South pays big time

Cercle Verte pulls ahead in the Transat AG2R La Mondiale

As predicted, dividends are being paid out on a grand scale for those crews in the Transat AG2R La Mondialle who chose the southerly option, while the boats that edged to the north of this group have moved into the lead overnight.

While in the north Joseph Brault and Antoine Koch on Gaspe 7 were 50 miles ahead of them yesterday, so at the latest sched the tables have turned and Gildas Morvan and Bertrand de Broc on Cercle Verte have taken the lead and are now 50 miles in front of Gaspe 7.

However Cercle Verte's turn to the north may have been premature, for the latest sched shows that while she has managed 9.4 knots average over the last four hours, 50 miles to the south of her Britair and Banque Populaire have both averaged more than 10. If this continues, then by this evening it will be once again neck and neck among the southerly group.

But the race is far from over. There's 1150 miles left to go for Cercle Verte before reaching St Barts, or six days at her present pace, and within 24 hours the wind is forecast to even out over the race course with the wind veering slightly to the east for the northerly boats. On AGIR Recourvrement, the new leader in the northerly group, Adrien Hardy and Stanislas Maslard are already on starboard gybe heading for this new breeze.

Gildas Morvan reported this morning: "The wind has weakened since yesterday evening. The trade winds are between 15 and 18 nodes and the sea has flattened which is better - it is very pleasant. We have come back down to find stronger wind so we can accelerate - we did not have too much choice other than to take the southerly route as it was the only option that we saw. We are well positioned compared to our direct competitors (Savéol, Brit Air, Banque Populaire and Crédit Mutuel de Bretagne…) The days are hell when it is hottest. We have to take turns helming more often in order not to fry! It is much nicer at night when you can breath more easily. It is impossible to do  things impossible as it is too hot during the day… So we have a new brawl with our close competitors and it is very stimulating! We are all fighting to arrive first at Saint-Barth. On Cercle Verte, Bertrand and I do a lot of experiments and it is very rewarding and useful for the race."

See a more detailed version of the top image here courtesy of Expedition Navigation Systems and PredictWind.

Positions at 1030