Fast first night

Ultimate class leaders already approaching Cape Finisterre in the Route du Rhum

See the 0700 sched below and a big version of the above chart here

Images courtesy of Expedition navigation software and PredictWind.

The 40 knot winds for the Ultimate class during their first night at sea have not materialised to the horrendous degree being forecast even 24 hours out from the start of the Route du Rhum-La Banque Postale. In fact with 20-25 knot northerlies since they rounded Ushant at around midnight, the front runners in the Ultimate class have been enjoying big speeds in the mid-20s. A wide variety of tactics are being displayed play with Groupama 3 the furthest east and looking to just lay Cape Finistere (just 150 miles away at the latest sched...), Sodebo some 77 miles further west and Sidney Gavignet on Majan Oman Air taking a course furthest west, currently 80 miles northwest of Sodebo. IDEC and Gitana are further back, on a course between those of Sodebo and Groupama.

The reason for these variations is probably due to each skipper's decision over whether they are going to go north or south of the zone of high pressure that is currently Portugal-bound. At their present speeds the leaders in the Ultimate class look like they will be able to scoot past the east end of the high before the 'door closes' sometime tomorrow morning. Given their present trajectories it appears that Sodebo and Majan Oman Air may be trying to take on the north side of the high and the headwinds here as this looks like it might be the favourable route in the long term if the trade winds peter out to the south towards the end of the week.

If thedailysail's form guide is panning out (ish) in the Ultimate class, then it absolutely isn't in the IMOCA 60s. They passed Ushant in the early hours this morning and now, like the Ultimate class, the boats are fanning out. While Jean-Pierre Dick and his new Virbac Paprec 3 got off to the strongest start yesterday, the latest sched has Roland Jourdain on board Veolia Environnment, formerly Seb Josse's ill-fated BT, into the lead, while Christopher Pratt is punching above his weight on his first major IMOCA 60 event, lying in second. Meanwhile Kito de Pavant on Groupe Bel has speared off on a more southerly course and while further away from the great circle is leading the race southwest.

Groupe Bel is currently the nearest to Cape Finistere, the northwest corner of Spain, some 256 miles away and it seems possible that the lead IMOCA 60s such as her, may be able to squeeze around the eastern side of the high too, but most seem to be lining up to remain to the north.

In the Multi 50s the story is very similar with Franck-Yves Escoffier's Crepes Whaou! 3 leading the charge south, ahead of Yves le Blevec's Actual, while 2006 Route du Rhum winner Lionel Lemonchois has speared off to the west and is now leading by virtue of being closer to the great circle, aboard his Irens-Cabaret designed Prince de Bretagne. The south-bound 50ft trimarans are some 50 miles ahead of the lead IMOCA 60s, so they too have the ability to get down the east side of the high.

The monos - click on image to enlarge

Leaders in the 44 strong fleet of Class 40s rounded Ushant at around 0400 this morning and at the latest sched it is double Velux 5 Oceans winner Bernard Stamm and his Cheminees Poujoulat that has taken the lead, although since the start first place has been juggled between Sam Manuard on Vecteur Plus, Yvan Noblet on the former Telecom Italia, Appart City, and our favourite double Solitaire du Figaro winner Nicolas Troussel on Credit Mutuel de Bretagne. Stamm has done an impressive job over the early hours of this morning, pulling out a lead of 6.8 miles taking the middle of the course to second placed Sam Manuard who is to the north, while Troussel is diving south, with another favourite, last year's Mini Transat winner Thomas Rouxel lying in between, in turn leading a group that includes the Route du Rhum's two lone British competitors: Richard Tolkien on ICAP ORCA and Pete Goss on DMS.

How the next 24 hours plays out, the choice of going south versus going west, could well be crucial to determining the outcome to this year's Route du Rhum.