Relief all round after first big front is negotiated, Equator six and a half days after the start.
Although Charles Caudrelier (Maxi Edmond de Rothschild) was briefly on top after he was first to tack through the front last night, Tom Laperche (SVR Lazartigue) is back leading the ARKÉA ULTIM CHALLENGE-Brest fleet this morning. The leading duo have only seven miles of lateral separation and both are racing on a SW course at more than 35 kts, now in the NWW’ly breeze of around 20kts.
All of the leading four boats seem to have made it through the big front last night, seeing winds up to 40kts at times, as per the forecast.
It was around about 2200hrs last night when Caudrelier was first to get to the windshift and tack in heavy seas and stormy winds, quickly followed by SVR-Lazartigue, Sodebo Ultim 3 and the Maxi Banque Populaire XI. And though the speeds have built again they have had a spell close reaching down the back of the axis of the front which means the seas are confused and the wind is very up and down and shifty. The second pair, Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire XI) and Thomas Coville (Sodebo Ultim 3) are very close, too, and about 35 miles behind the leading duo and should catch more as the leaders descend into the lighter transition zone first.
Meantime Éric Péron is around 340 miles further back up the track and will go through the front on Adagio shortly whilst Anthony Marchand (Actual Ultim) tacked through at around 0100hrs UTC and is making decent progress.
“Now they are on a long starboard leg to a gybe tomorrow mid-morning, the objective being now to get clear of the large area of light winds to our south.” Reports Will Oxley from the Sodebo Ultim 3 routing cell.
They need to cross this transition zone which is about 200 miles north south and stretching to 600 miles to the west from the Cape Verde archipelago, taking the leaders on a route well to the west to cross the Equator second half of the night Saturday. And today as the wind eases there will be a chance to fully check the boats fully and do any essential and routine maintenance.
The wind will lift to go more NW today which will see them take in more westing to find the transition to an easterly trade wind tomorrow in the morning.
