the damage. For some, Christmas has clearly come early, whilst the others are going to need to find a good balance between recharging their batteries and reducing their deficit.

… and not about fine weather, the fine weather disgusts me and makes me gnash my teeth…” Georges Brassens (iconic French singer/songwriter) had his reasons for liking stormy evenings. However, it is not certain that the sailors in the Transat Ecover B to B are experiencing the same nostalgia for these stormy skies. Right now there won’t be any love lost for the cumulonimbus, but rather a good deal of worry…

There is one thing that the modern sailor detests above all else, it is uncertainty. At the time of satellite navigation, the receipt of weather files updated by the internet and the routing of software, rational thought forms an increasingly large part in the establishing of strategies. The doldrums nevertheless remain a zone where randomness dominates.

There are days… where the boat boldly carves out its course under automatic pilot, where the seas have become calmer, where the trajectories of the competitors rarely display any individuality. If there weren’t rankings issued on a regular basis, you’d almost forget you were racing. It’s the ideal moment to recharge the batteries, complete a few jobs lists and enjoy yourself. And yet…

Like Faust in the search for eternal youth, the temptation is strong for the competitors aboard the ‘older generation' boats to compensate for their speed differential with the help of a few rather unorthodox tactical options... some of them marking the others in the hope of making a gain. Like the lottery though, the winners are rare.

Imagine your daily life in a house heeled over at 25°. Plates which fly around, things left idly on the couch, which end up at the lowest possible point. Add to that a good dose of dampness and the racket of a carbon hull which slams and resonates with every wave and you will have some idea what awaits the sailors in the Transat Ecover B to B for at least the next five days.

Tomorrow is start day… It’s time for plotting and existential ponderings. Whether you have tens of thousands of miles under your belt or you’re a ‘rookie’ on the circuit, it doesn’t make much difference....