Dans le grand virage vers l’est, les hommes de l’extérieur prennent petit à petit le dessus sur le reste de la flotte. Plus éloignés du centre de l’anticyclone des Bermudes, ils bénéficient d’un gradient de pression plus important et avancent à bonne vitesse vers la route directe. Toute la flotte commence à converger et les classements devraient prendre de plus en plus de sens.
C’en est terminé des allures de près pour remonter plein nord. Depuis la nuit dernière, le vent a commencé de s’orienter au sud-est et s’oriente progressivement vers le sud-ouest. Les solitaires ont pu enfin sortir les voiles de portant des sacs et commencer de goûter les plaisirs de la glisse. Les conditions de navigation deviennent plus agréables, les carènes ont cessé de taper dans chaque vague… Mais, contrepoint de retour aux allures portantes, les solitaires ont dû sortir toute la garde-robe des voiles de portant depuis les gennaker jusqu’au grand spinnaker pour certains. François Gabart (MACIF) en a d’ailleurs fait les frais, en se faisant doubler dans la nuit par Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec 3) qui a fait parler là toute son expérience et la parfaite connaissance qu’il a maintenant de son bateau. Parfaitement bien placés, ces deux-là risquent fort de s’emparer des deux premières places pour un moment, même si Banque Populaire tient toujours la corde.
Séquelles et petits bobos
Petit à petit, tous les navigateurs prennent la mesure de la course. Le temps d’adaptation nécessaire pour endosser à nouveau sa peau de marin est maintenant digéré. Les marins retrouvent un rythme de sommeil propice au repos fractionné, enfilent au fur et à mesure qu’ils montent vers le nord des vêtements plus adaptés aux rigueurs de l’hiver. Et surtout, beaucoup avouent de menus travaux de bricolage. La Transat Jacques Vabre a laissé des traces en terme d’usure du matériel. Mais peu s’en plaignent, préférant considérer l’exercice comme un préalable indispensable avant le prochain Vendée Globe. Seul Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée) avouait que cette transatlantique retour pourrait virer parfois au pensum, compte tenu du fait que le navigateur a explosé tous ses spinnakers entre Le Havre et Puerto Limon. Dans ces conditions, le navigateur malouin a préféré occulter les classements pour se concentrer sur sa seule course. Quand les circonstances sont défavorables, il est parfois bon de faire abstraction de certaines informations.
Ils ont dit :
Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire)
« Même si j’apparais en tête du classement, je persiste à penser que Jean-Pierre (Dick) et François (Gabart) sont mieux placés que moi. Maintenant, il peut encore se passer beaucoup de choses. Le vent devrait tourner et surtout se renforcer sérieusement d’ici deux à trois jours. Il va falloir faire attention au matériel si on veut éviter de la casse. Mais c’est aussi ce qu’on est venu chercher, dans l’optique d’une bonne préparation au Vendée Globe. »
Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec 3)
« J’ai commencé à récupérer de la fatigue accumulée. En mer, on a toujours besoin d’un temps d’adaptation de deux ou trois jours avant de retrouver un bon rythme. C’est d’ailleurs assez problématique, car les premiers jours de course peuvent être l’occasion de faire des erreurs que l’on paie cher. Pour ma part, j’étais assez fatigué, mais aussi ému et vidé émotionnellement par ma nomination de Marin de l’Année. Là, ça y est, je suis entré pleinement dans la course. »
Mike Golding (Gamesa)
«Je pense qu’il faut utiliser le routage comme une indication sur la route à suivre. Mais au final, il n’est pas rare que le vent sur zone et les prévisions ne coïncident pas. Il faut donc se servir du routage comme d’un outil, mais seulement comme d’un outil. Suivant les modèles, j’avais deux routes qui m’étaient proposées et au final, je me retrouve sur une route intermédiaire entre les deux. Sinon, j’ai eu un problème majeur, avec une fuite d’huile dans le moteur. C’est résolu mais j’ai eu de l’huile partout dans les fonds. Pour le reste, tout va bien.»
Three days into the Transat B to B race from Saint Barts to Lorient, the Imoca 60 fleet is edging its way up a zone of high pressure to their East and as they slink around the top of the system they are gradually beginning to hang a right, with those further North already into the stronger winds being dished out by an eastbound low rolling out of Virginia on America’s eastern seaboard. In every way, this is one of the race’s major turning points. With the wind set to pick up considerably on Saturday, the race for supremacy is very much on then and all the competitors are clear that this is no delivery trip. Indeed all eight skippers have their sights on winning an entry ticket to the Vendee Globe 2012 and learning valuable lessons along the way, which will gear them up nicely for the round the world race. However, if they can steal a march on their rivals in the process then so much the better!
The mere sound of the voices of those skippers in the Transat B to B spoke volumes today at the lunchtime radio chat sessions live from the Paris Boat Show. Leading the northern posse, Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec 3) and François Gabart (Macif) proved to be particularly chirpy, clearly happy with their position as they are the first to feel the effect of the depression rumbling out of Virginia. Jean-Pierre decided not to play his prudent card, hoisting his downwind sails at the first sniff of more breeze and is reaping the rewards some 25 miles further North than Michel Desjoyeaux’ bright young protégé.
Both are relishing the opportunity to learn valuable lessons which will serve them well in the Vendee Globe in 2012. Indeed the skipper of Macif declared himself to be very excited at the prospect of spending 2 to 3 months alone on his boat and was learning to trust in his automatic pilot to effect minor repairs. In fact, despite a wealth of experience even the skipper of Virbac-Paprec 3 said he was still learning something new everyday. Also making good speed out to the East, current leader Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) wasn’t dismissing the benefits of his more southerly option and was keen to see how things panned out once he hangs a right.
Of the British contingent, both Mike Golding (Gamesa) and Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) are Vendee Globe veterans and both were on the pace, albeit back in fifth and sixth place on a central option after each suffered potentially major issues. Last night Mike was carefully filtering the water out of the precious engine oil which had siphoned its way out into the bilges, so it could be reused. Meantime Alex came close to losing his biggest downwind sail in the early hours of this morning after the halyard snapped sending the A3 crashing into the sea where it got tangled up in the rudders and keel.
Ambience sail changes, thermals, repairs and boat checks then as the Imoca 60 fleet in this Transat B to B from Saint Barts to Lorient begin to switch into downwind mode with bigger winds and bigger seas on their way in the next day or so. All of these elements provide valuable lessons in the mission to take the start of the Vendee Globe 2012.
Quotes from the boats:
Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss):
“At around 4am this morning I was sailing downwind with the A3 sail up – the biggest sail on-board for downwind conditions – I noticed that the sail wasn’t all the way to the top of the mast, so tried to grind it back to the top and in the process the halyard snapped sending the sail crashing into the sea. We were still travelling at around 12 knots, so unfortunately the boat carried on straight over the sail where it got caught around the rudders and keel. I spent about 30 minutes trying to pull it free, but it was caught tight, I then tried backing the boat up under sail, but nothing helped. Having decided I would have to cut it free and going and getting a knife for the job, I had one last attempt at pulling it free and finally managed to get some of the sail on-board, as I was doing this the boat turned further downwind and I slowly managed to get the whole sail back on board and stowed down below. I haven’t had a chance to inspect the sail yet, so I don’t know what damage has been caused. Without the A3 halyard I’m now sailing under a fractional rig, with a smaller sail. I’m pleased I managed to save the sail, but am pretty knackered now as this took over an hour, so I’m planning on getting some sleep now before inspecting the sail and looking at repair options later on today.”
Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire):
» I had to put in a fair few manœuvres last night so there were lots of sail changes to be made and we had to put in a gybe. We’re edging up the West face of a zone of high pressure and then we’ll ease round the north of the system before heading East. At that point we’ll be virtually on a direct course home. It’s pretty physical work on your own and the process of say switching between a gennaker and a spinnaker takes a good half hour depending on the forecast. Things are starting to get a bit cooler now and I’m wearing my first fleece layer now. The wind is picking up and we’ll soon have bigger seas so in 2/ 3 days’ time it’s going to be a case of taking care of the gear. Clearly there’s more pressure in the West so we’ll just have to wait and see how Virbac Paprec and Macif fair. »
François Gabart (Macif):
“Things are absolutely perfect. I’m hanging a right now. Jean-Pierre is powering over the top of me just now as he must have hoisted his gennaker before me, but I preferred to be more prudent as the wind was pretty shifty. I feel like I’m well positioned as in principle there is more wind here. Sometimes it works well to cut the corner but I’m sitting tight here for now. I’ve only been sailing on my own for 3 days or so but you do find yourself casting your mind to how it would be after 2 or 3 months in the Vendee Globe. I enjoy sailing with others but I think the Vendee would be very special because you are bound to learn more about yourself and look at things on a whole different level. I think about the Vendee Globe a lot, especially the closer it gets. Everything I’m learning here I know I’ll use for the Vendee Globe. In fact I had an issue with my rudder downhaul last yesterday and I spent 15/ 20 minutes repairing it. Sailing solo you really have to learn to trust the automatic pilot and in 15 knots of breeze it’s okay. In 40 knots or so though that would be really full-on. I’m happy with the start of my race in the Transat B to B and I’m still in the match – in fact I’m very well placed. It’s certainly a challenge and the harder the challenge the more satisfied you are when you get to the finish.”
Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec 3):
“This is just where I wanted to go so we’ll just have to see if it works now. Sometimes the situation is different to that forecast. It’s an intriguing match that’s for sure. To the North there is certainly more air circulating. On the first day of racing I was feeling pretty emotional about winning the title Sailor of the Year. I had no sleep the first night and the second I had a bit so I feel like I’m getting into the swing of things now. I’m managing to rack up little chunks of sleep but the fatigue is still there and wears you down. You’re constantly easing the main or making a sail change or something – it never stops. When you do get some sleep you know you’re going to sacrifice speed. On your own you have to make sure you’re make sure you’re making the right sail changes as you don’t want to be changing it again soon after on your own. I’ve got quite a lot of experience on this boat now but I’m still making mistakes and you learn something new everyday.”
Mike Golding (Gamesa):
« It was fairly easy going last night. We have steadily been going more and more downwind and now we are fully downwind. We were on genoa, full main, then we changed to code 3 and full main. I have stuck with the Code 3 as it was quite squally and I figured the shift would come quickly and now I have gybed more, away from the light area. As regards routing, I think you rely on it to give you an indicative course, but ultimately quite often the routing and the weather don’t coincide, the routing is a useful tool, but it is just that, another tool. The weather data and weather routing, they are solid data that you couldn’t possibly know with lots of experience. Where your experience comes in is when events happen outside the data. I have got both routes on the screen in front of me and in fact I am middle for diddle, I’m going exactly up between the two routes right now. The breeze is a little more left than I would have expected so possibly I might have to do a couple of gybes to get out of here. Right now, I’m pointing in fastest position which will get me out of the unstable conditions. We had one major problem with the oil leaking into the bilge. In fact it didn’t so much leak, as siphoned itself into the engine, so I had to recover that and put it back in to the engine and the engine is fine now, I have given it a good run. So no major issues there, no issues on deck, no issues with sails and the boat is running nicely. »
Louis Burton (Bureau Vallee):
“I haven’t recovered my energy levels yet and I’m becalmed, trying every which way to make good my escape. I’m trying to keep my speed up but I shredded a number of sails during the Transat Jacques Vabre and my lack of spinnaker at the moment means that the high pressure is catching up with me and I’m trying to wiggle out of it. It’s my first time sailing the boat solo and it’s a very different experience. With every transition you have to spend a fair amount of time reflecting on what you’re going to do and then the sail changes take a long time. You try to manoeuvre once rather than twice. I purposely don’t have the positions of the other boat as I just want to sail my own race. This is not a delivery though, the aim is to finish, but lacking sails makes you less competitive. I have a few small problems aboard and I’m taking lots of notes for improvements for the Vendee Globe. »