La Boulangère Mini Transat: The Passat is coming - will the race to catch up succeed in the south?
Max Gasser
· 01.11.2023
Yesterday, barely more than three days after the start of the second leg, the fleet of the 24th edition of the La Boulangère Mini Transat had already fanned out over more than 400 nautical miles. It is hardly possible to give one side clearly better chances than the other. While the north-west group still had a clear advantage yesterday, their opponents in the south-east are already benefiting from the trade winds. While the entire field has frequently logged average speeds of five knots or less over the past few days, the race is expected to pick up speed again today with 15 knots of wind forecast.
"From tomorrow, the trade winds will start again for the entire fleet," promised Christian Dumard, the race's weather expert, yesterday. Even though the Minis are already sailing in much better conditions in the south, it is still far from clear whether the split will pay off for them - they are still 200 nautical miles behind. One of the leaders in the series ranking of this group is the Swiss Felix Oberle, who is currently in 50th position and will try to work his way up. On the other side, the Belgian Peter Cools is in the overall lead with his Maxi "Clochette", while the Austrian Lisa Berger is fighting in the rear midfield.
Which strategy will prevail?
Depending on the exact position to the north, the rest of the field will probably also gradually accelerate. According to current estimates, however, the southern fleet will emerge victorious from this strategically challenging situation. It will benefit from slightly more and more stable pressure. This is because the large low-pressure system Ciarán, which will sweep across north-west France tonight, will also push all other systems southwards.
The situation is currently similar in the Protos: Uros Krasevac from Slovenia is in the lead in the north with a design from 2009. Although "DMG Mori" skipper Laure Galley is currently the fastest in the field, she is a long way behind in last place with a gap of almost 250 nautical miles. Frenchwoman Carolin Boule and her fast Sam Manuard foiler opted for the middle course and therefore a shorter distance after her stopover due to problems with the autopilot. She is currently in 23rd position, but could benefit greatly from the freshening wind and showcase the potential of her "Nicomatic" for the first time during the race.
