- 10 knots of South/south-west wind, grey and cloudy sky with showers!
- François Cuinet N°412 on Plan Jardin 1st prototype and Hervé Aubry N°582 on Ville de Pornichet 1st Series boat at Funchal Naval Club buoy
- A first night that will teach much!
At 14:02 exactly, the 83 competitors still registered in The Charente-Maritime / Bahia Transat 6.50 set off this Saturday, October the 3rd, in front of the city of Funchal (Madeira – Portugal) for the second and longest stage (3100 miles) heading for Salvador de Bahia (Brazil). Canary Islands, an archipelago of Cape Verde, the Doldrums, the trade winds in the Southern Hemisphere… The menu is very rich and varied for this transatlantic aboard boats of 6.50 meters!
First Buoy Funchal Naval Club
A start on time with mainsail reef and solent. The goal: avoid collisions and get out as quickly as possible from the minefield of 83 hulls to start sailing „serenely“ the 5740 km to go… So,François Cuinet N°412 on Plan Jardin passed the buoy first for prototypes at the Funchal Naval Club followed by Thomas Ruyant (Faber France) and Nicolas Boidevezi ( Défi DGE) and Hervé Aubry N°582 on Ville de Pornichet for Series boats has imposed his tone. Nice demo! But this is only the start and the game should be very tiring… Meteo Consult, partner of The Charente-Maritime/Bahia Transat 6.50 announce harsh conditions and brain teaser for the next 48 hours! „A low pressure storm is established near the Azores at 1000 hPa and will slightly widen by shifting east. It extends its influence on Madeira with an unstable south-west stream. Further east, a ridge of high pressure is set at 1020 hPa. Next to the African coast it changes to beacome a low north-west flow. Sunday, all these systems shift east. A moderate south-west flow is always present. On Monday, the ridge of high pressure is established on the Canaries. South-west unstable winds remain west of these islands.„
An exciting first night!
Indeed, the goal of the game is to reach the height of Canary islands and attack the high pressure ridge which separates the south/south-west flow generated by a depression located on the Azores and the famous north-east trade winds. And the first to find the north-east wind switch will dig a gap on his pursuers and will start with other weather issues (Ed., crossing the archipelago of Cape Verde, the Doldrum…) with a clear advantage… Thus, the first night will be interesting.
Pre-start declaration, about racing and adventure, goals and emotions
Francisco Lobato (ROFF TMN): „This first part will be a little difficult. This is not the mild weather from La Rochelle, where we had to jibe to a specific point and pass near Cape Finisterre… There we will have to think a little. This is not the lottery, but we will have to turn at the right time and know exactly where we are compared to the weather system. For me, my idea is to stay in the package. Then there is a long way to come back at the head of the fleet. I do feel like I will feel concern. Pressure? The others have it, not me…„