Leg two sets off today

Mini Transat resumes today with a 3,130 mile leg from Funchal to Bahia

The second and substantially longer leg of the Charente Maritime Bahia Transat 6.50 sets sail from Funchal, Madeira today (Thursday) at 1330 local time, taking the 77 remaining competitors 3,130 miles down the Atlantic, across the Doldrums and the Equator to Salvador de Bahia, Brazil.

Denis Hugues, Race Director, states: "The second leg takes the yachts into the southern hemisphere. They’ll head down towards the Canaries, where they are free to choose their route past or through them. There’ll be a few opportunities to get ahead between the islands of the archipelago, where the winds often pick up speed. But they’ll have to watch out for the significant becalming effect caused by the mountainous terrain of some islands [Tenerife, whose highest point stands at 3700 metres, creates a lee the effect of which can be felt up to 50 miles downwind]. The competitors will then find themselves following the trade winds towards the Cape Verdes, where the Minis’ position as they sail through the archipelago will decide which direction they take to get to the Doldrums.

"A gate of the course remains between Maio, the easternmost island in the archipelago, and San Antao, the westernmost. This will force the fleet to stay together for safety reasons. They’ll then have to position themselves as well as possible to approach the Doldrums, where the winds from the northern hemisphere meet those of the southern hemisphere. It’s a particularly tricky area where boats can be without wind for hours and then suddenly get caught up in a 50-knot squall. You therefore need to be on your toes the whole time to make sure you get out of the area as fast as possible. Some competitors may be caught out on the way through, and there may be a few surprises.

"Once across the Equator, and having made the traditional offering to Neptune, the competitors will pick up the southeast trades taking them to Salvador de Bahia. The ideal route is to go as far west as possible at the Doldrums and the Equator and emerge as far to the east as possible: as the dominant winds in the southern hemisphere will be east and south-east! In 2003, there were a number of surprises three days from the finishing line. Some of the favourites lost dismasted as a result of a stationary front over Salvador de Bahia that created a very strong swell … Nothing is ever finished! Obviously, all the competitors, from first to last, will be awaited with the same eagerness on the jetties of Salvador de Bahia.”
 
Weather trends… by Météo Consult.

The presence of a depression from Morocco to Guinea will lead to the development of unstable NNE flow around the Canaries. This depression will stop the evolution of high near the Azores. A low to moderate wind will strengthen between the Canaries and Cape Verdes. This will promote the speed and will force competitors to make many gybes. They should however be very careful because it will remain conducive to the development of thunderstorms.

Thursday, October 13, 2011
Unstable NNE force 3 towards the open sea. Sunny weather. Wind strengtheninh to Force 4 at night.

Friday, October 14, 2011
The wind becomes more organized Force 4 from the NNE. The air mass becomes unstable to the northwest of the Canary Islands. This increases the risk of storms.

Saturday 15 and Sunday October 16, 2011

On the approach of the Canary Islands on Saturday, the wind may shift to the northeast. The air becomes very unstable south of the Canaries. The risk of thunderstorms and strong gusts becomes higher in the afternoon and at night. If wind conditions remain through until Sunday, the air mass could become very unstable with strong thunderstorms and severe squalls.

Trend for next week
Persistence of the NNE moderate winds for the start of week, stronger near the Cape Verdes. The instability will decrease.

The Charente Maritime-Bahia Transat 6.50 is scored on the combined elapsed times for the first and second legs. So at present between the lead Protos, 28 minutes separates leg one winner Sébastien Rogues and David Raison while 1 hour 32 minutes back from Rogues is third placed Jorg Riechers. 20 prototypes remain within 12 hours of the leader going into this second leg and 27 within 24 hours.

In the Series class Benoit Mariette is 51 minutes ahead of Clement Bouyssou and 1 hour 28 minutes in front of Davy Beaudart. There are 16 boat within 12 hours of the leader and 36 within 24 hours of him.

Among the Brits, Dan Dytch on Soitec arrived in Funchal in 12th place, and has an 8.5 hour deficit on the Proto leader while Pip Hare on The Potting Shed, currently 29th, has 16 hours to make up on the Series leader. With more than 3000 miles still to sail there is still a lot of racing to be played out. 

Leg 1 times

Protos:

Series