Off again

The Mini Transat sets sail from Madeira on its long final leg to Brazil

At 14:02 exactly, the 83 competitors still competing in the Charente-Maritime / Bahia Transat 6.50 set off in front of the city of Funchal (Madeira - Portugal) on the second and at 3,100 miles, the longest leg of the race, bound for the finish at Salvador de Bahia, Brazil.

Most started under reefed main and solent, the goa being to avoid collisions and get out as quickly as possible and out of the proximity of the 82 other hulls! So, François Cuinet on Plan Jardin was the first Proto to pass the buoy off the Funchal Naval Club followed by Thomas Ruyant on Faber France and Nicolas Boidevezi on Défi DGE and Hervé Aubry on Ville de Pornichet among the Series boats.

Race forecasters, Meteo Consult warn of harsh conditions and brain teaser for the next 48 hours. "A low is established near the Azores at 1000 hPa and will slightly widen by shifting east," they predict. "It extends its influence on Madeira with an unstable southwesterly stream. Further east, a ridge of high pressure is set up at 1020 hPa. Next to the African coast it changes to become a low northwesterly flow. On Sunday, all these systems shift east. A moderate south-west flow is always present. On Monday, the ridge of high pressure is established over the Canaries, with southwesterly unstable winds to the west of these islands."

So the goal is to reach the latitude of the Canaries and take on the high pressure ridge which separates the south/south-west flow generated by a depression located over the Azores and the famous north-east trade winds. And the first to find the northeast shift gain a leap on his pursuers.

Prior to leaving Series leader, Portugal's Francisco Lobato, skipper of ROFF TMN commented: "This first part will be a little difficult. This is not the mild weather from La Rochelle, where we had to jibe to a specific point and pass near Cape Finisterre... There we will have to think a little. This is not the lottery, but we will have to turn at the right time and know exactly where we are compared to the weather system. For me, my idea is to stay in the package. Then there is a long way to come back at the head of the fleet. I do feel like I will feel concern. Pressure? The others have it, not me..."