Transat Jacques Vabre: Hot Class 40 final ahead - Burke and Fink catch up

"Your German boys are coming in hot - your German boys are turning up the heat in the final," a Scottish Transat reporter said midweek when looking at the Transat tracker and the wind forecasts for the Class 40 final. In fact, a thrilling final seems to be unfolding in the fleet of the smallest Transat boats. It is a bit like the Imoca thriller, in which many duels were only decided at the finish line and the stormy "northern riders" Justine Mettraux/Julien Villion were able to catch Boris Herrmann and Will Harris on "Malizia - Seaexplorer" in the battle for sixth place with a 65-second lead at the finish.

Who will win the race in Class 40: South, Centre or North?

In the Class 40, everything is now also set for a thrilling showdown. At the head of the field, the favourites Xavier Macaire/Pierre Leboucher ("Groupe Snef"), Ian Lipinski/Antoine Carpentier ("Crédit Mutuel") and Ambrogio Beccaria/Nicolas Andrieu ("Alla Grande Pirelli") are battling it out for victory on the second major Atlantic leg of the Transat. Interesting fact: The leading "Snef" crew positioned themselves between the fastest and second-placed northern boat "Crédit Mutuel" and the fastest and third-placed southern boat "Alla Grande Pirelli" on the approach to Martinique. Only 35 nautical miles separated the top three with a north-south separation of more than 500 nautical miles.

Around Martinique, the winds increasingly dropped on Wednesday morning. The big question: north, centre or south - who would win the race in the Class 40? The "Sign for Com" co-skippers Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink had decided in favour of the northern route with only six boats. Also because they had nothing left to lose in view of their large deficit and wanted to attack once more. What initially did not go very well turned out to be at least a chance to move up a little further in the rankings.

The decisions will be made at the weekend

The young Next Generation Sailing Team had recently moved up to 19th place. With 525 nautical miles remaining to the finish, it remains to be seen whether they will be able to make up the 60 nautical miles gap to the "Project Rescue Ocean" (southern group) ahead of them or even more. Most recently, Burke and Fink were travelling at twelve knots almost twice as fast as the boats to the south. According to the latest information, "Sign for Com" is expected to arrive in Fort-de-France on 24 November. The battle for the stage win is likely to be decided on Thursday.

However, the official confirmations of the Class 40 placings will be a long time coming. The organisers have already announced this. To determine the final placings, the times of the opening stage and the big Atlantic ride in the Class 40 must be added together. Penalties from stage one as well as compensation awarded by the jury must be taken into account.

"Sign for Com" in top condition for the final

For Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink, the current scenario at sea at least puts them in a new attacking mood. In a team statement on the morning of 22 November, they said: "The race to catch up has begun - but will it still be enough?" After sleepless nights, they continue to fight. The "Sign for Com" is still in top condition, they were told on board. The fact that the main leg of the race, which is only divided into two parts for the Class 40, has already lasted over two weeks can also be seen in the teams' growing desire to reach the harbour.

"The two are very much looking forward to finally arriving in Martinique," said the team message on Wednesday morning. And further: "Both are longing for a proper shower, a soft bed and, above all, good food. Even the snacks on board are slowly running out and are therefore strictly rationed so that they last until the finish. In general, however, the atmosphere on board is still very good. Lennart and Melwin, who have never been on a boat together for such a long time before, seem to have successfully passed the acid test. They are currently planning to arrive on the night of 23 to 24 November (Caribbean time)."

"Sign for Com" crew plans finish on Friday

From a German perspective, five hours have to be added to the local time, so that "Sign for Com" can be expected in Fort-de-France on Friday. At the same time, Andreas Baden from Kiel and his French Imoca skipper Fabrice Amedeo on "Nexans - Art & Fenêtres" still had around 450 nautical miles to go to the finish on Wednesday morning. The Franco-German duo was still in 28th place.

The day before, Andreas Baden had analysed the race and his own efforts in a detailed on-board report:

"The finish line is in sight. The final sprint has begun. But it is more than just reaching the finish line of a race. Looking back: A year ago, I thought it was about time to tackle the Atlantic races, to make the step up from the inshore races and 600 nautical mile classics. Then, at the end of November, I received a WhatsApp from a navigator friend: he couldn't get a holiday for the Rorc Transatlantic Race in January, could I step in? I spontaneously jumped in and headed to Lanzarote on 3 January to start the chase across the Atlantic from there. Dream conditions. After just ten and a half days, we crossed the finish line in Grenada with the 52-footer in third place on the podium. What a way to start the year.

A sailor from Guyot Team Europe asked if I would be interested in sailing the Transat Jacques Vabre" (Andreas Baden)

From February onwards, I worked intensively on my other passion: sustainability and the energy transition. Since 2018, my focus has been on the heating transition in particular. The provision of heat is one of the biggest CO2 emitters in the private sector. And because I firmly believe that words are not enough and that bans and laws do not help if you want to win the sustainability race against climate change, we need action. So we need to act. These are long processes. We now need to support projects that I have already advised in this context in 2018 with applications and implementation. Actively contributing to the avoidance of emissions and supporting municipalities in the construction of heating networks and alternative solutions. Meaningful work that lets you sleep well, because you yourself are the change we need, which is so often called for in marketing.

And then another WhatsApp. It's the Ocean Race stopover in Århus. I had thought about going there, but then decided against it. A sailor from Guyot Team Europe asks if I'm interested in sailing the Transat Jacques Vabres. On an Imoca. It's like it always is in sailing: work hard to have all your skills ready and then be in the right place at the right time. Yes, I would listen to that. An hour later, the first WhatsApp from Fabrice.

Fabrice and I have been on the same wavelength right from the start with a common goal" (Andreas Baden)

The new chapter was finally opened in mid-August. I stowed everything I needed until the end of the year in the van and set off for Brittany. One of those 'happy places', a dream in terms of scenery and a stronghold of sailing potential. What happened next was different than expected, but more on that another time. After all, Fabrice and I were on the same wavelength right from the start with a common goal. Start and finish at the TJV.

And now the finish line is inexorably approaching. The Imoca ploughs unstoppably through the Atlantic, as it has done for the last few days. We live in our own little world here. Since day three of the race, I have also finally arrived. I feel great and am enjoying the work. And now to arrive. Is that really necessary? The time out here is something very special. It gives me a lot of energy and strength, while the rhythm of course also takes its toll.

I feel a bit like Frederick the field mouse from the children's book" (Andreas Baden)

I feel a bit like Frederick, the field mouse from the children's book. While all the other field mice gather supplies for the winter, Frederick does the same. But in a special way. He doesn't collect nuts and grain, but colours, sunlight and warmth. In the cold winter, he will warm the other mice with his stories about sunshine and warmth and cheer them up with stories about colours. For me, time on the water has been an important source of energy and ideas for years. My family and friends have thankfully understood this and support me when I need to get out again to collect stories and impressions.

We're not saving the world out here. Okay, we are at least trying to do our bit with the Oceanpac and the purely renewable energy supply. But we are collecting stories and experiences that can be transferred to everyday life on land and can provide valuable inspiration, especially with regard to the working world and its analogies.

The die is cast, the jibes towards Martinique have been completed" (Andreas Baden)

When we reach the finish line in a few days, one chapter will be closed. A new one will be opened with blank pages to be filled. There are plenty of ideas. I've been able to gather the energy to realise them over the last few days out here. A new chapter will certainly lead me out of here again. But the topic of sustainability and energy will also remain an important component (...).

After all this, the question arises on this night alone on the aft deck: How will it feel to arrive, to close the Transat Jacques Vabre chapter? It was and is an intense one. A beautiful one. I've experienced a lot and made new friends. People have confirmed my first impressions and others have turned out to be true heroes. There is no alternative to arriving. But that's a good thing. After all, the stories and emotions we've collected need to be passed on."

In his latest message from on board, Andreas Baden commented on the approach to Martinique on Wednesday morning:

"The die is cast, the (final?) jibe to Martinique has been completed. At sunrise on the 15th day at sea, just as the first rays of sunlight dared to emerge from the depths of the sea on the horizon, we jibed. Set course for Martinique? Not quite yet. At the moment it's still a'near miss' (engl.: just missed).But if, according to the plan, the wind shifts slightly in three hours, a hopefully soon increasing breeze will carry us directly towards our destination. One more night at sea, according to the current routing. According to the current routing, tomorrow evening (Editorial office: in the night to Friday German time). Let's hope that the wind picks up and turns as predicted so that we can push towards the finish line quickly."

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