Almost a day ahead after four days...

Groupama 3 puts in an enormous opening innings

Monday November 9th 2009, Author: James Boyd, Location: United Kingdom
Image above courtesy of Expedition and Predict Wind
 
 
Time
Lat
Long
Spd
Crs
Spd
Dist
DTF
V Orange 2
Inst
24 hours
09/11/2009 22:00
10°37.73 N
028°56.49 W
28.1
182°
25.9
622.7
21918
574.4
09/11/2009 18:00
12°29.95 N
028°55.23 W
24.4
190°
26
623.9
22 030
502.1
09/11/2009 15:00
13°43.33 N
028°53.44 W
23.8
182°
26.4
633.9
22 103
472.7
09/11/2009 11:00
15°17.51 N
028°39.76 W
25.4
191°
26.9
644.7
22 197
428.3
09/11/2009 08:00
16°29.26 N
028°31.18 W
27.9
197°
27.8
666
22 268
397.8
09/11/2009 05:00
17°48.94 N
028°03.36 W
27.5
193°
28
672.1
22 346
364.2
09/11/2009 02:00
19°09.04 N
027°41.72 W
27.1
199°
28.5
683.6
22 426
333.2
08/11/2009 23:00
20°24.28 N
027°12.59 W
28.5
201°
28.9
694.7
22 500
311.5
08/11/2009 21:00
21°16.36 N
026°49.98 W
28.3
203°
29.1
699
22 552
299.7
 
Incredible - Groupama 3 continues on pack on the miles compared to Orange 2's reference time and at her latest poll she is 574 miles ahead of Bruno Peyron's catamaran - or almost a day ahead in maxi-trimaran terms, not a bad effort considering they have only been at sea a little over four days...

Having whizzed by the Cape Verdes over the course of this morning, 200 or so miles to the west of them, the next stop (possibly) is the Doldrums. Judging from their course their strategy is pretty clear. They are now heading due south on around 29degW and the weather satellite image from earlier this evening shows there to be precious little to hold them up there - a little activity at 6degN.

In 2008 Groupama 3 set a new record from Brest to the Equator of 6 days 6 hours 24 minutes, five hours two minutes faster than the previous record holder, Geronimo in 2003. Provided she isn't held up too much tomorrow morning as she dispatches the Doldrums, she could be on track to be a day faster to the Equator than her previous time!

At midday today Fréd Le Peutrec reported: "This lunchtime, we're just a stone's throw away from a squall which is about to hit... We're sailing under large gennaker, staysail and full mainsail. We've performed a fair number of manoeuvres since gybing off Madeira. We're staying on the same heading but constantly adjusting the sail area. Six or seven of us at a time are carrying out all the manoeuvres according to which sails need changing ; that way the resting watch can conserve their energy. The preparation we've been doing since the spring is bearing fruit: the manoeuvres are smooth and quick. Things are going really well amidst an atmosphere of total mutual trust. The only relative difficulty is getting to sleep in the intense heat."

Meanwhile navigator Stan Honey continues to be on the mend, says le Peutrec: "He has a lot on his plate monitoring developments in the weather: it's reassuring to see that he's better as he really wasn't very well at all for the first few hours. We thought it was due to the violent introduction, but it was something else: after suffering with migraines and a fever, he's fighting fit now... The point of impact with the Doldrums is something he's been working on for what has already been two days, with Sylvain Mondon, our onshore router, but we're having to adapt to the direction and strength of the wind. We hope it'll be virtually inexistent!"

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