Class 40 fleet arrive at Transat Jacques Vabre weather stop

(November 8, 2013) – Leading the Transat Jacques Vabre Class 40 fleet in to their weather stop at Bloscon, Roscoff Sébastien Rogues and Fabien Delahaye on GDF SUEZ crossed the line there holding first place at 14h45m 25s (local CET) to earn themselves a margin of 19 minutes and 39 seconds when they restart to Itajaí, Brazil on Saturday evening.

Spain’s Alex Pella and Pablo Saturde on the new Botin designed Tales Santander 2014 rose from fifth in the early morning to cross second, gaining in the reaching conditions in to the finish line, whilst the German flagged Mare of Jorg Riechers and Pierre Brasseur broke the line in third 4 mins and 27 seconds behind the Spanish pair.

The first 180 miles of the race to Roscoff, where the 26 boat fleet will sit out a Biscay gale, was mainly a tactical upwind sprint, using and cheating the strong currents to best effect and also changes to wind strength and direction.

Class40 are scheduled to re start from Roscoff tomorrow, Saturday at 2200hrs (local time/CET).

Winning skipper Sébastien Rogues of GDF SUEZ, which has been the dominant Class 40 this season, recalled: “We were up with the leaders at the windward mark and on the long tack towards Barfleur with our gennaker up. Then the wind came in and was shifting constantly, big clouds and there was plenty of room for error but we did ok to be with the leading 10 boats at Barfleur. We then had a lot of tacks, so it is good to be sailing with a Figaro sailor for that! Lots of manouevres and we managed to do well…After Cherbourg we found ourselves on a port tack and then this morning the first bigger winds came in and really tested the boat hitting 18 knots, which was fun; it was real racing… We are really pleased to have taken shelter here. There is still a long way to go to the finish in Itajaí.”

Alex Pella, co-skipper of Tales Santander 2014, was very pleased to have made it into Roscoff in second place: “We had a big of a mistake which side to pass Guernsey, we tried a lot of times to get the best position but we made a mistake here. But fortunately the last third of the race was a long reach and we have a very fast boat and we came back again. But it was a great race, very close with a lot of tactical sailing and close with other boats. So now I am tired, very tired, but happy with second.”

Brian Thompson and Mike Gascoyne (GBR) on Caterham Challenge remained consistent through the leg, crossing in 11th place just over three minutes up on Miranda Merron (GBR) and Halvard Mabire (FRA) on Campagne de France.

In 15th place Britons Sam Goodchild and Ned Collier Wakefield (Concise 8) were taking some time to get to know their new boat, finding their straight line speed good but they felt they struggled more on the corners and transitions: “We are glad to have got here, it is a learning process as much as a race for us and doing things in the middle of the night is not the best way to learn, but we are OK. We are not too upset where we finished, we were in the mix but made a couple of mistakes and did get stopped at the start under a cloud, but it is all OK. We got stopped a little off Guernsey but we are happy with how the boat is going.”

The organisation of the Transat Jacques Vabre passed on their thanks to the CCI Morlaix and the giant Tri Prince de Bretagne for their help with Class40 in to Roscoff. The Breton food cooperative offered boxes of cherry tomatoes and strawberries trays ashore before their crossing of the Atlantic!

Meantime in the IMOCA Open 60 class the lead changed once again late this afternoon when François Gabart and Michel Desjoyeux returned to the front of the fleet as they passed the NW tip of Brittany on Macif. The two Vendée Globe winning skippers had dropped behind PRB and Safran during the strategic passages of the Channel Islands during the first night at sea but were 2.1 miles almost directly ahead of Vincent Riou and Jean Le Cam on PRB, but Macif was extending away slightly in the building SW’ly breeze.

In the Multi 50 race Yves Le Blevec and Kito de Pavant on Actual, race winners in 2011, were in control as they marched into what promises to be very difficult conditions tomorrow for the Multi 50’s especially, seeking to avoid the worst of a trough which holds a relatively short period of winds of 50-60kts which seems unavoidable but the timing of their approach will be critical.

And in the MOD70’s Sébastien Josse and Charles Caudrelier on Edmond de Rothschild still hold a small lead over Oman Air-Musandam of Sidney Gavignet and Damian Foxall.

See positions
http://www.transat-jacques-vabre.com/fr/classement

2011 Title Defenders

Monohull 60′:
Virbac-Paprec
Jean-Pierre DICK & Jérémie BEYOU
15days 18h 15min 54sec

Multihull 50′:
Actual
Yves LE BLEVEC & Samuel MANUARD
17days 17h 7min 43sec

Class 40′:
Aquarelle.com
Yannick BESTAVEN
& Éric DROUGLAZET
21days 17h 59min 8sec

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