Transat AG2R: Leaders extend

Trade winds fill in as leaders predict a big detour south to avoid the high

Chart courtesy of Expedition/Tasman Bay Navigation Systems and GRIB (European model) from PredictWind

Positions at 0930 UTC:

Overnight the trade winds have filled in for the Transat AG2R fleet with the wind back up to 18-25 knots as most of the boats have put in another gybe back to southwest to avoid the high to their north that continues to err south. However among the second wave of boats, including the likes of the Spanish team on GAES, have gybed back and have been recording the highest speeds in the fleet.

The leaders appear to have extended once again, now 40 miles ahead but once again this doesn't provide an entirely accurate picture due to them being in the north closer to the great circle than the rest of the boats. Overnight Gildas Morvan and Charlie Dalin on Cercle Verte has regained the lead from Nacarat, but again this has been due to them being further north, after Nacarat gybed while Cercle Verte didn't but Nacarat remains further west at the latest sched.

For the fleet the dilemma remains between sailing south to avoid the high but sailing more miles or shaving the high in less wind but having to sail less miles. On Cercle Verte Gildas Morvan says that they reckons that they won't turn right until they are around 11°N, around the latitude of Trinidad and Tobago in around three or four days time, compared to 20°N where they are now.

Morvan commented: "The wind returned late yesterday with 17-20 knots. Nacarat annoyed us, so we decided to separate! It's like friends on Facebook - sometimes you're friends and other times you're not! Our routing has us going a long way south. We should manage to stay in fairly steady wind down low, to around 11°N. It's rare to have to go so far south. But we're still in an observation phase: we look, we monitor speeds, as the wind is very irregular."

So Artemis' positioning furthest south, still might reap rewards...

From Nacarat Erwan Tabarly added: "Last night we decided to gybe and Cercle Verte did not follow. We headed off to the south on port while Cercle Verte continued on the starboard and finds herself leading this morning. We avoid looking at the scheds too much. Yesterday we averaged 7 knots. The trade winds are fairly light, but overnight, the wind strengthened and there we were able to make 8-9 knots. We're going south because the anticyclone will other block our path, but we need to know how far south we need to go to get around it. We are still after the best compromise. It will take us on a long detour."