With under 400 nautical miles separating leader Yoann Richomme on his IMOCA Paprec-Arkéa from the finish line it is going to be fascinating to see how this 2024 Transat CIC plays out. For a whole number of safety reasons the race finish line is 120 miles offshore of New York and so it is very much a direct sprint to the line with the exclusion zone to the racers’ north funnelling the peloton towards the line. This morning Richomme got to less than two miles from the boundary and has just gybed at what he considers to be a safe limit. He is still making 17-18kts boatspeed in very unsettled conditions. Germany’s Boris Herrmann (Malizia Seaexplorer) has sailed himself into a strong position for the final sprint and is up to second position, progressively outpacing Charlie Dalin (MACIF Santé et Prévoyance).
Boris is just under 70 miles behind Richomme and has been the quickest for periods through the last 12 hours, his new foil upgrade clearly speeding up his VPLP design. In fourth Sam Davies (Initiatives Coeur) is in the match and is just seven miles behind Dalin. In Class40 side, Ambrogio Beccaria (Alla Grande Pirelli) widened the gap as leader in tough conditions
For the lead group of IMOCAs the question is how much the breeze is going to ease off. At the moment the NE’ly is holding out and the high pressure ridge which is developing running NE-SW will bring light winds but perhaps not as light as expected a couple of days ago and the top peloton might be able to be through the worst. The second group, led by Alan Roura (HUBLOT) in 11th and 360 miles behind Richomme, have a much more direct course into the line.
“It’s been super cold, the water must be at 2° and the air not much more,” reported leader Yoann yesterday afternoon. “We went from 15°C to less than 5°C in one day,” explained Maxime Sorel. “We had big, unruly seas, quite chaotic and we have to fight so that the boat does not crash.” ‘Max’ says. The unruly seas are caused by the Gulf Stream currents which swirl and the wind which is mixed with all the pockets of very cold air and warmer cells.
Behind, Maxime Sorel (V and B – Monbana – Mayenne), further south than his direct opponents, is under threat from Vendée Globe winner Yannick Bestaven (Maitre Coq V, 6th) to his north and a trio from Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée, 7th). ), Damien Seguin (APICIL Group, 8th) and Justine Mettraux (Team Work-Team SNEF, 9th) The Swiss skipper spoke of “not an easy night yesterday. I tried to get a good rest but the conditions are so unstable that it’s difficult to sleep. I am preparing again to seek big conditions.” And the navigator added: “we saw some escape, we will do everything to get back on them! » D.C.
Among the Class40s, racing downwind north of a depression, nothing is easy either. At the head of the race, Ambrogio Beccaria confirmed and lengthened his stride. Yesterday afternoon, he wanted to be cautious: “there are lots of things that will happen in the next five days. We have almost one weather phenomenon per day! » He is now more than 50 miles ahead of Ian Lipinski (Crédit Mutuel) and more than 70 miles ahead of Fabien Delahaye (LEGALLAIS).
