The fleet was still struggling through the leaden doldrums on the fifth and final leg of the Ocean Race Europe. But last night it was finally able to pick up speed. Team "Holcim-PRB" in particular headed south on Tuesday morning at speeds in excess of 30 knots, but had to rejoin the leading quintet at the back after attempting to go it alone. The Swiss team had positioned itself to the east of "Paprec Arkéa", "Allagrande Mapei", "Malizia - Seaexplorer" and "Biotherm" early on Tuesday morning and stayed closer to the islands of Corsica and Sardinia, but was not initially rewarded for this.
Ocean Race Europe: Bonus points awarded on leg 5
Yoann Richomme's "Paprec Arkéa" and Ambrogio Beccaria's Team Allagrande Mapei Racing were rewarded for their westerly position and focussed doldrums sailing, taking the bonus points at the scoring gate on the latitude of Santo Stefano: "Paprec Arkéa" scored two and the Azzurri one. Team Malizia was unlucky: Boris Herrmann's crew just missed out on the bonus points as the third boat 12 minutes and 43 seconds after the Italians.
With the bonus points, Team Paprec Arkéa reduced the gap to the leading "Biotherm" (41 points) in the intermediate classification of the Ocean Race Europe to ten points with 31 points. With 20 points, Team Allagrande Mapei Racing moved a little closer to third-placed Team Holcim-PRB (27.3 points) with skipper Rosalin Kuiper. A further maximum of 14 points are still up for grabs in the European race for victories in the current fifth leg and in the coastal race in the area of the finishing harbour of Boka Bay - so there is still room for last-minute attacks and surprises.
In the pentathlon, the pacemakers at the front quickly reached speeds of 25 knots and more in the first hours of Tuesday morning. The crew on "Paprec Arkéa" defended their lead both in the persistent doldrums off the French coast and during the fast start. But only just, as the lead over "Allagrande Mapei" at the Santo Stefano mark was less than a minute.
The doldrums task: trim, trim, trim
"Malizia - Seaexplorer" missed out on the bonus points as the first runner-up after the fleet had worked its way along the French coast from Nice to the Îles du Levant in the XL doldrums. "It's not easy - we didn't get much sleep and the lack of wind meant lots of tacking manoeuvres, sail changes and gybes," said Team Malizia's co-skipper Will Harris, explaining the challenges of extreme light wind sailing, which his team mastered with great concentration.
"The day was basically a small tactical coastal race where we played with the wind and moved closer to the coast to catch the thermal breeze," said Yoann Richomme. Although the wind was weak, there was "always a little breeze", the "Paprec Arkéa" skipper summarised. "There were times when it was very weak... We know that we have to stay at the helm and trim as much as possible."
"It was a light wind day, but we all tried to be patient and take advantage of every little gust," said "Holcim-PRB" navigator Nicolas Lunven, explaining the game from his perspective. The former Malizian described the doldrums challenges as "a very subtle way of sailing", but one that "can also be a lot of fun".
Speed fun with the Tramontara in the Ocean Race Europe
While Team Amaala and Canada Ocean Racing - Be Water Positive had fallen well behind on Tuesday morning, trailing by around 50 and more than 100 nautical miles respectively, the five crews in the lead were separated by just 16 nautical miles at around 10am on Tuesday morning, with the first four teams separated by just six nautical miles. They were all aiming for the area south of Sardinia in order to pass the Italian island and set their sights on the next waypoint north of Sicily.
"We know we're in the right group, but the big question is who can catch the wind first and pull away," said Will Harris shortly before the rapid increase in speed during the night. Then the speeds exploded for the first time on this section from Genoa to the finish harbour of Boka Bay. From 4am onwards, the Imocas were able to take off on their foils and accelerate to over 25 knots. Team Malizia was there when the action started, defending its top three position in the frequently changing positions.
"After leaving the islands behind us at Porquerolles, we managed to catch the Tramontana, allowing us to accelerate and enjoy a long, fast run to Barcelona," reported Will Harris. The Mediterranean wind is fuelling the fleet, but the joy of free progress could be short-lived. Yoann Richomme warned: "We should have light winds again tomorrow evening!" If the conditions change again, it will not be the last.
