47 mile lead for the mighty scow

Italian Proto due at the Puerto Calero turning mark tomorrow in the Mini Transat

As of 15.00 UTC in the Mini Transat, Giancarlo Pedote on Prysmian was only 130 miles from Lanzarote, the first mark of the course after the start from Sada. If the wind holds up, he should pass the waypoint at at around three on Sunday morning. Achieving this would mean that the front of the fleet will have taken less than four days to cover the 950 miles between the start line and the first gate.

It would seem that the Minis have all forgotten where the brake pedal is having averaged around 250 miles a day bound for gate located just off Puerto Calero, Lanzarote, at an average speed of a little more than ten knots. In the big conditions, many sailors have had the misfortunate to sustain damage, some inconsequential, others are more serious with many of the Mini sailor forced to make pitstops for repairs or to retire.

Switzerland may be a land locked country but in the Mini Transat, Aymeric Belloir (Tout le Monde chante contre le Cancer) does not need any convincing - he has two Swiss sailors snapping hard at his heels: Swiss-German Simon Koster (Go 4 it) and Justine Mettraux (TeamWork) who is Swiss/French.

Behind them, Renaud Mary (www.runo.fr) is reaping the rewards from his option to stay inshore, while Jean-Baptiste Lemaire (Œuvre du Marin Breton) has chosen the most western route of the entire fleet. Others, such as Florian Mausy (Foksaglisse), has stayed true to his principles and opted for an almost direct route from Cape Finisterre to Lanzarote. Keeping the boat safe under reduced sail, he is currently holding 14th place in the Series ranking.

In the Protos, Giancarlo Pedote has a cushion of some 40 miles advantage on a group of three consisting of Bertrand Delesne (TeamWork Proto), Benoît Marie (benoitmarie.com) and Nicolas Boidevezi (Nature Addicts). He has clearly demonstrated that he knows how to get the very best out of his Raison-designed Scow. He is still in the first quarter of the race, but the Italian sailor has yet to put a foot wrong.

Damage

Gilles Avril (Evolution Marine) took the option to purchase a Proto hull and completed the construction himself. He should be rightly proud of the result. Unfortunately, a drifting log was right in his path when his boat's bow hit the log square on with considerable force. Avril decided not to trigger his EPIRB: instead he set off a 'request for assistance' from his ARGOS beacon, and then waited patiently for the race's escort boat to arrive while his boat filled with water.

As the support boat, Benoît Parnaudeau's Class40, arrived, Avril transfered across with composure and professionalism and his transfer occurred without a hitch. He first inflated hislife raft, then climbed aboard it and allowed it to drift back so the Class40 could come alongside and secure it. Avril was then able to safely board the Class40.

Aboard Paris Texas, Ludovic Méchin appears to be sailing towards the coast of Morocco at low speed. The skipper has keyed the 'presence on board button' on his ARGOS beacon to incidate that all is well and he does not require assistance. This is also the situation of Nolwen Carlan (Reality) who is also making slow progress. As in other cases, the skippers are trying to resolve their equipment issues on their own.

Protos at 15.00 UTC

1. Giancarlo Pedote (747 – Prysmian) with 2872.6 nm to finish
2. Bertrand Delesne (754 – TeamWork Proto) + 47.2 nm
3. Benoit Marie (667 – benoitmarie.com) + 52.5 nm
4. Nicolas Boidevezi (719 – Nature Addicts) + 58.2 nm
5. Julien Pulvé (802 – MEXT-ICA) + 75.1 nm

Series at 15.00 UTC

1. Aymeric Belloir (810 – Tout le Monde chante contre le Cancer) with 2947.9 nm to finish
2. Simon Koster (819 – Go 4 it) + 9.9 nm
3. Justine Mettraux (824 - TeamWork) + 22.2 nm
4. Renaud Mary (535 – www.runo.fr) + 35.5 nm
5. Jean-Baptiste Lemaire (607 – Œuvre du Marin Breton) +49.8 nm