Mini Pavois to set off in 25 knots tomorrow

42 boats to take the start line of the Mini's solo race

Postponed until Wednesday, the first leg of the Mini Pavois from La Rochelle to Gijon, Spain is set to be lively with northerly, northeasterly winds expected to be blowing at 20-25 knots. The wind will gradually back north and then northwest and weaken and there is a real prospect of the boats running out of wind by Thursday night. So there should be plenty of sails changes and trimming on this first leg..

While the first 245 nm leg to Spain could be covered in just over 24 hours, that is in perfect conditions. But with a downwind start and a finish harder on the breeze there is also the option over whether boats should keep west to provide a faster angle on the approach to Spanis. 

So following the delay due to gale force winds in the Bay of Biscay, 42 boats are due to start on Wednesday at 11:00, following the withdrawals of Veronique Loisel, Ewan Stirling, Pierre Boivin, David Prono and Benoît Amalric. Ultimately the fleet will comprise 17 Protos  and 25 Series boats.

Eric Mas from Meteo Consult provides his forecast: "The Mediterranean low pressure is gradually filling in, in the morning (1002 hPa at noon) in the Gulf de Lyon before moving toward the Gulf of Genoa during the afternoon. In the mean time, the high pressure off Ireland collapses slightly (1030 hPa at midday) while moving away to the north. The pressure gradient really slackens in the Bay of Biscay and the conditions are improving gradually. At noon, in La Rochelle, the wind forecast will be NNE force 5 gusting to 25 knots. Offshore it is the same with the waves slowly weaken. The waves height is then limited to 2m50 max. It is sunnier and with fewer showers, the visibility is most of the time excellent. At night, from Wednesday to Thursday, on the direct route to Gijon, the conditions continue to weaken slowly."