Gentle start

Henri-Paul Shipman and Pierre Canevet lead at the start of the Transat AG2R La Mondiale

The 25 doublehanded Figaros competing in the Transat AG2R La Mondiale set sail from the Bay of Concarneau today at 1400 (local), bound for St Barts via a gate to the northwest of the Canary Islands. But the first hours of the 3,890 mile long course were set to be light.

“To leave, is a reward after long busy weeks preparing the boat,” said former Mini sailor Bertrand Delesne, sailing with Laurent Gouezigoux on Trier C’est Preserver.

And so in brilliant sunshine the 25 Figaros started this afternoon in a 6-8 knot northeasterly on a course around the Bay of Concarneau for the benefit of spectators before they could set out across the Bay of Biscay. The start was watched by the crews of some 200 spectator craft. Eric Peron and Gwen Riou on Skipper Macif 2009 were fastest out of the blocks with Ronan Treussart and Yannick Clech on Lufthansa which were first to the buoy off the Figaro stronghold of Port-La-Forêt.

At the final buoy before heading off proper it was another former Mini sailor, Henri-Paul Shipman and Pierre Canevet on board Maisons de l'Avenir – Urbatys that had taken the lead.

The forecast for the first few hours of the race was for 5-8 knots but with the direction varying. At present the weather in the North Atlantic has flipped – hence the volcanic ash chaos. So there is the most famous area of high pressure in history oddly located to the south of Greenland at present and with a depression fairly static over the Azores. So for the boats there is slightly better pressure to the west, ad starboard gybe seemed favoured but the crossing of the often ominous Bay of Biscay looks set to be quite benign. The forecast has the wind veering from the northeast to east tomorrow as the fleet slips down the eastern side of the depression.

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 Image below courtesy of Expedition Navigation Systems and PredictWind