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2008/02/10 - 18h50
Tout schuss!
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| Jules Verne Trophy |
| The weather conditions and above all the sea state have become sufficiently manageable again for Groupama 3 to lengthen its
stride downwind whilst remaining along 42° South. At an average of over thirty knots over the past few hours, her lead over
the reference time has increased considerably...
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Five knots better than Orange II over the past few hours, Groupama 3 is racing at full tilt again to the
North of the Kerguelen Island, since the wind has shifted to the NW and filled in to over 25 knots... On port tack, the giant
trimaran has been making headway since midday at over thirty knots on an E'ly heading, which will enable her to maintain a
quick pace with temperatures still mild. "We gybed shortly before midday: we're beginning to escape the `hell hole'
of the past three days and it's the first time in a week that we've been able to slip along whilst being pushed by the waves.
Beforehand, the gear was taking a real battering and it was hard for the crew too! The seas are now coming from the West and
we have the right wind angle to be able to tackle it" announced Stève Ravussin at the radio session.
The
forecasts for the next few days are rather encouraging since Franck Cammas and his nine crew will once again be able to reconcile
a more `normal' life aboard with regular speeds in excess of thirty knots... This should be enough to enable them to quickly
regain over a day's room for manoeuvre on the record, like that Groupama 3 acquired prior to the Cape of Good Hope.
The only glitch in this more attractive setting: the presence of two cyclones, between Madagascar and Australia, which may
change course at any moment and plunge southwards!
Sylvain Mondon (Météo France), the onshore weather expert for Groupama
3, shares his views with us as regards this situation: "For the next few days, the waves will slow the boat down less.
It is on port tack that Franck Cammas and his crew are continuing their course towards a steady N to NW'ly air flow generated
by the disturbance, which is preceding them (low situated 400 miles to the East on Sunday morning). It is only midway between
the Kerguelen Islands and Cape Leeuwin that Groupama 3 will catch up with this air flow, synonymous with faster progress and
even less penalising waves. However, we'll have to watch what happens in the tropical Indian Ocean as the cyclones (IVAN and
HONDO) have been developing there for several days. At any moment, these systems may take a southern trajectory and combine
with the disturbed air flow, which the maxi trimaran is currently sailing in. In this type of scenario, vigilance is imperative
since the gusts which accompany such systems exceed 100 knots! Fortunately for us, the forecasts don't seem to be panning
out this way for the time being..."
As a result, 400 miles to the North of the Kerguelen Islands this Sunday
afternoon, Groupama 3 will have to wait a little longer to bend its course towards the SE, which will enable her to
reduce the number of miles to cover in order to circumnavigate the Antarctic. And at around 2,000 miles from the longitude
of Cape Leeuwin (SW Australia), the giant trimaran is set to improve on the reference time established by Orange II
between Cape Agulhas and the Australian promontory... In any event, it should pass this second historic cape less than three
weeks after the start of the record attempt!
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