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08.11.2011 Back to news
From one extreme to the other
 | © Guilain Grenier |
Admittedly, they are tired, but the colors of the Laughing Cow® monohull have stood up to a particularly wild sea.
5,000 km from Puerto Limon, a small group of four boats have chosen a southern route, including Groupe Bel, while Hugo Boss and Virbac-Paprec 3 have decided to stay north. In a complete reversal of situations, Groupe Bel must now tackle a ridge of high pressure (area with little wind) in which they must play patiently and tactically to get across as quickly as possible. Verdict today.
Radio contact with Groupe Bel's skipper at midday:
"We have avoided the worst of the storm which passed over us yesterday morning. We have come out of it well. The boat is in perfect condition, which is already a good thing! We have really had a battering since the beginning of the race.
We are now waiting for a difficult day as we pass through a high pressure ridge which should last roughly 24 hours. We are trying to stay even further south to keep the wind as long as possible. Hugo Boss and Virbac-Paprec 3 have chosen an option that is also interesting, to the north of the fleet. The routing gives much the same result. It will now depend on this famous high pressure ridge whether we manage to make quick or slow headway! We'll see during the night!
At the moment, Groupe Bel is running at 14 knots with a 10 knot wind. Little by little this will be veering* and in a few hours and we should find ourselves under spinnaker and beginning to surf. We are going to attack a quieter part of the race, with a little more sunshine and a little warmer! If we do not get stuck in the high pressure ridge, we should benefit from fairly strong north-easterly trade winds.
Do we have an ETA**? It'll be before the others (laughs), but I don't know exactly when! The routings say that we will be in the region of Colombia in eight days and then there will be roughly 48 hours in the Caribbean Sea, but we're not thinking too much about it at the moment! As for Yann, he's always laughing, so that means everything is going well (laughs)!
* The wind is becoming increasingly favorable
**Estimated Time Arrival
5,000 km from Puerto Limon, a small group of four boats have chosen a southern route, including Groupe Bel, while Hugo Boss and Virbac-Paprec 3 have decided to stay north. In a complete reversal of situations, Groupe Bel must now tackle a ridge of high pressure (area with little wind) in which they must play patiently and tactically to get across as quickly as possible. Verdict today.
Radio contact with Groupe Bel's skipper at midday:
"We have avoided the worst of the storm which passed over us yesterday morning. We have come out of it well. The boat is in perfect condition, which is already a good thing! We have really had a battering since the beginning of the race.
We are now waiting for a difficult day as we pass through a high pressure ridge which should last roughly 24 hours. We are trying to stay even further south to keep the wind as long as possible. Hugo Boss and Virbac-Paprec 3 have chosen an option that is also interesting, to the north of the fleet. The routing gives much the same result. It will now depend on this famous high pressure ridge whether we manage to make quick or slow headway! We'll see during the night!
At the moment, Groupe Bel is running at 14 knots with a 10 knot wind. Little by little this will be veering* and in a few hours and we should find ourselves under spinnaker and beginning to surf. We are going to attack a quieter part of the race, with a little more sunshine and a little warmer! If we do not get stuck in the high pressure ridge, we should benefit from fairly strong north-easterly trade winds.
Do we have an ETA**? It'll be before the others (laughs), but I don't know exactly when! The routings say that we will be in the region of Colombia in eight days and then there will be roughly 48 hours in the Caribbean Sea, but we're not thinking too much about it at the moment! As for Yann, he's always laughing, so that means everything is going well (laughs)!
* The wind is becoming increasingly favorable
**Estimated Time Arrival
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