Into the Pacific

Groupama 3 now 400 miles ahead of Orange

Riding a strong band of northwesterlies preceeding a front, Groupama 3 has spend most of the last 48 hours heading southwest and over this time has dropped down from 49deg 14S to a chilly 55deg 30S before she gybed back at 0500 this morning.

She has passed to the south of New Zealand and significantly is now beyond the position where two years ago her Jules Verne Trophy attempt met such a grisly end. Her current position has her 860 miles southeast of New Zealand. But the particularly good news is that the conditions have allowed for some fast sailing and she has now banked more than 400 miles advance over the record holder, Bruno Peyron's Orange 2. This is the first time since her tricky first arrival in the Southern Ocean that Groupama 3 has been to the south of Orange 2's track and able to sail a shorter course. The giant tri has also now crossed the international date line, passing back into the western hemisphere at around 2130 GMT last night

Weather-wise Groupama 3 is currently to the north of a double centred depression located at around 66degS and in between two fronts that has seen the wind back from the northwest to southwest kicking up the sea state - hence her reduced speed since the gybe. The forecast has the wind remaining generally in the west, but the formation of the depression to her south remains unusual and come Sunday for example this system is effectively split in three spanning east to west a 2000 mile wide area from New Zealand into the mid-Pacific. On Sunday it's most eastern side is elongating up to the northeast providing 30 knot WSWerly winds for Groupama 3. The forecast has his eastern lobe of the depression forming its own depression and this will require Groupama 3 to remain up in the low 50s if she is to leave it to starboard. Aside from this her progress looks good to get to Cape Horn ahead of Orange 2, which had a very fast Pacific crossing.