The mini-Transat lives up to its reputation, it is a challenge even in the first few miles. Several boats already have technical problems on board, including the German sailors.
Break in the Bay of Biscay after a stormy night
On the second night of the regatta, in the hours from Tuesday to Wednesday, a front with gusts of up to 30 knots and heavy swell on the Bay of Biscay caused problems for the field. The mast of Frenchman Franck Lauvray's Proto No. 436 even broke. The skipper tried to set up an emergency rig and, according to the organisers, escort boats were nearby. Antoine Bos had problems with the rudder quadrant. The autopilot failed on four boats.
Problems with Burke and Siewert
The Germans were not spared either: according to the race organisers, the pulpit on Lennart Burke's "Vorpommern" broke. Whether this is true, however, remains to be seen. What is certain is that the 23-year-old apparently has problems and dropped from a very good position after the start to his current 48th place.
Melwin Fink is currently in 20th place among the series boats, Christian Kargl is only a few miles away in 17th place.
Marc Eric Siewert is also experiencing problems on board: his tracker is apparently no longer reporting. The race organisers are working on equipping him with a new tracker.
Lina Rixgens is in the main field of boats, currently in 19th place in the Protos.
Preliminary decision at Cape Finisterre
Conditions have improved since Wednesday morning. With a decreasing north-westerly wind, the dispersing field is currently sailing towards Cape Finisterre in north-west Spain. It is important to be fast in order to avoid a high pressure zone that is spreading off the Spanish coast. The boats sailing in the west currently have an advantage.
The leading boats are expected to pass Cape Finisterre early on Thursday morning, leaving the Bay of Biscay and the European mainland behind them. However, before they can set a direct course for the Canary Islands, they still have to sail through the zone between the coast and the traffic separation scheme off the cape. The boats that manage to do this in time before a new front with headwinds rises will probably be able to break away from the rest of the field.
The organisers are currently expecting the fastest sailors to arrive in five days' time - with a possible four-day lead on the stragglers. So far, the organisers are sticking to La Palma.
The ranking on Wednesday, 29 September, 6 pm
Series boats:
1st Hugo Dhallenne (No. 979, France)
2. Basile Bourgnon (No. 975, France)
3. Alberto Riva, (No. 993, Italy)
Prototypes:
1st Pierre Le Roy (No. 1019, France)
2. Tanguy Bouroullec (No. 969, France)
3. Fabio Muzzolini (No. 945, France)
