2,000 miles in advance

On their Jules Verne Trophy attempt the Banque Populaire crew are awaiting the onset of the next front

Chart above courtesy of Expedition/Tasman Bay Navigation Systems and PredictWind

Banque Populaire is currently in a transitional phase as she attempts to keep above 50°S to avoid a zone of ice to the south while her crew awaits the onset of the next depression and its associated front. After the latter part of yesterday was spent heading northeast, at around midnight UTC last night the Loick Peyron-skippered maxi-tri gybed back to the southwest. With the wind in the west, Banque Populaire wants to head dead downwind so she will continue to gybe down this section of the course for the next 24 hours as the westerly wind slowly builds as the depression to their south rumbles east. Gybing downwind, Banque Populaire's 24 hour average down the course has plummeted to a mere 500 miles/day - the lowest its been since she crossed the Doldrums... However her crew can remain bullish - in the early hours of this morning her lead over Jules Verne Trophy record holder Groupama 3 for the first time exceeded 2,000 miles.

The next big landmark Banque Populaire will pass is Cape Leeuwin, SW Australia, some 1300 miles down the course for her. While the next 24 hours look relatively benign, by tomorrow morning the depression her crew is awaiting will be to her south centred at around 63°S but the potential danger will come when the centre of this depression on Friday night heads northeast into the Furious Fifties bringing with it 40-50 knot winds in Banque Populaire's area of the course.