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IMOCA
OCEAN FIFTY
ULTIM
The essential
Ultim
Armel Le Cléac’h and Sébastien Josse (Maxi Banque Populaire XI) win Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre in the ULTIM race (before jury)
French duo Armel Le Cléac’h and Sébastien Josse sailing Maxi Banque Populaire XI crossed the finish line of the 16th edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre off Fort de France, Martinique at 18:19hrs local time (22:19hrs UTC) this Sunday evening to win the ULTIM division for 33m multihulls (subject to Jury verifications).
The biennial, double handed classic ‘Coffee Route’ Race - which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary - started from Le Havre, France on Sunday 29th October and took the five strong ULTIM class on a 7,500 miles course south to round Ascension Island before turning back northwards to skirt the South American coast and finish in Martinique.
The elapsed time for the Banque Populaire XI duo is 14d 10h 14m 50s. They sailed the theoretical course at an average speed of 21.66 knots. They actually sailed 9263 nautical miles on the water at an average speed of 26.75 knots.
Banque Populaire XI has led since Ascension Island and was never overtaken since the most southerly mark of the course.
When Le Cléac’h and Josse finished their nearest rivals, second placed SVR Lazartigue (François Gabart and Tom Laperche) were just over 180 nautical miles behind.
Imoca
From Pip Hare (Medallia) on weather
IMOCA, Pip Hare, Medallia: “The weather over the next few days looks quite tricky, I am scratching my head looking at it right now. We are heading to the Azores making the most of the pressure squeeze down the outside of the high pressure that is to the east of us. We will be in this for another 18 hours or so. And then after that we need to negotiate a little blob of high pressure with some light downwind for six hours or so. And then after that the main feature is two low pressures. So our course is really zig-zagging either side of the rhumb line and using first a little low pressure on Monday and then a ‘Big Daddy’ low pressure which comes in on Wednesday which should slingshot our way down towards Martinique. For me it is going to be finding the balance between leveraging both of these systems but minimising risk in terms of seastate, so we will go in and come out again in the classic seagull wing shape. And it is all about when we go in, how far do we go in and when we come out and at the moment the GFS and European models don’t agree where the centre is. But they both agree on the shape and so my job is to keep looking at the weather reports and get us down the rhumb line, working out where the centre of the second low is. But it will be back to the big lumpy sea states and up to 30kts of wind and for us, strategically, it is good option as we are still pretty compromised with the two reefs in the main. I am little bit nervous, but lets see how it goes.”
Patience is a virtue....in all classes
With a lead of 150 miles and only twice that distance, 300 miles, to the Martiniqufinish line of the Transat Jacques Vabre, it is hard to imagine victory going to anyone other that the ULTM race leaders Banque Populaire XI (Armel Le Cléac’h and Sébastien Josse) They have been quickest all day, often averaging speeds of 35kts but they need to be patient and remain focused to finish their 7400-mile long Transat and what has been totally crazy, always on the edge fortnight of racing.
Imoca
Torn mainsail aboard Groupe Dubreuil
On Sunday morning, Sébastien Simon and Iker Martinez announced they had torn their mainsail at third reef. The two sailors have so far had an excellent race. Yesterday, they chose a bold option to the West, which was shorter, yet uncertain and could change the rankings completely. The pair currently in second place eight miles back from the leader, Teamwork.net (Justine Mettraux – Julien Villion), remain calm and determined, in spite of this damage. Sébastien and Iker want to continue on their route to pass to the south of Santa Maria. The wind is then set to ease off allowing them to carry out a repair.
Imoca
Mainsail damage on Groupe Dubreuil
Torn mainsail aboard Groupe Dubreuil
On Sunday morning, Sébastien Simon and Iker Martinez announced they had torn their mainsail at third reef. The two sailors have so far had an excellent race. Yesterday, they chose a bold option to the West, which was shorter, yet uncertain and could change the rankings completely. The pair currently in second place eight miles back from the leader, Teamwork.net (Justine Mettraux – Julien Villion), remain calm and determined, in spite of this damage. Sébastien and Iker want to continue on their route to pass to the south of Santa Maria. The wind is then set to ease off allowing them to carry out a repair.
Imoca
Message of IMOCA Singchain Team Haikou
The situation is complicated. We are facing the decision of whether to go west or south, but neither seems perfect. We will check the weather forecast at dawn before making our decision. The bracket of our starboard hydroelectric generator broke just now. Fortunately, we were able to save the generator. The wind at sea begins to die down. A slightly calmer sea finally allowed us to catch our breath. But the broken second reef sail box, as well as the damaged mainsail, prevent us from sailing to our full potential. This loss of speed also made me unhappy. It’s so hard to sail away from Europe this year.
Imoca
Onboard Denis van Weynbergh (D’Ieteren Group)
We had rough conditions for the first 24 hours, then it got worse on our way out of the Channel. We had to remember our goal was qualifying for the Vendée Globe, with just a year to go...
We found our way through. It wasn’t the fastest route, but the best as we made it through. Then, there was the dive down the coast of Spain, while trying to identify the best route to get to the French West Indies. A boat-breaking direct route or the southern route with the trade winds. We have hardly eaten anything for three days, are wearing the same clothes and waiting for some wind to appear.
This early part of the race resembles our whole programme. Hellish conditions, damage, boats ahead, boats behind, major projects being forced to retire, smaller teams holding on. And always that same old thought… In 366 days, you’ll be lining up for the start of the Vendée Globe.
That is what motivates us and is our life blood, the basis of everything we do, for the team, the boat and myself.
Imoca
Message from IMOCA D'ieteren Group
We had rough conditions for the first 24 hours, then it got worse on our way out of the Channel. We had to remember our goal was qualifying for the Vendée Globe, with just a year to go... We found our way through. It wasn’t the fastest route, but the best as we made it through. Then, there was the dive down the coast of Spain, while trying to identify the best route to get to the French West Indies. A boat-breaking direct route or the southern route with the trade winds. We have hardly eaten anything for three days, are wearing the same clothes and waiting for some wind to appear. This early part of the race resembles our whole programme. Hellish conditions, damage, boats ahead, boats behind, major projects being forced to retire, smaller teams holding on. And always that same old thought… In 366 days, you’ll be lining up for the start of the Vendée Globe. That is what motivates us and is our life blood, the basis of everything we do, for the team, the boat and myself.
Class40
Message from Class40 Alla grande pirelli
Ambrogio Beccaria : “It’s fantastic. Off the Canaries, we have a lot of wind and the boat is very fast, so we’re happy. We were a bit scared to see Achille and Gildas’s position, but in the end, we’re on our way to get to the trade winds. We’re not alone, as we have some friends with us. We can see them. One has just gybed behind us and we’ll be gybing shortly too. We were expecting more wind. There’s more than 20 knots, sometimes more than 25 knots.”
“I had to dive, as after the trip down the coast of Portugal, we were losing speed, whereas until then we had been the fastest. With our camera, we saw a huge net caught up in the keel. We didn’t know how to get rid of it, so we stopped the boat and managed to remove it, but there was still a large part left. It remained there for 24 hours before I managed to dive yesterday to get rid of it. It’s the first time I have done that. The water was warm. So it’s not the same as when you dive in Brittany.”Nicolas Andrieu : “We should finish with the stronger winds in a few hours. After that, it’s a matter of positioning, so we’re working on our route. It’s starting to look more and more like the trade winds. In general, we’re in great shape. Last night, we had quite a few gybes and we took it in turns to grab a nap.”
Imoca
Message from IMOCA Teamwork.net
We’re 150 miles East of the Azores with manageable seas, but it’s a bit choppy, so the boat is slamming a bit. We have 20-22 knots of wind. Yesterday was fairly quiet. Things are going as planned. The fact that we have Groupe Dubreuil, a boat from a different generation along us is a bonus, as it is very motivating. Justine has sailed quite a lot with them, but I don’t know whether knowing them well is an advantage or not. Behind the front, several strategies are possible. We’ll be trying to position ourselves to swing around after the low-pressure system on Wednesday. We’ll be in the Azores on Wednesday morning. It’s going to require a lot of work in that area, but afterwards, it looks like things will go as planned
Class40
Message from Class40 Legallais
This morning, we’re 150 miles off the coast of Morocco. We’re heading south to get away from the high-pressure system that is slowing everyone down between Madeira and Cape St Vincent. That should enable us to get into the trade winds, before gybing to aim for America. The weather is still very uncertain in the tropics of the Atlantic, with the trade winds not very well established. That may offer opportunities for us to catch up, or may punish us even more. I saw that some of the Imocas have preferred to go upwind to the West rather than cross this area of calms. They had the choice unlike us, because they didn’t have the waypoint at Porto Santo. It’s going to be interesting to watch, but if Julien Villion (Teamwork.net) thinks it’s good, we’ll be watching closely…
Imoca
Message from IMOCA For people
We’re approaching the Canaries. I don’t know whether you can hear me as there’s so much noise with the foil whistling. We have to keep our ear-plugs in. Apart from that, the boat is great. She really pleased us from the start and now is pleasing us downwind. We’re clocking up high average speeds. There’s just the infernal noise all the time… After the start of the race, we are feeling tired, so fighting with each other to see who can get some rest first.
Our option doesn’t look, too bad. It’s what we planned at the start. We didn’t fancy going via the Northern route. I don’t know whether Teamwork and Groupe Dubreuil will go all the way West. We should pass the Canaries during the morning. In daylight, which is good. We don’t have time to admire the skies, as we’re concentrating on the speed of the boat to stick with our friends ahead.
Imoca
From Sam on Initiatives Coeur
Hello from Initiatives Coeur where we’re ripping along at sunrise, after a fast night heading South to the Canaries.
I’m on watch, keeping the boat fast (and having some breakfast!) and Jack is asleep.
It feels good to accelerate again after the tricky passage through the High. Having said that, it was useful to check, repair and recover from the first few days.
It’s the fast lane through the Canaries today, probably a few sail changes and gybes to wiggle through between the TSS and the islands!
Have a good Sunday everyone!
Imoca
Message from IMOCA Initiatives Coeur
Hello from Initiatives Coeur where we’re ripping along at sunrise, after a fast night heading South to the Canaries.
I’m on watch, keeping the boat fast (and having some breakfast!) and Jack is asleep.
It feels good to accelerate again after the tricky passage through the High. Having said that, it was useful to check, repair and recover from the first few days.
It’s the fast lane through the Canaries today, probably a few sail changes and gybes to wiggle through between the TSS and the islands!
Have a good Sunday everyone!
Imoca
Message from IMOCA New Europe
Yesterdy we were aproaching the anticyclone. When wind decreased and sea state calmed down we were making a visual inspection and found that our mainsail is riped. We took oportunity and made reparations straight away without dropping our mainsail.Later on we arrived to zone of light winds in the ridge of the H-pressure and as it was previewed since long, we decided to take the northern route and sty at the north side of anticyclone. We tacked and now sailing upwind.Everything is good on board.
