Change is coming!
Yesterday was about sun, selfies and DIY for many competitors, but today all are finishing preparations to join the leaders in the cold and windy south. It will be a quick transition from the Atlantic Ocean to a very different phase of the race and the first major storm to negotiate.

“No more flip-flops! This time, the boots and oilskins are out. It’s the start of a change of pace but also of life on board!”, reported Sébastien Marsset (Foussier) who continues, for the time being, to dive south in a series of gybes to stay within a narrow band of wind and who has gained two places since yesterday.

 

“For the past few hours, things have really picked up. There’s more wind than I expected, with gusts of up to 30 knots. The night is dark and you can’t see the sea” adds Marsset, who is scratching his head to find the most efficient configuration. "At the moment, I don't know whether to take one reef or two. I used the masthead spinnaker for a very long time. It was a bit vigorous but nice. 
I have to be a bit more patient, to be able to moderate myself when the wind is not exactly as I would like because at this rate, I'm going to wear myself out", admitted Marsset. "We will have to negotiate the Agulhas Current well, depending on the latitude, and above all watch how the depressions that will catch up with us are forming."

 

He says routing options are, “really open” at the moment. “You can go and play a lot in different parts of the ocean and then be at the same spot at the same time at the end. It will be really interesting.”

 

Looking forward
“I will be happy there,” says Benjamin Dutreux (GUYOT Environnement & Water Family) of his entry to the southern seas. “The gap between me and the boats in front of me will be smaller. But we will see because I was completely stopped earlier and the boats behind were not completely stopped – they had a little bit more wind. But for sure the gap will be closer. I hope so. And that promise a good match for the Indian Ocean and some opportunities to come back there.”

 

All the solo sailors are now starting to scrutinise weather files even more closely than usual thanks to a vigorous and complex low pressure system forecast for Wednesday. "This is the first system that will possibly cause more than 7 meters of swell in the race zone", explained Jacques Caraës, deputy to the Race Director.

 

"The start in the Indian Ocean is likely to be quite lively. We will have to place the cursor in the right place between going to look for fairly strong wind in the depression but not too much anyway in order to move forward quickly without taking too many risks," said Dutreux who is trying to project himself as best he can despite the imprecision of the weather files in this part of the globe,

 

For much of last night Charlie Dalin (MACIF Santé Prévoyance) and Yoann Richomme (PAPREC-ARKEA) remained almost neck and neck at speeds of up to 25 knots, with the latter pulling into a slim lead. "It's funny and quite incredible to be side by side like that, in the middle of nowhere. We find ourselves like in the Figaro era even if we've already experienced that in IMOCA since last year we finished first and second in the Fastnet Race with a five-minute gap", says Dalin.

 

Hard choices
Today the leading group faces a difficult choice of whether to pass north or south of the low pressure system they will encounter mid week. Normally it’s an easy choice – go north to escape the worst of the weather, where the sea state is easier and the winds more favourable. However, in this case it would involve a long detour, so the choice is less clear cut.

 

“Being pushed against ice gate wouldn't be fun,” adds Dalin. “But what’s more than the wind strength is the sea state. If it is not so big – a very, very strong wind and flat sea is not dangerous. I haven't spent much time analysing it, I'm waiting for the most up to date weather files to make this decision and I am not too concerned yet. What's important is whether there are breaking waves or not. So the period of the wave is important compared to the height.”

Image:  © Isabelle Joschke #VG2024