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06.01.2011 Back to news
Ready to speed up
 | © Kito de Pavant/Groupe Bel |
Clocked in at 10:00 hours in ninth position and 162 miles from the leaders Jean-Pierre Dick and Loïck Peyron, our duo knows that they must be patient to catch up on the four leading yachts, nevertheless the race is becoming keener with Gaes, Président, Neutrogena and Mapfre. Together with Groupe Bel, the five yachts in this group are within 20 miles of each other, which should make for some sport!
At midday, Kito was delighted by an increasingly favorable wind, enabling them to set a more southern course and to get away from the strong winds, while waiting for the wind to change to the west and then to north-east. They hope to pass not very far from Madeira in the next few hours, with a view to catching the trade winds which are forecast to be regular from the Canaries to the doldrums.
Sébastien Audigane: “During the night, we had a wind of between 20 and 25 knots. We are heeling and wet! We should hit the low in the afternoon and start running downwind, and heading for the sun. After this very complicated passage in the Mediterranean, it is a pleasure to return to a more "normal" speed. We are able to rely a little more on our weather data. Groupe Bel is making progress at 11 knots; a real pleasure after the four days of calm. Since Gibraltar, Kito and I have found a real rhythm of regular three-hour watches, which, at last, has enabled us to snatch a few good hours sleep in the bunk."
Kito de Pavant: "I'm impatient to start running downwind, because it's not very comfortable for the moment. However I'm not going to complain, because it has been to calm since the start. We should turn south with a strong wind today. There should not be any major change in the medium wind speeds downwind, since the five boats in our group are fairly similar in these conditions. The aim is to reduce the distance with the top of the fleet, but the ranking in itself is not very important at this stage of the race. 200 miles on the scale of the whole world, is nothing! On the other hand, I have at last entered a "round-the-world" frame of mind. We are handling little jobs daily and making sure that every day we check our charging systems: the hydrogenerators, the wind turbine and the engine, since these are essential. You have to be careful, to go as far as possible. For me, this is a little different to my usual habits in shorter races. In the hours to come, we are going to position ourselves as best we can in order to negotiate the Madeira passage and its difficulties! In principle, the wind is a little further to left than planned, which is probably just as good to get us away from the area of strong wind and make progress on our route. We must remain vigilant and not get caught in a trap."
RANKING THURSDAY 6 JANUARY AT 10:00 HOURS (UTC +1):
1 - Virbac-Paprec 3 / Jean-Pierre Dick & Loick Peyron, 23 734 miles distance to finish
2 - Foncia / Michel Desjoyeaux & François Gabart, 28 miles distance to leaders
3 - Mirabaud / Dominique Wavre & Michèle Parret, 75 miles distance
4 - Estrella Damm / Alex Pella & Pepe Ribes, 91 miles distance
5 - Mapfre / Iker Martinez & Xabi Fernandez, 143 miles distance
6 - Neutrogena / Boris Herrmann & Ryan Breymaier, 145 miles distance
7 - Président / Jean Le Cam & Bruno Garcia, 147 miles distance
8 - Gaes / Dee Caffari & Anna Corbella, 149 miles distance
9 - Groupe Bel / Kito de Pavant & Seb Audigane, 162 miles distance
10 - Central Lechera Asturiana / Juan Merediz & Fran Palacio, 234 miles distance
The rest of the ranking: click here
At midday, Kito was delighted by an increasingly favorable wind, enabling them to set a more southern course and to get away from the strong winds, while waiting for the wind to change to the west and then to north-east. They hope to pass not very far from Madeira in the next few hours, with a view to catching the trade winds which are forecast to be regular from the Canaries to the doldrums.
Sébastien Audigane: “During the night, we had a wind of between 20 and 25 knots. We are heeling and wet! We should hit the low in the afternoon and start running downwind, and heading for the sun. After this very complicated passage in the Mediterranean, it is a pleasure to return to a more "normal" speed. We are able to rely a little more on our weather data. Groupe Bel is making progress at 11 knots; a real pleasure after the four days of calm. Since Gibraltar, Kito and I have found a real rhythm of regular three-hour watches, which, at last, has enabled us to snatch a few good hours sleep in the bunk."
Kito de Pavant: "I'm impatient to start running downwind, because it's not very comfortable for the moment. However I'm not going to complain, because it has been to calm since the start. We should turn south with a strong wind today. There should not be any major change in the medium wind speeds downwind, since the five boats in our group are fairly similar in these conditions. The aim is to reduce the distance with the top of the fleet, but the ranking in itself is not very important at this stage of the race. 200 miles on the scale of the whole world, is nothing! On the other hand, I have at last entered a "round-the-world" frame of mind. We are handling little jobs daily and making sure that every day we check our charging systems: the hydrogenerators, the wind turbine and the engine, since these are essential. You have to be careful, to go as far as possible. For me, this is a little different to my usual habits in shorter races. In the hours to come, we are going to position ourselves as best we can in order to negotiate the Madeira passage and its difficulties! In principle, the wind is a little further to left than planned, which is probably just as good to get us away from the area of strong wind and make progress on our route. We must remain vigilant and not get caught in a trap."
RANKING THURSDAY 6 JANUARY AT 10:00 HOURS (UTC +1):
1 - Virbac-Paprec 3 / Jean-Pierre Dick & Loick Peyron, 23 734 miles distance to finish
2 - Foncia / Michel Desjoyeaux & François Gabart, 28 miles distance to leaders
3 - Mirabaud / Dominique Wavre & Michèle Parret, 75 miles distance
4 - Estrella Damm / Alex Pella & Pepe Ribes, 91 miles distance
5 - Mapfre / Iker Martinez & Xabi Fernandez, 143 miles distance
6 - Neutrogena / Boris Herrmann & Ryan Breymaier, 145 miles distance
7 - Président / Jean Le Cam & Bruno Garcia, 147 miles distance
8 - Gaes / Dee Caffari & Anna Corbella, 149 miles distance
9 - Groupe Bel / Kito de Pavant & Seb Audigane, 162 miles distance
10 - Central Lechera Asturiana / Juan Merediz & Fran Palacio, 234 miles distance
The rest of the ranking: click here
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