Precautions in the face of the gale

"The barometer is sinking. Some very bad weather is on the way and we don't have any choice but to head straight into it", said Kito. Even if it makes the blood run cold, the situation is clear. In a few hours, the first in a series of low pressure areas will sweep across the racers of the Transat Jacques Vabre. Foncia, Akena Verandas, Artemis and W Hotels have pulled away to the south. In the last few hours, Groupe Bel which was making headway among the northerners with BT, Aviva and Safran, has veered to the south. Second when they clocked in at 14:00 (GMT+1), Kito and François Gabart are hot on the heels of the Josse-Cuzon duo, still in the lead on board BT.

Among the leading pack since they left Le Havre, Groupe Bel’s crew have remained faithful to their philosophy. “We have been playing safe, particularly in our choice of sails and this is working out rather well” sums up the skipper.” “We are on the defensive even though we have been in a good position since the start. Our aim above all is to keep the boat in good condition.”

Which way out?
The weather maps make you shiver. From north to south, the isobars are getting closer, at first sight without a way out. “The weather data forecasts a huge low area without any solutions for getting away”, adds Kito realistically. “To get to Costa Rica, we will have to face a “battle”, so we’re heading for it.” There is the solution of heading right down south now, but that brings us to another very violent low pressure area, and just behind, the anticyclone does not sit right and will prevent us from sailing on down. Tomorrow evening, things should be a little better, but the next 36 hours are going to be very difficult. We hope to glimpse a way out around the Azores, but it’s well hidden! »

Same story from François
“The best route to Costa Rica passes right through the centre of this low. If we wanted to avoid it, we would have to position ourselves to the southeast and then risk encountering other low pressure areas which are brewing at the end of the week. We prefer to head straight into the gale this evening, knowing roughly what we can expect, rather than later heading into violent winds, less well oriented, without really knowing what will hit us."

Weathering it
Obviously, nice and warm under our duvets, we can only shiver at this news. The sailors, for whom these gales are part of the trade, handle this kind of thing calmly and with foresight. “François and I intend to take care. We will weather it in order to preserve the boat and give ourselves every opportunity to continue the fight with the others”, explains Kito, for whom it is not the first storm, but who nonetheless is taking the whole thing very seriously.

François is crossing the Atlantic for the second time racing. This situation is therefore less common for the man from Charente. However, for all that he has not lost his enthusiasm or pragmatism: “We are expecting 30 to 35 knots according to the “data”, which means that in reality, the gusts could reach 40 to 45 knots, but this low pressure area has been around for a few days and the sea should be fairly reasonable. We have made the right choices up to now. We are trying to keep things simple so as not to lose our steam. We are going to check the boat over scrupulously before this evening to make sure that everything is alright and tackle this first low as best we can.”

In brief:

Transat Jacques Vabre 2009: 9th race since 1993 (every 2 years)
Le Havre – Puerto Limon on the East Coast of Costa Rica: 4,730 nautical miles (8,759 km) leaving the Dominican Republic to starboard
Kito de Pavant's 5th time taking part: 5th in 2001 (Bernard Gallay), 11th in 2003 and 3rd in 2005 (Jean Le Cam), 6th in 2007 (Sébastien Col)
1st participation of François Gabart (youngest of the fleet)
Groupe Bel monohull: VPLP-Verdier design, launched on 6 September 2007 in Italy
Sunday 8 November at 14:30 Start from Le Havre for the monohulls (multihulls at 14:00)