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2008/01/24 - 20h36
Speedy start for Groupama 3
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| Jules Verne Trophy |
| At 07h 50' 17''(GMT), the ten men on Groupama 3 set off on the Jules Verne Trophy attempt. They will need to cross this same
line, between Lizard Point and the Créac'h lighthouse, after rounding the three capes, prior to 15th March at 00 hours 09
minutes 21 seconds (GMT) to snatch the round the world record. The reference time held by Bruno Peyron since 2005 is 50 days
16 hours 20 minutes 4 seconds.
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In a fine NW'ly breeze of around fifteen knots, under one reef main and staysail, Groupama 3 was making over 25 knots
en route towards Cape Finisterre this Thursday morning when she passed in front of Claude Le Breton, the WSSRC representative
(World Sailing Speed Record Council). "It was a quiet night and we were stopped off Ushant until 0600 GMT when the wind
shifted round to the WNW. We set off quickly in a bid to benefit from a front in the Southern hemisphere... The departure
was a bit lively as a result of the tide: there was a fairly unpleasant chop with head seas. 5 minutes later, the wind had
kicked back in to 27 knots and has clocked round progressively since at 1330 GMT we were under gennaker with a NNE'ly breeze"
indicated Franck Cammas early this afternoon.
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Cape Finisterre this eveningThe weather conditions have been good for this first day at sea since the breeze has clocked progressively round to the North,
filling in to twenty five knots, and it should now shift round to the East near the Spanish coast, reaching more than thirty
five knots. Indeed, Groupama 3 was benefiting from the passage of a front over Brittany, pushed by a zone of high pressure
shifting eastwards: initially sailing along the eastern edge of this high pressure, Franck Cammas and his team should then
quickly make their escape on fine seas along the coast of Portugal, since there will be an offshore breeze. The only glitch
on an otherwise well rounded programme is the temporary strengthening of the wind as they approach Cape Finisterre as a result
of the Venturi effect: "We should gybe at around 16-1800 hours in order to pass fairly close to the Spanish promontory,
but it's likely to be very windy tonight off La Coruña, with over forty knots of E'ly. We will be careful to preserve the
gear but the conditions won't last long: the wind will ease off slightly along the Iberian peninsula... The boat is easily
making thirty knots but we're having to watch the sea state: the management of a round the world isn't the same as a four
day record!" detailed the skipper of Groupama 3.
As a result the first 24 hours are likely to enable Franck
Cammas and his nine crew to make it as far as Lisbon by tomorrow morning, Friday. At an average of over 27.6 knots during
the first six hours, Groupama 3 already has a lead of over 34 miles on the reference time set by Bruno Peyron... It should
be highlighted that the trajectory of the giant trimaran has been optimal since leaving Ushant, thanks to a rapid E'ly shift
in the wind, whilst Orange II had to distance itself from the Breton coast prior to being able to dive down to Spain. Of note
though is that there is already an initial obstacle in the next stage of their course: around the Canaries a zone of light,
shifty wind reigns, which is likely to slow progress aboard the maxi-multihull... Fortunately this reduction in pace is only
set to last a few hours on Saturday but it is hard to predict with any precision how intense this phase will be. A quick escape
from this trap would enable the crew to track down the African trade winds blowing from the NE and taking them to the equator
in six days.
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