Le Transat Paprec 2025 Contest
- Thread starter KevinS
- Start date
KevinS
Senior Insider
Here is an update - with a change in 3rd place which differs from the 8am graphic - from Race Control. (Remontada is Spanish for Comeback)
On this Tuesday morning, the leading trio remains unchanged with Wings of the Ocean (Alexis Thomas and Pauline Courtois, 1st), Cap St Barth (Cindy Brin and Thomas André, 2nd), and Skipper Macif (Charlotte Yven and Hugo Dhallenne, 3rd). Their choice to take a longer but safer northern route seems to be paying off all the way to the end. At the same time, the fleet continues to tighten: less than 60 nautical miles now separate the top 15 boats—heightening the suspense and testing the sailors’ nerves.
A Remontada in Full Swing
It took a football club winning the first leg of a prestigious competition 4-0, only to lose the second 6-1, for a new word to enter the vocabulary of sports—and beyond: “remontada.” Since its emergence in 2017, the term no longer belongs only to football. It implies a comeback, but not just any comeback—it’s the idea of returning when it seemed impossible, of coming back into the spotlight after being left in the dark.
At the Transat Paprec, the current “remontada” is both interesting and unprecedented—because it involves three-quarters of the fleet.
It all started with Lola Billy and Corentin Horeau (Région Bretagne – CMB Océane), who were delayed by a pit stop in Lisbon to replace their port rudder. They fought their way back into the pack. Then came this massive windless zone between the fleet and the Caribbean. The result? The leaders were the first to get stuck in it, allowing the chasing pack to catch up.
Some duos even came to a complete standstill—Charlotte Yven and Hugo Dhallenne (Skipper Macif) found themselves stuck at just 0.9 knots for a while!
Yet, “those who led the race up to this point are still among the front runners,” Francis added. The top three—Wings of the Ocean, Cap St Barth, and Skipper Macif—“may have a slight edge from having chosen a more northern route.”
But balance is fragile. Francis reminds us that “light winds are poorly modeled in this area”, and there’s “thunderstorm activity” and squalls to contend with.
In the next few hours, the sailors might catch a bit more wind, especially those on the northern track. But approaching the islands will be “complicated.”
This tricky weather, with its erratic winds, makes it difficult to accurately estimate the ETA of the leading boats.
But Francis emphasizes that “we’ll have to wait to refine these ETAs.”One thing seems clear: a close-fought finish is expected. In fact, the last two teams in the fleet—Ellie Driver and Oliver Hill (Women's Engineering Society, 17th) and Pier-Paolo Dean and Tiphaine Rideau (Les Banques Alimentaires, 16th)—are sailing up to 3 knots faster than the rest, and are rapidly closing the gap. A spectacular arrival in Saint-Barthélemy is on the horizon.
The crew is finally enjoying the surroundings:
Others captured the sunset in photos, like Maggie Adamson and Calanach Finlayson (Solan Ocean Racing) and Anaëlle Pattusch and Hugo Cardon (Humains en action).Martin Le Pape and Mathilde Géron were even photographed by a French cargo ship and had a chat via VHF.
Meanwhile, Ellie Driver and Oliver Hill took time to reflect on their close encounter with a whale.Cindy Brin and Thomas André busied themselves clearing flying fish that had landed all over their deck.
Romain Bouillard made a video starring “Poulpie,” his plush octopus:
Mathilde Géron discovered little notes written by her daughters:
The Remontada for Everyone
THE SIXTEENTH NIGHT
On this Tuesday morning, the leading trio remains unchanged with Wings of the Ocean (Alexis Thomas and Pauline Courtois, 1st), Cap St Barth (Cindy Brin and Thomas André, 2nd), and Skipper Macif (Charlotte Yven and Hugo Dhallenne, 3rd). Their choice to take a longer but safer northern route seems to be paying off all the way to the end. At the same time, the fleet continues to tighten: less than 60 nautical miles now separate the top 15 boats—heightening the suspense and testing the sailors’ nerves.
A Remontada in Full Swing
It took a football club winning the first leg of a prestigious competition 4-0, only to lose the second 6-1, for a new word to enter the vocabulary of sports—and beyond: “remontada.” Since its emergence in 2017, the term no longer belongs only to football. It implies a comeback, but not just any comeback—it’s the idea of returning when it seemed impossible, of coming back into the spotlight after being left in the dark.
At the Transat Paprec, the current “remontada” is both interesting and unprecedented—because it involves three-quarters of the fleet.
It all started with Lola Billy and Corentin Horeau (Région Bretagne – CMB Océane), who were delayed by a pit stop in Lisbon to replace their port rudder. They fought their way back into the pack. Then came this massive windless zone between the fleet and the Caribbean. The result? The leaders were the first to get stuck in it, allowing the chasing pack to catch up.
Some duos even came to a complete standstill—Charlotte Yven and Hugo Dhallenne (Skipper Macif) found themselves stuck at just 0.9 knots for a while!
Yet, “those who led the race up to this point are still among the front runners,” Francis added. The top three—Wings of the Ocean, Cap St Barth, and Skipper Macif—“may have a slight edge from having chosen a more northern route.”
An Arrival Expected Between Thursday Night and Friday Morning
But balance is fragile. Francis reminds us that “light winds are poorly modeled in this area”, and there’s “thunderstorm activity” and squalls to contend with.
In the next few hours, the sailors might catch a bit more wind, especially those on the northern track. But approaching the islands will be “complicated.”
This tricky weather, with its erratic winds, makes it difficult to accurately estimate the ETA of the leading boats.
- Some models predict an arrival at 10 p.m. on Thursday, May 8 (local time, 4 a.m. in mainland France).
- Others suggest 10 a.m. on Friday, May 9 (4 p.m. in mainland France).
But Francis emphasizes that “we’ll have to wait to refine these ETAs.”One thing seems clear: a close-fought finish is expected. In fact, the last two teams in the fleet—Ellie Driver and Oliver Hill (Women's Engineering Society, 17th) and Pier-Paolo Dean and Tiphaine Rideau (Les Banques Alimentaires, 16th)—are sailing up to 3 knots faster than the rest, and are rapidly closing the gap. A spectacular arrival in Saint-Barthélemy is on the horizon.
NEWS FROM THE FLEET
The crew is finally enjoying the surroundings:
Others captured the sunset in photos, like Maggie Adamson and Calanach Finlayson (Solan Ocean Racing) and Anaëlle Pattusch and Hugo Cardon (Humains en action).Martin Le Pape and Mathilde Géron were even photographed by a French cargo ship and had a chat via VHF.
Meanwhile, Ellie Driver and Oliver Hill took time to reflect on their close encounter with a whale.Cindy Brin and Thomas André busied themselves clearing flying fish that had landed all over their deck.
Romain Bouillard made a video starring “Poulpie,” his plush octopus:
Mathilde Géron discovered little notes written by her daughters:
KevinS
Senior Insider
As of 3pm ET Cap St Barth has taken the lead. Wings of the Ocean and Les Étoiles Filantes are close behind, just 2 miles back. Just behind them is Demain, catching up quickly. Demain (9.7 kts) has found more wind to the south than the leaders (1.5 - 3.3 kts) have found closer to the lay line.
KevinS
Senior Insider
As of 6pm ET the race has changed massively. The front of the pack has slowed, and the back of the pack has surged ahead. Cap St Barth and the other leaders are all but becalmed, with Cap St Barth dropping from 1st place to 11th place, and with Les Étoiles Filantes and Wings of the Ocean behind them. Demain, coming on strong at 3pm, has taken the lead, with Skipper Macif following 11.4 miles behind.
Jim Kelly-Evans
Senior Insider
Go team Skipper Macif!
LuckyKid
SBH Insider
An interesting article on the sailors’ struggles over the last day or so:
Transat-Paprec-Day-18
Transat-Paprec-Day-18
Jim Kelly-Evans
Senior Insider
6:06 Am EDT Skipper Macif in the lead! Go team!
