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Ultim
Charles Caudrelier and Erwan Israël take third in ULTIMs. “We should not look for excuses” says Caudrelier.
Minutes after taking a frustrating third place on the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre ULTIM class race, when co-skippers Charles Caudrelier and Erwan Israël brought the giant blue and white Maxi Edmond de Rothschild to rest at Fort de France’s ponton d’honneur during a spectacular Martinique dusk, they both wore smiles of relief and no doubt a sense of deliverance after a painful few final days at seas.
Ultim
Charles Caudrelier and Erwan Israel on Maxi Edmond de Rothschild took third place in the ULTIM Category
Charles Caudrelier and Erwan Israel on Maxi Edmond de Rothschild took third place this Tuesday evening in the Ultim category in the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre. They crossed the finish line off Fort-de-France, Martinique at 17:10:43 local time or 21:10:43 UTC after 16 days 9 hours 5 mins and 43 seconds of sailing. The duo completed the race 1 day, 22 hours 50 minutes and 53 seconds after the winners on Banque Populaire (Le Cléac’h / Josse). They covered the theoretical race course averaging 19,08 knots. Out on the water, they actually sailed 9498,86 miles averaging 24,16 knots.
Imoca
Colman, "We are doing all we can to catch them."
Conrad Colman Mail Boxes ETC MBA: “What we saw yesterday coming through the islands as we approached the Canaries under spinnaker I think Violette (Dorange, Devenir) probably as well, as a measure for security as we knew there was going to be an acceleration zone, we changed to the big spinnaker and so we went through the channel with full main and big gennaker and then underneath Grand Canaria we had winds which were pretty strong, gusting to 24kts-28kts which made us a little uncomfortable with the masthead gennaker and full main. However at the end of the TSS in the channel there Violette had 12 miles on us and then pretty quickly we closed her down and into last night we were able to put 15 miles into her going west. So clearly we can overtake them with a different sail set up because they had a fractional gennaker at the time, but then we saw they changed and went lower, much lower I think with the big spinnaker. We sailed a little bit higher because we are a little seduced by the idea to go north and catch the stronger winds coming off the depression which is coming across the Atlantic. So we want to have that opening to go back north if we want to until today around midday until we finally committed to the deep sunny south. So that may have hurt us it gave Violette a few more hours under spinnaker while were under gennaker. Now she has been sailing deep and fast and so we are now trying to match that under big spinnaker, trying to get back south while we can The cards are dealt, we are engaged in the south. It looks like we have a similar set up so we need to try and maximise what we have got now. Hubert, the boat Violette has, is hands down the most optimised boat from the 2008 generation, having been gone over with a fine toothed comb by Jean Le Cam for the past 10 years. Jean had that boat as Cheminées Poujoulat in the 2014-15 Barcelona World Race and he has been optimising it since then. It is a super fast boat. It has a fast mode downwind and we are doing all we can to catch them.”
Imoca
IMOCA Alan Roura (SUI) Hublot: “It is all good, we are in 20kts downwind"
IMOCA Alan Roura (SUI) Hublot: “It is all good, we are in 20kts downwind in the trade winds, we have everything up, we are flying down the waves, it is pretty cool. We had a pretty reasonable start to the race hen we go stuck in that area with no wind at the Canary Islands but now we are going well and we are quite happy with the boat and the way we are sailing it. The cool thing is now we have three boats close to us, Breau Vallée and DMG Mori, we are pushing the boats harder and harder together and so that is quite cool. And the boat is in very good shape. It is at 100 per cent of its potential and so we are touching wood and so we are hoping to keep this up. We are looking to see where we will gybe, it seems like there is lees wind in the north, we need to stay south in 15-20kts downwind with an option to go north. We don’t really want to do that as there is another zone of light winds so we don’t want any of that again. We are looking to make some good decisions and catch up La Mi Caline and the others. We are working hard. Simon is great, he eats too much chocolate but we don’t see each other too much, it is very much two solo sailors who catch up from time to time. One is steering and manoeuvring the boat the other is asleep. We don’t talk that much, it works, we are happy, the spirit is good and we are a good team. I think we still have a kilo of chocolate.”
Imoca
Message from IMOCA MACSF
Fourth day of racing since we set off from Lorient (MACSF carried out a pit stop after tearing the mainsail - editor).Yesterday we passed Cape Finisterre and then during the day and last night we went down the coast of Portugal. We had to swerve around the cargo vessels, but the routing told us to dive south. We don’t want to break the boat. Conditions were difficult when we set off again from Lorient. We’re still upwind and we’re getting very wet and the boat is slamming, but it isn’t that bad, so in general, we’re quite pleased. We’re trying not to worry about what lies ahead. It’s ether upwind or calms. So for now we’re focusing on the present. I’m pleased to be out here, even if it was hard for Pierre and for me to feel motivated. It was hard to accept that we would be behind the whole fleet. It’s hard seeing the battle going on at the front of the fleet. I wish we were there. But in any case, it’s good we didn’t have to retire from the race. And it’s not as cold as in Lorient!
Imoca
Audio call with François Guiffant (PARTAGE) - IMOCA
We have just finished our manoeuvre. We were under spinnaker and expecting the wind to ease off as we went west, but in the end, it strengthened, so we had to bring down the spinnaker quickly to switch to the gennaker. We’re looking at the southern route and how to position ourselves. We think it will work out and there will be a way through.
Between us, we have done around forty transatlantic races, but this one is like no other transatlantic crossing. We have had it all since the start. From the outset, we had to choose whether to go west or south.
Then, there was a ridge to cross. The weather pattern over the Atlantic is unusual with the deep low splitting the High in two. Some of our friends are taking the northern option. It’s not very easy for us and nothing is certain, but this certainly isn’t the trade winds motorway…
Imoca
Message from Imoca D’IETEREN GROUP
We have 10-12 knots of wind and heading west, a bit like all the others in this northern option. There was a barrier blocking us down
below Lisbon, so we wanted to avoid that. So, off we went to the West, but we are trying to edge towards the South from time to time to avoid the really nasty weather.
Imoca
Message from IMOCA Partage
We have just finished our manoeuvre. We were under spinnaker and expecting the wind to ease off as we went west, but in the end, it strengthened, so we had to bring down the spinnaker quickly to switch to the gennaker. We’re looking at the southern route and how to position ourselves. We think it will work out and there will be a way through. Between us, we have done around forty transatlantic races, but this one is like no other transatlantic crossing. We have had it all since the start. From the outset, we had to choose whether to go west or south. Then, there was a ridge to cross. The weather pattern over the Atlantic is unusual with the deep low splitting the High in two. Some of our friends are taking the northern option. It’s not very easy for us and nothing is certain, but this certainly isn’t the trade winds motorway…
Imoca
Message from imoca Singchain Team Haikou
In recent days we have had to spend more time sitting in front of the navigation screen, because the upcoming low pressure system on Thursday and Friday will be another test. We don't want the boat to suffer any further damage, so we've been closely monitoring the strength variations and movement range of this low pressure, trying to find the routing with the least risk. Avoiding it completely is no longer possible; it seems to have a magical pull, sucking the wind from around it and drawing us in.
The pressure is twofold, with the upcoming strong winds and the windless area surrounding us. If we can successfully navigate through this test, we hope to reach Martinique as soon as possible.
We have already sailed 7 continuous days against the wind, and this will be the case for the next 3 days, which will make 10 continuous days. This is probably the longest stretch against the wind I've ever done across the Atlantic.
I just found out that my main tank was moved during the storm the first few days, a bracket broke. Luckily, I had a spare ready. Otherwise I will have to navigate with a tank thrown in all directions.
Although the sails and the batten car were damaged at the start of the race, we were able to repair them in the last days when the weather was good. I believe that the boat will arrive safely with us.
I understand more and more that the Vendée Globe is truly a "one day one shit" experience. Offshore sailors are perhaps among those least afraid of facing problems because dealing with issues is part of our daily routine.
From this point of view, this race in 2023 is really excellent training for the Vendée Globe 2024.
Class40
Audio call with Xavier Macaire (GROUPE SNEF)
We still have some wind, but it’s up and down. During the night there was a moment with no wind, but now we’re off again. It is also very variable in direction, and isn’t always easy to follow. Sometimes we find ourselves without the right sail. On paper, it may look simple, but in reality, it isn’t always so. We are in a different position from our rivals. We’ll see how that plays out in the coming days. The idea is there are two routes and we have chosen the northern one. Our friends didn’t go for that and are continuing on their way, but I don’t want to reveal too much about our strategy... We don’t know whether Amarris who is above us is taking the same route. We should find out in a couple of hours.
It’s wet, and we’re heeling over and diving into the waves, so it isn’t very comfortable. This is not like the trade winds with sunshine and calm conditions. The northern route is going to be rough. It’s nice to be back in the leading group with Ambrogio and Alberto. We’re fighting it out with them. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. It’s a bit sad to see our routes diverge, but we’re sticking with our strategy. It may pay off or it may not. It offers a possibility of winning, so we grabbed that opportunity.
Imoca
Audio call with Jérémie Beyou (CHARAL)
We have lighter winds than over the past few days. We are trying to get the most out of that wind, but it’s not easy finding enough pressure for the boat to fly and at the right angle, so it’s a bit of a compromise. Yesterday, we went on a tack a bit to the North, but it didn’t really work out. Coming out of the Canaries, we didn’t have our big gennaker, as we were repairing it. We tore the gennaker in the ridge of high pressure. It got torn by a foil that was up. So we had to make do without it down through the Canaries. We sailed like that for around twenty hours so were a bit handicapped and For People and Paprec Arkéa got away from us. In terms of strategy, because we were in front, we tried to get the others to follow us to race with them. We’re giving it our all to win in the end.
