La Transat Ag2r La Mondiale
- Thread starter KevinS
- Start date
stbartshopper
Senior Insider
When and how do we enroll in the contest? Looks like Soya Beans is in!
KevinS
Senior Insider
And then there were 18...
Saferail has been forced to retire from the race, and is returning to port. If I read the announcement correctly, one of the free has a back injury.
I’ll get some rules posted in the next day or two, and the contest will be on.
KevinS
Senior Insider
And then there were 16...
Two years ago, during the 2016 race, I learned a new word in French - démâtage, dismasted. Two of the boats have been dismasted. Macif and Sateco - Team Véndee Formation have both retired from the race and are headed for port.
The leaders are off the coast of Portugal, with Bretagne CMB Performance in the lead, and the 2nd and 3rd place boats less than 3 nautical miles (nm) back. Les Frigos Solidaires is at the rear, 154 nm back. Just over 3 days in, there are 3262 nm left to race.
Two years ago, during the 2016 race, I learned a new word in French - démâtage, dismasted. Two of the boats have been dismasted. Macif and Sateco - Team Véndee Formation have both retired from the race and are headed for port.
The leaders are off the coast of Portugal, with Bretagne CMB Performance in the lead, and the 2nd and 3rd place boats less than 3 nautical miles (nm) back. Les Frigos Solidaires is at the rear, 154 nm back. Just over 3 days in, there are 3262 nm left to race.
KevinS
Senior Insider
It looks OK to me. The image below is about an hour old. It shows Cournuaille - St Barth Solidarité skirting the Traffic Separation Scheme off of Cabo da Roca (westernmost point of Europe, major ocean shipping lanes), and apparently headed for the Lisbon area. The bulk of the fleet has passed offshore of Cabo de Saõ Vincente on the southwestern tip of Portugal, and is headed for the Canaries. Agir Recouvrement has taken the lead.
This hourly map is about 15 minutes old, and shows progress by the fleet.
KevinS
Senior Insider
5 days into the race, Bretagne CMB Performance has the lead. Agir Recouvrement sailed closer to Madeira than the other boats, and slipped to 3rd place. Cournuaille Solidarité St Barth has left Cascais, near Lisbon, and is back in the race in 16th place. The crew of Les Frigos Solidaires, the 15th-place boat, is considering climbing their mast to see what is causing halyards to chafe. I wouldn’t want to do that job in port, and certainly not while on the water...
La Palma in the Canary Islands is coming up soon. That’s the last waypoint before the boats can make a turn to the east and head for St Barth. It’s a big decision point. Some boats may stay to the north, taking a more direct route. Others may head farther south along the coast of Africa, looking to catch the tradewinds, and trade off longer distance for more wind and speed. It will be interesting to see what choices the boats make.
2716nm to go for the race leader.
La Palma in the Canary Islands is coming up soon. That’s the last waypoint before the boats can make a turn to the east and head for St Barth. It’s a big decision point. Some boats may stay to the north, taking a more direct route. Others may head farther south along the coast of Africa, looking to catch the tradewinds, and trade off longer distance for more wind and speed. It will be interesting to see what choices the boats make.
2716nm to go for the race leader.
KevinS
Senior Insider
The crew of Macaron French Pastries called some of the schoolchildren in Colombier today:
Ce matin un petit coup de téléphone a été donné aux enfants de la classe de Grande Section de Colombier en direct du Figaro #Macaronfrenchpastries!
Miguel a une voix sereine et posée... on ne sent pas la fatigue alors qu'il nous dit "on commence à pouvoir dormir un peu"...pour rappel, ils sont partis il y a 5 jours. Puis il nous raconte "on a vu beaucoup de dauphins, cette nuit on a eu une attaque de petits calamars ils ont sautés à bord! Hahaha... tout à l'heure des petites tortues jaunes nous ont suivies et on a même rencontré une baleine! Elle a sorti sa nageoire à 25 mètres du bateau comme pour nous faire coucou. On essaie de vous rappeler la semaine prochaine!..."
Les enfants affichent de larges sourires et crient en coeur "Les Macarons! Les Macarons! Les Macarons!"
As of the last position fix of the day, Les Macarons are in 9th place, 101nm back.
Ce matin un petit coup de téléphone a été donné aux enfants de la classe de Grande Section de Colombier en direct du Figaro #Macaronfrenchpastries!
Miguel a une voix sereine et posée... on ne sent pas la fatigue alors qu'il nous dit "on commence à pouvoir dormir un peu"...pour rappel, ils sont partis il y a 5 jours. Puis il nous raconte "on a vu beaucoup de dauphins, cette nuit on a eu une attaque de petits calamars ils ont sautés à bord! Hahaha... tout à l'heure des petites tortues jaunes nous ont suivies et on a même rencontré une baleine! Elle a sorti sa nageoire à 25 mètres du bateau comme pour nous faire coucou. On essaie de vous rappeler la semaine prochaine!..."
Les enfants affichent de larges sourires et crient en coeur "Les Macarons! Les Macarons! Les Macarons!"
As of the last position fix of the day, Les Macarons are in 9th place, 101nm back.
KevinS
Senior Insider
How Cournuaille Solidarité St Barth was able to replace their boom:
Solidarity among sailors - Cournuaille Solidarité St Barth broke their boom, and put into Cascais near Lisbon for repairs. Sateco-Team Vendée, which had been dismasted and put into a different Portuguese port, donated their boom so that the repair could be made. It took a rental car, a 120 mile drive, and some time, but the repair was made and Cournuaille Solidarité St Barth was able to rejoin the race.
Solidarity among sailors - Cournuaille Solidarité St Barth broke their boom, and put into Cascais near Lisbon for repairs. Sateco-Team Vendée, which had been dismasted and put into a different Portuguese port, donated their boom so that the repair could be made. It took a rental car, a 120 mile drive, and some time, but the repair was made and Cournuaille Solidarité St Barth was able to rejoin the race.
KevinS
Senior Insider
The first position fix of the day shows that course divergence is beginning. 3 boats are hugging La Palma, on the westernmost edge of the course. Armor Lux - Gedimat is taking a middle track, and the bulk of the fleet is headed closer to the Moroccan coast.
Screenshots in the AM, when tracks are clearer.
Screenshots in the AM, when tracks are clearer.
KevinS
Senior Insider
6 days in, three boats have stayed north of La Palma, and at in the lead. Two boats are taking a middle track through the Canaries, and are sticking closer to Tenerife. The rest of the boats are staying a little further east, closer to Gran Canaria.
I’m having trouble uploading the screenshot. I’ll try again later.
I’m having trouble uploading the screenshot. I’ll try again later.
