Transat Jacques Vabre: Rodeo at sea - Burke and Fink prove themselves at the start
The 16th Transat Jacques Vabre is underway. At the start, there were wow pictures that were more reminiscent of a rodeo at sea than a regatta start. While the five Ultim giants with small sails still flew away in a comparatively elegant and controlled manner, the Ocean Fifties bucked brutally across the starting line in 25 knots of wind. Class 40 scenes followed, the likes of which have rarely been seen ...
White foaming seas, speeding yachts with long spray tails, bucking boats and yet aggressive racing favourites: The three starts of the 16th Transat Jacques Vabre with a total of 55 boats were worth seeing in many respects on Sunday. While the half-covered sky made for fascinating light conditions, 110 sailors started the 16th Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre on Sunday. All three starts brought the expected spectacle in the Baie de Seine.
At 1.05 pm sharp, the five Ultims were the first to set off. They soon reached speeds of 30 to 33 knots and, with more or less reduced sails and two or three reefs, demonstrated the impressive speed potential of their 32-metre-long giant foilers. François Gabart and Tom Laperche on "SVR Lazartigue" led the fleet after three and a half hours ahead of Armel Le Cléac'h and Sébastien Josse on "Banque Populaire XI". The Ultims' power play in the strong wind was largely controlled.
We will have to find the balance between speed and safety" (Charles Caudrelier)
Charles Caudrelier, skipper of the initially third-placed "Edmond de Rothschild", had said shortly before the start: "We are expecting winds from the south-south-west around 25 knots. That's good news, because here in Le Havre the swell will be acceptable for the start. We'll still be a bit sheltered, but that won't last long. As soon as we get to Alderney Rock at the tip of the Cherbourg Peninsula, it will get rough. We expect a lot of wind in the first few days. Above all, the conditions will be very unsettled. The first night will be rough with heavy seas- The forecast for the canal is for four to five metre high waves with squalls. We will have to find a balance between speed and safety."
Imocas stay in the harbour, Ocean Fifties buck across the runway
The Ultim giants were followed by the six Ocean Fifties, whose crews were so hard to watch as the boats bucked over the waves in their bright orange storm jibs. They were repeatedly pushed onto their sides by violent squalls. Also, in no other class are the crews so openly exposed to the elements as on these multihull racers.
The fact that the Transat photographers captured the scenes from open helicopters despite the strong winds was just as impressive as the handling of most of the duos at sea. Luke Berry and Antoine Joubert led the Ocean Fifty sextet on "Le rire médicin - Lamotte" after a good three hours, ahead of Pierre Quiroga and Ronan Treussard on "Viablis Océans".
300 nautical mile storm sprint started for Ocean Fifties and Class 40
While the Imocas had to stay in the harbour after cancelling their start for this Sunday and are expecting further information on their starting prospects at a briefing in the evening, the Class 40 field approached the starting line after the Ocean Fifties. For both classes, "only" a 300 nautical mile sprint to Lorient is on the agenda, where crews and boats are to protect themselves from the approaching heavy Atlantic lows until the restart can take place.
The Class 40 start on Sunday lunchtime created a whole new world of images. The monohulls raced through the starting area under reefed mainsails and storm jibs like a pack of unleashed hounds. Two collisions and several barrel touches when passing the first mark at Cape de la Hève showed just how difficult the handling was for the sailors. These had to be cleared up with a penalty curl under the most difficult conditions.
Class 40: Barrel contact and two collisions
The Class 40 field was the only class to pass the coastal course and this mark. Ambrogio Beccaria and Nicolas Andrieu on "Alla Grande Pirelli" were the first to reach the buoy, but touched it and had to curl to make up for it - no easy task given the tightly packed field and the powerful winds.
Bertrand Guillonneau and Kito De Pavant on "Movember" were worse off, suffering a broken boom and a tear in the mainsail in a collision with the apparently undamaged or only slightly damaged "Curium". The crew immediately returned to the harbour. The second collision occurred between "Seafrigo-Sogestran" and "Café Joyeux", which also returned to the harbour to inspect the extent of their damage. The "Café Joyeux" co-skippers Nicolas D'Estais and Léo Debisse announced a protest against those involved in the collision.
Good start for the young professionals Burke and Fink
The young "Sign for Com" co-skippers Lennart Burke, 25, and Melwin Fink, 21, knew how to parry the harsh winds at the start. Although the German sailors were barely visible once during the live broadcast, the tracker, which only started after some delay, later showed Burke and Fink rounding the first mark in sixth place. A little later they dropped back to 24th place before working their way back up to 20th. With a gap of just under three nautical miles, they stayed in touch with the front runners as darkness fell and were travelling at a good speed of around twelve knots.
The battle between the Class 40 favourites was already raging at the front in this initial phase: Ambrogio Beccaria and Nicolas Andrieu on "Alla Grande Pirelli" had taken the lead ahead of Ian Lipinski and Antoine Carpentier on "Crédit Mutuel" and Alberto Bona with Pablo Santurde Del Arco on "Ibsa" despite their mishap. All the crews that have started are facing a difficult first night. Rest breaks from the power play are hardly to be expected in this first week - regardless of where the classes are at the moment.
