The first half of the leg had two highlights. Firstly, the rounding of the Pointe du Raz at the western tip of France: while the fleet sailed far to the west, around the offshore island of Ile de Sein, Team SCA tried to go straight through, even though the strait is known for strong tidal currents of up to eight knots. It was not enough. The team needed three attempts to round the top, but then managed to get back in line. If it had worked on the first attempt, this would very likely have been the lead.
In the Strait of Dover, the race organisers had then placed a large exclusion zone to keep the yachts out of the narrowest commercial shipping. This left only the choice of a course close to the British or French coast. Dongfeng, Mapfre and Brunel opted for the westerly course, while the other four sailed along the French coast.
Team Alvimedica found the best lane there and was the first to set off on the final leg to The Hague. The three boats from the west course followed before the rest.
There is a big harbour festival in The Hague today, and tomorrow the teams will start again with the time gaps from today's race. Team Alvimedica has a lead of three quarters of an hour, which could have been a preliminary decision with the forecast three to four force winds from the north-west.
Times for the restart on Saturday:
Team Alvimedica, 12:00 h
Dongfeng Race Team, 13:46:29
Mapfre, 14:20:17
Team Brunel, 14:37:46
Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, 15:53:43
Team Vestas Wind, 16:04:17
Team SCA, 16:32:36
First day of stage 9 with rounding of Pointe du Raz
Second day of stage 9: The English Channel
The highlights of the arrival in The Hague
Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
