The transatlantic race remains exciting even a week after the rather slow start and the fields are close together. In the Open 60, Charlie Dalin and Paul Meilhat and their "Apivia" were unable to maintain their lead with the most westerly course in the field and had to let Thomas Ruyant and Morgan Lagravière's "Linked Out" pass them. Their more easterly route gave them more wind and fewer gybes than "Apivia". They are now just under 25 miles behind, but Jérémie Beyou and Christopher Pratt are already lurking less than two miles behind with their "Charal". And after his completely botched Vendée Globe (re-start after technical problems) and the huge doldrums at the last Transat, where he lost while seemingly safely in the lead, Beyou is probably really hungry for a win.
They are followed at some distance by Sam Davies and Nicolas Lunven on "Initiatives Coeur" as the oldest Open 60 in the leading group; after all, their boat is now eleven years old. The pace at which Davies is following the new designs is remarkable. It will be exciting to see when she gets her brand new foiler soon and is likely to be sailing on a par with the top teams for the first time. Hot on her heels is the latest boat in the field, Charlie Enright's recently completed "11th Hour Racing Malama", which he sails with Pascal Bidégorry.
It will be interesting to see how powerful this first Open 60, which was built specifically for the start of the Ocean Race with a crew, is. Shortly before the start, designer Guillaume Verdier explained that the philosophy of the boat was completely different to that of the Open 60, because good all-round performance, even on and in light winds, was much more important for such a boat than for the participants in the Vendée, which are often optimised for VMG downwind courses.
The first six boats sail at a distance of just under 90 miles, which means a mere five to six hours difference for the modern foiling boats. But only in windy conditions. And it's fickle at the moment. It looks like the field, just passing the Cape Verde Islands, is heading into lighter winds again, which will then more or less merge directly into the Doldrums. Never before have the Open 60 probably sailed a route so close to the African coast during a Transat, which is not on a direct course towards the Caribbean due to the waymark far to the south near the island of Fernando de Noronha - new territory for many crews, which makes the race even more exciting.
Review of the first week of the race
The Ultims are a little more predictable. Top favourite "Edmond de Rothschild" by Charles Caudrelier and Franck Cammas was able to extend its lead, which had melted away during its Doldrums passage, back to 280 miles - the much-cited rubber band effect. However, "Banque Populaire XI" by Vendée winner Armel le Cléac'h and Kevin Escoffier is now in second place, having overtaken François Gabart's "SVR Lazartique" after a large gap at the start. Le Cléac'h and Escoffier had to contend with several minor technical problems shortly after the start. But when they were the only tri to decide to pass Madeira to the west, they were able to make up quite a few miles. The two boats are brand new and have yet to really find their speed, but are already surprisingly close to the Gitana team's boat in the lead.
Thomas Coville's "Sodebo Ultim 3" is back in the race after a short repair stop near Madeira. The tri had hit flotsam and the team had to stop to ensure that the centreboard could not damage the hull, which worked faster than expected. Now he is back in the race with co-skipper Yves Le Blevec and is around 880 miles behind the leaders. It is not entirely clear how capable the tri still is with the disabled foil, but Coville seems determined to finish the race.
In the Class 40, the favourites around the newer generation of scow bows have now managed to pull away a little from the main field. However, the first ten boats are sailing within just 120 miles of each other, so they are all still in the race for victory. "Redmen" by Antoine Carpentier and Pablo Santurde del Arco are in the lead ahead of "Banque du Léman" by Valentin Gautier and Simon Koster.
And the field is sailing into light winds near Cape Verde, which is the last turning point before the westerly course towards the Caribbean can be set. The chasing pack, on the other hand, still has good wind for longer and could therefore close the gap to the leaders again. It is impressive how fast the last generation of the Class 40 is, with the top boats sailing almost on a par with the older Open 60s.
Andreas Fritsch
Editor Travel
