Today, Monday 23 January, at the Dusseldorf Boat Show, the much anticipated 2012 MOD70 European Tour was unveiled. Starting on 29 August, five weeks of intensive racing will see the six competing MOD70s race nearly 5,000 miles in a mix of offshore competition, and races in the heart of five cities in five countries : Germany, Ireland, Portugal, France and Italy.
The six MOD70s are helmed by skippers with some of the biggest hauls of oceanic medals – Michel Desjoyeaux, Sebastien Josse, Sidney Gavignet, Roland Jourdain, Steve Ravussin and Yann Guichard. The teams will be setting off from Kiel in Germany, on the Baltic Sea, towards the east coast of Ireland, after a rather unfamiliar passage via the North coast of the Shetland Islands which will see the teams reach 60° North – as far north as Cape Horn is south.

After stopping off in the Emerald Isle, the teams will tackle the descent of the North Atlantic, heading for Cascais in Portugal, for an eight-day stopover before heading east.

Beyond the Pillars of Hercules, the MOD70s will cross the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea to tie up at the feet of the Bonne Mère in Marseille (France), while the final leg of the European Tour 2012 will take the MOD70s on a big looped circuit around the islands of Corsica and Sardinia, prior to climbing up to an Italian port looking out onto the Ligurian Sea…

At the end of this tour of Europe, the fleet will have covered 5,000 miles and crossed seven seas and one ocean.

Start : Kiel, Germany,  2 September :

Steeped in maritime tradition, Kiel is the city which played host to the Course de l’Europe during the first edition back in 1985, and again in 1997, for the 4th leg. For this 2012 edition of the MOD70 European Tour, the local authorities were the first to commit themselves wholeheartedly to the project. Alongside KIEL.SAILING CITY, the online gambling company, Betfair, will be present at both the legendary Kiel Week, to be held in June 2012, and the German stopover for the MOD70 European Tour 2012.

Uwe Wanger, Managing Director of Kiel Marketing GmbH : “In collaboration with Betfair, we’re proud to play host to the first leg of the European Tour, an event that forms part of the MOD70 circuit, for their first race in Germany. These spectacular boats represent technology at its highest level – a point they have in common with our new partner Betfair. With this stopover, we’ll be punctuating a series of prestigious sailing gatherings and we’re hoping for between 50.000 and 80,000 spectators at the heart of Kiel to witness the racing.”

Marco Simeoni, President of MOD Ltd. : “Today we’re happy to be able to present the first edition of the race around Europe, aboard MOD70s. Since 2009, we’ve been working on putting together a one-design class and a coherent circuit for racers, boat owners and our partners. With the current economic context colouring Europe, things haven’t been easy but we’ve managed to pull it off. The cities of Kiel, Marseille and Cascaïs are the first three cities to have signed up alongside us and the contracts with the remaining two cities involved in this project will be signed in the coming days. Featuring 5,000 miles, 5 countries, 5 host venues and 5 City races, this MOD European Tour will be the setting for a competitive and cultural oasis! Thanks to the one-design format, which guarantees sporting equity, we’re sure to witness some great on-the-water confrontations between the MOD70 crews competing in this 2012 season.”

Hervé Favre, Event Manager OC ThirdPole : “To organise a European tour is an opportunity to revive the great moments in the history of oceanic multihulls, but it’s also a genuine challenge in every possible way. This is true in logistical terms first of all, as not all the ports in Europe can accommodate 6 or 7 trimarans measuring 22 metres long and 17 metres wide. It’s also true in sporting terms, with the need to construct a balanced circuit and some interesting legs, with around 3 days spent at sea between cities. Finally there’s the marketing aspect, with our desire to select cities whose image and notoriety are recognised on the international playing field, and who are keen to communicate their outward-looking attitude to the sea. We’ve also endeavoured to involve the Teams and their partners, who have guided the final decisions. Launching a new event is never easy, particularly today, but we’re proud of this very fine course, which will support the increase in power of the new Multi One Design Class”.

Michel Desjoyeaux, skipper of the MOD70 Foncia: “This MOD70 version of the European Tour 2012 will be the second event of the season. It will be longer and more intensive than the Krys Ocean Race, but I bet you that the crew of Foncia will be very much into their stride! Added to that, the European Tour isn’t a complete unknown for me as I raced aboard Crédit Agricole, the winning boat in the first edition back in 1985. I sailed it again in 1993, aboard La Poste. It’s always a real thrill because there are a number of intriguing passages to be negotiated. The race zone really deserves to be highlighted! Alternating between offshore legs and inshore events appeals to me since it’ll give us the opportunity to show our different guests what the MOD 70 Foncia is all about during the stopovers. These moments of sharing and exchanges aboard our fantastic machines are always rich and interesting.”

Sidney Gavignet, skipper of the MOD70 Oman Sail : “Our MOD70s are capable of covering great distances in a short space of time so they’re really cut out for this type of course around Europe! For my part, I’ve already had the opportunity to compete in European races in 1993 and 1997. I have some very fond memories of them with some great battles on the water. I expect nothing less in this edition.
This European Tour really ties in with the agenda that my partner OMAN had in mind, which involves promoting tourism among the European public across the sultanate.”

Yann Guichard, skipper of the MOD70 Spindrift racing : “I’m more familiar with transatlantic events and this will be my first participation in a European Tour. I’m very enthusiastic about the idea of helming my MOD70 Spindrift Racing over this course, which will enable me to discover the race zones, particularly as regards the first leg between Kiel and Ireland. Another first for me is alternating between offshore and inshore races, especially over the course of a month! It’s going to be raced at a steady pace and we’ll have to be consistent and perform well, whatever the race format.”

Roland Jourdain, skipper of the MOD70 Veolia Environnement: “It promises to be an enthralling sail… Already at the time of the multihull, and also the monohull, all the racers adored the race. On a sporting level, it’s a superb mix of offshore and coastal courses. On a multihull we’re sure to have a ball!”

Stève Ravussin, skipper of the MOD70 Race for Water : “Germany is a great country for sailors, as it has a particularly important place on the map of Europe. As such I’m very happy and proud to be part of this first European Tour in Kiel. Adventure, speed and adrenalin, a mixture of spectacular offshore races and city races on an equal footing… it is the epitome of everything I love about sailing! In addition to the sports competition, I’m delighted to be able to raise awareness amongst adults and children about problems relating to water… Indeed, with the MOD 70 Race For Water, ambassador for the Multi One Attitude Foundation, we’re going to spread this message to the four corners of Europe as well as battling to sail some fantastic races!”

Sébastien Josse, skipper of the MOD70 Edmond de Rothschild Group : “T he European Tour is proposing an ambitious programme and it will be a difficult race. For three weeks we’re going to link together a series of offshore and city race formats at a steady pace and the team will have very little time to catch their breath. This second event of the 2012 season will showcase the crews’ stamina and their ability to adapt to the switches in format. The North-South route of the race is likely to provide us with some highly varied conditions. The northern part may give us some really lively conditions at that time of year, whilst the second part, in southern Europe, should prove to be milder. However, that’s just a hypothesis as the Mediterranean is never short of surprises and could very well dish out an entirely different scenario. The European Tour will be intense with a line-up of six honed crews after the Krys Ocean Race.”
The MOD70 European Tour 2012 in brief :

- First edition of the European Tour in MOD70s.
- 6 competing sailing teams (6 crew members per MOD70)
- 5,000 miles
- 5 countries visited: Germany (Kiel), Ireland, Portugal (Cascaïs), France (Marseille), Italy.
- 5 offshore races and 5 inshore events (city race and speed match)

Stopover schedule :

Kiel (Germany) from 29 August to 2 September
Ireland from 5 to 9 September
Cascaïs (Portugal) from 12 to 20 September
Marseille (France) from 23 to 30 September
Italy from 3 to 7 October

The multihull and the Course de l’Europe :

1985 :
- 1st edition of the Course de l’Europe created by Gérard Petipas with the support of the European Community
- Start on 9 August
- 8 legs: from Kiel (Germany) to Porto Cervo (Italy)
- Victory aboard a multihull for Philipe Jeantot on Crédit Agricole
1987 :
- Start on 12 July
- 8 legs from The Hague (Holland) to San Remo (Italy)
- Victory aboard a multihull for Daniel Gilard on Jet Services
1989 :
- Start on 17 July
- 6 legs from Hamburg (Germany) to Toulon (France)
- Victory for Serge Madec on Jet Services V who won 5 of the 6 legs.
1991 :
- Start on 12 May
- 6 legs from Lorient (France) to Santa Marguerita (Italy)
- Victory aboard a multihull for Laurent Bourgnon on R.M.O, just 93 seconds ahead of Mike Birch
1993 :
- Start on 23 May
- 6 legs from La Rochelle (France) to Stockholm (Sweden)
- Victory aboard a multihull for Loïck Peyron on Fuji
1995 :
- Start on 20 May
- 7 legs from Venice (Italy) to London (England)
- Victory aboard a multihull for Loïck Peyron on Fuji
1997 :
- Start on 1st June
- 5 legs from Cherbourg (France) to Stockholm (Sweden)
- Victory aboard a multihull for Loïck Peyron on Fuji
1999 :
- 2 legs from Genoa (Italy) to Lorient (France)
- Victory aboard a multihull for Loïck Peyron on Fuj
Dates to remember: 2011 / 2012
25 January 2012: Launching of the MOD70 SPINDRIFT RACING
12 april 2012: Launching of the MOD70 OMAN SAIL
January to May 2012: Launching of the MOD70 nr.7
 
Race Programme: 2012 / 2014
7 July 2012: Start of the KRYS OCEAN RACE
2 September 2012: European Tour
June 2013: European Tour
November 2013 – April 2014: Ocean World Tour (6 stopovers, 5 oceans, 12 racing teams)
August 2014: KRYS OCEAN RACE

 

 

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 Virbac-Paprec 3 in ‘ghost’ mode

 We Are Water prepare for the worst case scenario

 Renault Z.E. third into northern hemisphere
‘Let’s play!’ commented Loick Peyron and Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA) from Virbac-Paprec 3 this morning as they entered ‘stealth’ mode at 1000hrs (UTC). Their position or rankings will not be visible for 36 hours, ensuring that their movements will remain hidden from view by the fleet and nearest rivals MAPFRE.

Tactically the forthcoming upwind section of Atlantic raises an interesting dilemma for the front-runners, and particularly for MAPFRE, 244 miles behind in this morning’s 0500hrs position report. The Azores High is expanding east-west across the north Atlantic, creating a large obstacle on the way to the Mediterranean. Whilst taking a westerly route looks like an unworkable tactic given the considerable extra mileage involved, the issue of when to tack east to avoid the centre of the anticyclone remains uncertain.

The GRIB files show stronger winds near the coast so by tacking early towards North Africa they will reach better pressure soonest, but will be sailing an unfavorable angle for longer. Carry on heading north as long as they dare and they will benefit from lifting pressure, but are at risk of getting trapped by the light winds at the centre of the high, while taking a ‘middle road’ between the two means avoiding the light winds in the lee of the Canary Islands. When to tack in, and when to tack back out? Timing will be everything, and by selecting stealth mode Virbac-Paprec 3 are hiding the clues for MAPFRE.

Battening the hatches

The situation is more serious on We Are Water. “The barometer has gone down to 956mb, we are preparing for the worst possible scenario,? emailed Jaume Mumbru (ESP) this morning, as he and Cali Sanmarti prepared to ride out what Barcelona World Race meteorologist Marcel van Triest predicted could be the worst Southern Ocean storm of the race due to a deep low pressure system.

The weather forecast for the area they are sailing in for the next 18 hours is severe: a south-westerly gale of 45-60 knots, gusting 75: a Force 12. In conjunction with the strong winds, huge seas are also predicted with a 9-12 metre swell. Heavy rain, squalls, and even snow are all likely as the winds are blowing directly from Antarctica, bringing bitingly cold dense air which makes the conditions all the more intense.

Jaume Mumbru reported from the boat around 1500hrs this afternoon that they were running away from the gale under storm jib only with zero mainsail, in around 55 knot (63mph or 101 km/h) winds. The pair were safely inside the boat, which was making around 11 knots in a north-easterly direction, and reported that although conditions were intensely cold, the wave pattern was better than anticipated with no confused cross-seas.

Battle for bronze

Just 118 miles divide the third to fifth-placed boats this afternoon as Renault Z.E., Estrella Damm and Neutrogena sweat it out in the Doldrums, where temperatures are soaring to over 30 degrees inside, making sleep during daytime almost impossible for some.

Renault Z.E. became the third boat to re-enter the northern hemisphere at 1445 (UTC) this afternoon, in what so far appears to be a relatively benign Doldrums crossing. Just 76 miles behind, Alex Pella and Pepe Ribes (ESP) remain solid in fourth, ahead of Ryan Breymaier (USA) and Boris Herrmann (GER) on Neutrogena. Ryan Breymaier explained today:

“There are position reports every six hours and I’m always looking on the map to see how many more miles we still have to cover, how fast, and when we’ll arrive. There are lots of things that can affect the rankings, the weather can change things quickly and as we saw from the start of the race the Mediterranean is not very easy for anyone to manage so we hope to be close to each other and still able to earn miles on them. But we don’t think too much about third place as I think with our damaged keel it’s going to be too difficult to get near enough.?

At 535 miles behind, Dee Caffari (GBR) and Anna Corbella (ESP) on GAES Centros Auditivos are also anticipating the light winds, as they require flat water to make laminating repairs to their leaking ballast tank. Instead they have experienced fluctuating and unpredictable breezes that Dee Caffari this morning described as a ‘practice Doldrums’, but are this afternoon once again making 10 knots.

Having exited yesterday’s brief but fierce low pressure system, Forum Maritim Catala and Hugo Boss are the fastest of the fleet over the past 24 hours, with just under 200 miles dividing the pair. With the depression having rapidly moved south-east, the race is now on for both to make sufficient ground north to avoid the chasing high and accompanying light winds. Forum Maritim Catala having gained over 80 miles on Hugo Boss over the past 24 hours, and the competition between the two is yet to be settled.

 

Standings at 1400hrs Wednesday 23rd March, 2011

1              VIRBAC-PAPREC 3 in ‘ghost’ mode

2              MAPFRE at 3066,6 miles from the finish

3              RENAULT Z.E at 887,5 from the MAPFRE

4              ESTRELLA DAMM Sailing Team at 963,5 miles

5              NEUTROGENA at 1005 miles

6              GAES CENTROS AUDITIVOS at 1540,8 miles

7              HUGO BOSS at 3558,1 miles

8              FORUM MARITIM CATALA at 3749,4 miles

9              WE ARE WATER at 5462,2 miles

10            CENTRAL LECHERA ASTURIANA at 9371,2 miles

RTD         FONCIA

RTD         PRESIDENT

RTD         GROUPE BEL                                                                        

RTD         MIRABAUD

 

Quotes from today’s skippers:

Dee Caffari (GBR), GAES Centros Auditivos:
“It’s like a practice for the Doldrums that we’ve had. It’s a bit frustrating because we still can’t sail the boat at 100 per cent because we’re waiting to do the big repair, and yet we’re still really struggling with the conditions. But today’s been much better.

“I need to laminate some carbon over some damage in our ballast tanks that are structural to the boat. So we can’t sail the boat at 100 per cent because we’re upwind and we can’t afford the cracks to open up. But we can’t do the repair unless we’re in flat water to allow it to stick, so it’s a case of really looking after the boat.?

Ryan Breymaier (USA), Neutrogena:

“The Doldrums are going very well thus far, knock on wood. We have between 5 and 10 knots out of the breeze and it’s not stopped yet, so hopefully that continues.

“In these lighter conditions we’re not as compromised as we will be later on when there’s more wind and waves, so we’re pretty happy to be keeping up now and are differently worried about what’s going to happen when we get into the stronger upwind trade wind conditions a little later on. There is no real plan for it, the boat is the condition that it’s in and we do the best we can with what we have. At the moment that’s what we’re doing and that’s what we’re going to continue to do – you know you can’t change reality, and the reality is we are not capable to cant the keel to the maximum and that compromises our speed all the time, Boris and I have accepted that and we just get on with our day to day work.

“The sun is an issue every day. Right now in the cabin it’s 32 degrees and outside it’s probably 36, I don’t know – a lot! For me more than Boris I get burned very easily and I have factor 50 suncream at least every day and wear hats and that kind of stuff, so it’s a real problem for sure, especially in this area. I would’ve told you six weeks ago that the heat really bothered me a lot, but it was awfully cold down in the south for a long period of time! But all things considered though I would say the heat is worse than the cold though, and I think Boris agrees with me.?

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From the leading duo counting down their final 750 or 800 miles to Cape Horn to those nearly 5000 miles behind fighting to make it across the Tasman to the Cook Strait, the vast majority of the Barcelona World Race fleet today are either racing in strong winds, or expecting them imminently.

Virbac-Paprec 3 and MAPFRE, some 78 miles apart this afternoon, are trying to outrun the approach of a fast moving low pressure system, the regenerated, reinvigorated Atu (Atu v2.0?) and escape around Cape Horn into the Atlantic. But it is the fleet’s tailgunners on We Are Water which has struggled the most today after being temporarily knocked flat by a big wave, taking water inside the boat.

Jaume Mumbrú and Cali Sanmarti reported that they are both fine, but unable to gybe due to a broken lazyjack and other sundry problems the duo were making slow SE’ly course during the early afternoon, before heaving while they baled water out of the boat and try to sort out their electronics problems. The impact of the wave ripped apart plastic spray curtains which protect part of the cockpit,. Part of the electrical equipment is not working at the moment.

And Dee Caffari and Anna Corbella last night (day time local for them) suffered a series of involuntary tacks when GAES Centros Auditivos’ autopilot hiccupped twice. With two sails partly in the water, the duo had their hands full, choosing to run north and take some pressure off themselves and the boat. The robust hard reaching conditions, with the wind slightly forward of the beam in difficult seas, made their choice of sacrificing some miles to Hugo Boss a difficult one, but a necessary one at the time.

“Things are horrible. We are upwind in 35 knots of wind and it is pretty wet and miserable. We had an ‘everything’ problem, the good thing about it all was that it was daylight when it happened. It was a catalogue of disasters and it took us quite a lot to get through it. And I just had a very brief time in the bean bag and I said to her that I feel like I have been beaten up. I feel quite exhausted by it. We are really wanting this wind to drop now.

We have come back on course now. We decided that we cant run away to the north for ever because it does just make the course worse afterwards. We are back where we should be after having a bit of rest and recovery. We are now just upwind and it is 30-35kts.” Said Caffari on this morning’s Visio-Conference.

“It was a bit emotional at the time but we did manage to giggle about it, we found the funny side of it, the fact that we were so ridiculously wet. But everything is still working, the boat is OK. We got the sails back on board, so of all the things that did go wrong we dealt with it all well.”

The duel at the front of the fleet between Virbac-Paprec 3 and MAPFRE now sees the French duo taking a clear advantage with their more northerly tracking. Individually both sets of co-skippers reported that they were struggling with the very changeable and unstable winds – requiring many sail changes and constant vigilance – in the brisk, but variable breezes sent by the low pressure centre which was just to the south east of them today, slightly closer for the Spanish duo.

Despite the intensity of the battle with the Virbac-Paprec 3, the evident chagrin at losing miles to the French pair, not to mention the extreme cold – 4 deg C and the fact that it was in the middle if a dark, dirty night – it was again an inspiration today to see the pleasure that Fernandez, Spain’s three times 49er world champion, double Olympic medalist and twice Volvo round the world veteran, takes in answering questions put to him by the young local Barcelona schoolchildren.

The duel with Dick and Peyron is dismissed for a few stolen moments Fernandez’s smile breaks his lips, the twinkle in his eyes lights up the gloomy fug inside MAPFRE as he takes time and pleasure to answer each question fully. One of this race’s unique and pure pleasures, one which perhaps will inspire a new generation of round the world racers?

And the duel for third evens out again this afternoon as Renault Z.E’s Toño Piris and Pachi Rivero fight back, 19 miles ahead of Neutrogena this afternoon both sailing at even speeds.

A special Visio-Conference in the early afternoon linked up guests and representative of sponsors Mirabaud with Dominique Wavre and Michèle Paret.

Rankings at 1400hrs Tuesday 1st March 2011

1               VIRBAC-PAPREC 3 at 7642 miles to finish

2               MAPFRE  79 miles from the leader

3               RENAULT Z.E at 1411 miles

4               NEUTROGENA at  1430 miles

5               MIRABAUD at 1597  miles

6               GROUPE BEL at  1887 miles

7               ESTRELLA DAMM Sailing Team at 1957miles

8               HUGO BOSS at 2308 miles

9               GAES CENTROS AUDITIVOS at 2444miles

10             FORUM MARITIM CATALA at 3907 miles

11            CENTRAL LECHERA ASTURIANA at 4236 miles

12             WE ARE WATER at 4859 miles

RTD        FONCIA

RTD   PRESIDENT

Dee Caffari (GBR) GAES Centros Auditivos:“Things are horrible. We are upwind in 35 knots of wind and it is pretty wet and miserable. We had an ‘everything’ problem, the good thing about it all was that it was daylight when it happened. It was a catalogue of disasters and it took us quite a lot to get through it. And I just had a very brief time in the bean bag and I said to her that I feel like I have been beaten up. I feel quite exhausted by it. We are really wanting this wind to drop now.

We have come back on course now. We decided that we cant run away to the north for ever because it does just make the course worse afterwards. We are back where we should be after having a bit of rest and recovery. We are now just upwind and it is 30-35kts.

According to the forecast by 1800hrs this evening it should start to ease and then we go through our daylight hours upwind.

It was a bit emotional at the time but we did manage to giggle about it, we found the funny side of it, the fact that we were so ridiculously wet. But everything is still working, the boat is OK. We got the sails back on board, so of all the things that did go wrong we dealt with it all well.

It was really good, because I just jump on deck and get on with then I think that she gets a lot of confidence in that, so she drove while I got the sails back on board, and she drove while I sorted the pilots, so she got a bit of a battering each day. We both warmed up and put some dry clothes on and since then we have recovered. It is really good to see her confidence grow so much and in the boat. And we looked after each other, she just said to me that the only thing she wanted was that I not go in the water. I said I was not planning on it!

It is really nice to see Anna progressing, most of confidence and she says that comes from me which I am surprised about, but now she is confident in what the boat can do and making choices like what sails to put up and I am pleased about that, because it makes my life easier. So it is working for both of us.
And she asks questions about, like this is not what you said the Southern Ocean would be like, and I say it is different for me too. It is nice to hear her talking to other skippers in the fleet and sounding more knowledgeable and confident.

Xabi Fernandez (ESP) MAPFRE: “The situation is a little more complicated than the last few days. We have spent the last 24 hours with a lot of showers, one after the other and so we have had no rest. And an area of light winds has really struck us and so we have been losing some miles, little by little.

There are some clouds with showers which bring you squalls and more wind which give you a good push but not in the direction you want. For example we are on a course yesterday of 100-110 degrees and suddenly you get a 50 degrees shift, that is you pointing 50 degrees off your course. On the other hand there are another kind which tyou get which suddenly see the breeze drop from 20 knots to five or six knots, totally quiet and you can do nothing. It pours with rain. And in these hours you are given to wondering how the other boat is going. You kind of assume that it is the same for us both, but the truth is that we had another bad cloud and a spell with zero wind.

I think they are going a bit better than us, we are fighting to stay with them. Although we have got a little bit back I think we can see some compression into Cape Horn. To pass Cape Horn first? …Well it is a big enough achievement at all to pass Cape Horn, but first would be better.

The target is just to go as fast as possible we need to simply get there as quick as possible. If we are slowed or delayed it would be difficult. There is always acceleration of the wind there, and so aside from Virbac-Paprec 3, we just want to be there before the storm gets us.”

Dominique Wavre (SUI) Mirabaud: “We will do all that we can to attack third place, but it is a bit difficult at the moment because tomorrow we have a big depression coming and that will put us in conservation mode not to break anything. And so it is a bit of a difficult position. We are expecting two storms between now and Cape Horn and so it will be difficult but we will be doing all we can to get at third place.”

Michèle Paret (FRA) Mirabaud:“We mostly have enough food to get us to the finish. We have cut back on our consumption. We will have a bit less food for the last week but we don’t have any great concerns. And it is not normal to have to stop to take on food.

At the end of the South Atlantic before the south I felt a bit weak and so we spoke with the doctor and he said I was a bit anemia. And what we had in the boat’s pharmacy would not be enough until the end of the race. And the treatment is long term. So the preference was to get a supply from New Zealand and as soon as I started to take the iron I have been feeling better. And so I continue to take it to make sure I don’t risk a new weakness.”

Dominique Wavre: “Mirabaud is in good shape. We have no big concerns. Yesterday there was a problem with a wind indicator but we use the spare which is a bit less precise but it is a little les precise. The boat feels a little tired, but everything is intact. We have been surfing at 22-23 knots. The wind is lifting and so we go a little north again to wait for the shift and then to return to the south on the back of a major depression heading in the direction of Cape Horn.”

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Following the first news this morning of Foncia’s breaking their mast top this report was sent from Foncia’s Michel Desjoyeaux and François Gabart  at 0659hrs this Wednesday morning.

“ On January 26th 2011 at 0240hrs UTC positioned at 41°12,6 S and 8°59,8 E Foncia was sailing a course of 115 degrees at an average of 18 knots under Solent and one reef with the wind at 140 degree blowing at 25-30 knots, wind swell, and had the same conditions for around eight hours.

The mast broke above the solent hound, in other words around 25 metres above the deck (27.3m long tube). The rigging is still up held in place by the lower shrouds, the runners, the staysail stay and main jib stay. The broken section is hanging down at 20m up and is still held in place by the halyards. The solent, unfurled, because in use when the damage occurred was twisted around the whole mast.

The mainsail is held by its halyard at the third reef. Everything has stayed on board, nothing lost overboard. I can’t hide our disappointment, but we are healthy except I have a little pain in my right thumb which I got when I was trying to get the Solent under control.

We do not ask for any assistance. We are currently trying to head for Cape Town under sail, around 600 miles off. Our current speed is 11 knots course 76 deg. The forecasts for the next few days show no risk (today 25 to 30 knots from the S, weakening and clocking W). In two days the passage of the anticyclone (bringing light winds). If the seas are slight then maybe we will have the chance to climb the mast to recover the pieces and to be able to drop the mainsail. After that we should see 20-25 knots from the SE in to Cape Town.

Our ETA Cape Town then  should be 30th or 31st January.

We retire from the Barcelona World Race.”

Their close rivals Jean-Pierre Dick  and Loïck Peyron onboard Virbac-Paprec 3 sent the Foncia duo this message of solidarity: “Hello guys, this is really not good news. We really had become inseparable, motivating each other all the time, asking ourselves each day if we could hold up this pace until the end. It’s been a great honour to have been in this battle together. Good luck for the rest of the passage and our hearts go with you.”

Foncia are scheduled to be on today’s videoconference from 10h00 GMT in French and English.

Following the official retirement this morning of Foncia, MAPFRE moves to second place overall in the race, 543 miles behind, with Estrella Damm third at 729 miles behind.
Any expectation that Jean-Pierre Dick and Loïck Peyron are running away seem set to be scotched as a big high pressure is set to move into their path, a roadblock which they will need to negotiate, expecting the centre to be over them on Saturday.
Of course Virbac-Paprec cannot circumvent the anticyclone because of the security gates.

And by tomorrow the Spanish-French peloton, sequentially Groupe Bel, Estrella Damm and then MAPFRE will be given a fast ride east on the next low pressure system, which should reach Groupe Bel, first and MAPFRE last – based on current positions.
So the stretched rubber band is programmed for release, catapulting the chasing pack towards the leading French duo. Models suggest the biggest gains might be to Pepe Ribes and Alex Pella on Estrella Damm, who might recoup something like 150 miles on the leaders, and also gain on MAPFRE.
There is little to excite the tail of the fleet who seem set to struggle south, looking for their first train east.

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•The change of pace for the trade winds

•Foncia takes the lead again, the fourth lead change of the race so far

•The gang of five still close

 
Now firmly into quick downwind tradewinds sailing after the Canary Islands, the lead of the Barcelona World RACE swapped again this afternoon not long after Michel Desjoyeaux and François Gabart gybed on to a more southerly course on Foncia.

While Jean-Pierre Dick and Loïck Peyron carried on, the leaders for the last five days, investing a more westerly track on Virbac-Paprec 3, the more direct route south towards the equator computes as an immediate gain for Foncia, the other half of the leading duopoly.

The well organised, well established tradewinds will offer some four days or so or very similar, fast conditions. While the skippers have talked since breaking out the Mediterranean about establishing the real ‘ocean racing routine, in fact since then so close has the racing been at the front, in the different groups, and even those with many miles to make up towards the back of the fleet, the pace and rhythm has been fractured by changeable breezes, and the need to keep at 100% all the time.

With the trade winds should come the real chance to set a more settled routine.
The protracted spell of NE’ly breezes of 17-25 knots should see manouvers, gybes, as the only interruptions to the fixed pattern of work and rest.

On today’s radio and audio vacs young guns like Ryan Breymaier – round the world rookie – and Mirabaud’s much more experienced Dominique Wavre, on his seventh race circumnavigation both sounded slightly tired after their first week of racing, and both will look forward to the settled rhythm of the trades. Wavre admitted it was tiring and stressful, Breymaier said they were finding it quite easy to push the boat so hard.

Breymaier and Boris Herrmann have been setting the bar high on their Neutrogena in eighth place, and in the mix of the five boat pack which is still lead by the Olympic medallists Iker Martinez and Xabi Fernandez who in fifth have five miles in hand over Jean Le Cam and Bruno Garcia in sixth.

This tightly packed group, with 24 miles from fifth to ninth-placed Dee Caffari and Anna Corbella, really does comprise the race’s most varied cross section of duos, all presently putting in the same level of performance.
From the Olympic duos on their IMOCA big race debut, to the highly accomplished Le Cam and Catalan round the world first time, to the well proven Groupe Bel, the hard driving Neutrogena duo to the GAES girls, the pace is tough and even between these boats just now but the cavalcade of the trade-winds will see much more of straight speed drag race.

For the pack which is chasing them there is the passage of the Canary Islands to deal with. They will have the chance to use the acceleration zones between the islands, where the wind funnels, squeezed between the high land as an opportunity to gain, or to lose miles.

Almost as if to underline the final evolution to the proper rhythm that will come with the speed race south, fresh food is finished. Neutrogena, Virbac-Paprec 3 and Mirabaud all confirmed they are down to the nitty gritty of freeze dried food now, save for a little remaining fresh fruit.

Quotes
Jean Pierre Dick (FRA) Virbac-Paprec 3:
“Conditions are very good. Most of all at night with a little moon crescent that slowly grows. We have seen thousands and thousands of stars. It’s incredible. Tonight we will not have that much time to gaze at them. We are almost in the Trade Winds now.
Foncia is just beside us now. It gives intensity to the whole race. We are racers first of all. We are hooked into the game. We try to do our best. Each in turn adds miles to his gauge. The fight will be magnificent.
Our boats are very close. It’s good for comparisons. It also allows us to test the sails, the spis, the material in general. Speed tests are done easily. It is very interesting. It was already the case three years ago with PRB. The Story repeats itself. I hope it ends up as well for us as it did last time.
The Barcelona World Race is a great race. Being two we can have a better performance on the boat. Even if we are as tired as when we sail solo, we are less stressed. We have 4 days ahead of us full speed, in the Trade Winds. We will have to balance our energy, be at the helm or let the autopilot do the job, rest a bit… It is a sheer speed race.
Life on board is good. We are very motivated by the final objective. We talk a little bit about our families – I have just become a father – or about our projects, like the America’s Cup for Loïck and the Vendée for me. Of course we discuss strategy and the positioning of our boat with regard to the rest of the fleet.”

Toño Piris (ESP) Renault ZE Sailing Team:
 “Frankly, this week has been complicated, most of all the Mediterranean trap”
For the moment we have used a lot of upwind sails, Solent, Code Zero, Genoa. What we want is to use the sails that correspond to this stage of the race
The miles that separate us from the leaders weigh heavily on us psychologically
Our objective is to be in the leading group, they are about 100 miles away and we want to be there, we have to put our hope in the Doldrums.”

Ryan Breymaier (USA), Neutrogena:
“ We have been pushing the boat super super hard all night. We are 1.5 miles from Groupe Bel with the spinnaker up. We have just taken down the reaching gennaker and but up the big spinnaker and are on our way south!
We try to be pushing at 110 % all the time. We make sure we have the biggest sails we can have up all the time, always have someone on deck all the time and pushing. The way we run is we each sleep when we are tired and when you get super tired you wake the other one up, something like 3 hours each through the night. And through the day its all day on deck, one driving and one trimming a grinding, making sure the boat is at 100% all the time. It is not impossible.
And once we get to reaching conditions we can relax a little. But when you are alongside another boat next to you its impossible not to push. We are definitely happiest pushing.
“I think Bilou’s Vendée Globe proved the boat is pretty competitive against the newer boats and we never lay back and wait. It is a testament to the original design and the work we have done to the boat. We will wait and see if that is the same in the trades, but we are already in 16-17 knots, alongside Groupe Bel and with the big spinnaker up so we will see what happens over the next five days.
The whole week has been good, never super difficult, the whole thing has just been awesome so far, really nice sailing and to have been where we are in the first week, in a decent position is good.
This morning I did think 1 week down, 12 to go, or 11…You are aware that it’s a long way, but already we are at the Canaries then we get to the Doldrums, to the St Helena high, and the south. But its one step at a time and you end up at your destination. I just think about getting the food eaten because it’s heavy!
We have a few oranges and apples left but had the last bread and cheese sandwiches one and a half days ago when the bread went mouldy, so now it is down to freeze dried and pasta occasionally.”

Dominque Wavre (SUI), Mirabaud:
“Everything works well on board Mirabaud. We are under spinnaker, with around 15-20 knots of wind, with a nice stately swell coming from the West. Life is OK, we are happy about our position in the ranking. Everything works perfectly on board, there is no damage of any kind. We are in the game.
To make a summary of the week I would say it has been very tiring because there were many different weather situations, and one had top lay them all right. We have maneuvered quite a lot. I feel a great pleasure in racing, and this makes the intense physical tiredness disappear day after day.
We have a sparring partner to sprint with, Estrella Damm. The two in front of us are quite quick. It is a good challenge! Today it’s started to feel really warm, The trade wind is here, it’s obvious. Life evolves around the two hours shifts at the helm. We are familiar with this, having already done a Barcelona World Race. It is very important to be in a rhythm. “

Barcelona World Race Standings at 08 January 2011 1400hrs GMT

1 FONCIA  23253,3 miles to finish
2 VIRBAC-PAPREC 3 at 8 miles from leader
3 MIRABAUD at 105,2 miles
4 ESTRELLA DAMM Sailing Team 111,8 miles
5 MAPFRE at 175,9 miles
6 PRESIDENT at 184,7 miles
7 GROUPE BEL at 193,5 miles
8 NEUTROGENA at 198,1 miles
9 GAES CENTROS AUDITIVOS at 220,4 miles
10 RENAULT Z.E at 314 miles
11 WE ARE WATER at 349 miles
12 CENTRAL LECHERA ASTURIANA at 376,6 miles
13 FORUM MARITIM CATALA at 382,5 miles
14 HUGO BOSS at 398,8 miles

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Located three miles from the starting line, the 14 monohulls passed the mark down their starboard side in a light north-north-eastly wind of around 5 to 6 knots. The running order around the first mark was:

1 - Groupe Bel (12: 21: 25)
2 – Foncia (12: 22: 48)
3 – Centros Gaes Auditivos (12: 26: 34)
4 – Forum Maritim Catala
5 – President
6 – Virbac-Paprec 3
7 – Renault ZE
8 – Mapfre
9 – Central Asturiana Lechera
10 – Neutrogena
11 – Estrella Damm
12 – Mirabaud
13 – Hugo Boss
14 – We Are The Water

Only 25,000 miles, give or take,  to go !!

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It will be the biggest and most competitive fleet yet which will start the second edition of the Barcelona World  RACE  at 1300hrs on the final day of 2010.
 

Planning, preparation, choices big and small, hard training sea miles – which range from the smallest possible qualification distance of 2,800, to the equivalent of the theoretical course mileage, 25,000, duos whose relationships are forged in sailing battles for over a decade alongside teams whose relationship is more of a convenient, short-term marriage… all these variables come under the most intense scrutiny as soon as the start gun goes, potentially to continue round the world for more than 90 days.

Light winds and a relatively benign Mediterranean stretch to the Straits of Gibraltar are expected to add to the early stress, putting the duos under immediate pressure. Potentially small tactical decisions and sail choices, which would otherwise be insignificant, are likely to define the typical gains to be made by the leader or leading group which breaks out into stronger winds of the Atlantic. Meanwhile any teams left behind on the departure from the Mediterranean might spend a long time trying to make good their early deficit.

The exit from and the return into the Mediterranean are just two of the key challenges of this unique race. Damian Foxall (IRL), who speaks with experience of winning the first Barcelona World Race with Jean-Pierre Dick, and is a veteran of crewed Volvo Round the World races as well as multihull records, is simple in his reminder:

“It’s a long way. It’s three months at sea, and unlike the Vendée Globe you’re going to sea with somebody else. It’s not like the Volvo where you’ve got a larger group of people. You’re going to sea with one other person and that’s probably the most important aspect in terms of the race.”

“On the one hand it’s the biggest attribute you’ve got, your buddy, your co-skipper. And it’s really important to make that relationship work well and to understand what they need, and to maintain a single objective in common that you both agree on and to basically cross the line having achieved that goal.”

“For some it might be winning, for some it might be just finishing the race, but that common objective is probably the single most important thing that the skippers need to agree on before the start.”

Making it work as a duo over the entire duration of the course is fundamental. Just as some of the duos favour an organic approach – relying on developed, sympathetic powers of common sense human communication – others have reached for valued advice from psychologists, just as they have armies of sports scientists, nutritionists and physical trainers looking after their bodies.

That scientific, empirical approach may increasingly prevail, but so too this second edition contains a cross-section of hard bitten veteran skippers whose long experience racing round the world will render making the IMOCA Open 60’s go fast for days on end sheer intuition.

Such is the potent cocktail of different factors which will play out around the course that picking a most likely race winner has challenged even the most seasoned observers.

Top picks

Foncia and Virbac-Paprec 3 rank among most top picks. Foncia’s Michel Desjoyeaux (FRA) and Francois Gabart (FRA) have the greatest age difference and have done only a basic mileage together but Desjoyeaux is a formidable force in his own right, while Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA) and Loïck Peyron (FRA) represent considerable aggregate experience and have already won the 2005 Transat Jacques Vabre together. Both are new 2010 boats.

Mixed experience

Jean Le Cam (FRA) and Bruno Garcia (ESP) have sailed few miles together, Garcia has minimal IMOCA Open 60 experience and has never raced in the Southern Ocean but Le Cam’s experience is second to none in this fleet and they havea boat which is now well proven as competitive and relatively reliable in Président, the former Ecover 3.

Time on the water

In terms of hours on the water together in their IMOCA Open 60 and preparation time the Barcelona duo of Alex Pella (ESP) and Pepe Ribes (ESP) have been building up to this for 18 months with their FNOB backed and managed programme for Estrella Damm. Their 2007 boat is not of the latest generation but they know it well and it is well optimised.

But in terms of time no one exceeds Dominique Wavre (ESP) and Michéle Paret (ESP) who finished third in the first Barcelona World Race, now on Mirabaud.

An Olympic transition

In April they had not set foot in an IMOCA Open 60 but since then Spain’s double Olympic medallists Iker Martinez and Xabi Fernandez have been through the most rigorous learning programme armed with Mapfre, formerly the Vendée Globe winning Foncia. They have sailed together for 11 years and possibly only the race’s only real life couple Wavre and Paret know each other better!

 Weather: tricky transitions

The Mediterranean looks set to provide its customary tactical challenge for the start and opening few days of the Barcelona World RACE.

At this evening’s weather briefing, meteorologists Marcel Van Triest (NED) and Chris Bedford (USA) compared the European and American weather models, which show marked differences in their forecast.

On the European model a north-westerly breeze of 10-15 knots is forecast for the first few hours of the race, whereas very light airs are showing on the GFS model. “The meteorological situation of the western Mediterranean at this moment is very atypical,” Marcel Van Trieste commented, meteorologist of Barcelona World RACE.

Things are no clearer once they approach the Straits of Gibraltar, with a large low pressure system mid-Atlantic. Looking ahead, if the low pressure system tracks north it could pay for the skippers to hug the coast of Africa as they sail south, whereas if it moves south it could bring with it a south-westerly windshift which would see a more offshore route paying.

In either case, the waters between the Canary Islands and African coast may also feature local effects, with potentially strong sea breezes mid-afternoon as well as land breezes created by the low night-time temperatures of the desert.

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Pete Goss on DMS (Photo by Colin Merry)

A long, and busy night in Pointe-à-Pitre saw more and more finishers completing the Route du Rhum La Banque Postale, and it is only set to get more hectic when the Class 40 fleet start arriving late Wednesday or Thursday depending on how cruel or kind the winds on the approach to Guadeloupe turn out to be. Notable finishes last night included Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) and Arnaud Boissières (Akena Vérandas), the two IMOCA Open 60 skippers who chose the southerly routing option. Desjoyueax arrived in sixth position, just under one day behind fellow Vendée Globe winner Vincent Riou (PRB). He joked about going south for the sun early but admitted that there was very little to choose between the two options before making his choice “ I did what I wanted. From time to time you try things when you don’t know if they will be good or not so good. I expected to have 50 miles of deficit in the south of the Azores amticyclone and it was 150. There the mass was said.” Desjoyeaux said. “I have had time to digest this. Now we move on. Life goes on.”

The only IMOCA skipper left at sea, Christoper Pratt on DCNS 1000 – who has been battling with no electrics since last Thursday morning, was due to finish this evening (CET/Paris). Having sailed a very competitive and creditable first half of the race, the young skipper from Marseille, was enjoying a boat-for-boat sprint to the line against Servan Escoffier (Saint Malo 2015), due to finish seventh of seven in the Ultime multihull fleet.

 

But it is the Class 40 race which has race watchers twitching with anticipation as Thomas Ruyant closes to within 380 miles of the finish on Destination Dunkerque, with a lead now of only 59.8 miles ahead of Nico Troussel (Crédit Mutuel de Bretagne) who has closed back around 20 miles on the leader over the last two days, but the leading trio – Germany’s Jorg Riecher on Mare.de, are now filing in a line towards the NW corner of the island, all knowing what the possibility of an overnight shut down of the breeze might do.

Britain’s Pete Goss holds 13th position, approaching Guadeloupe from his more southerly routing reported light winds today, and looks set to suffer slightly less wind on his course in to the island, but the Cornish skipper admitted he is delighted with his race so far:

“ In my particular circumstances I was parachuted into the race out of the blue, and jumped on the boat and went. At the start of the race in Saint Malo I had done four days of single-handed sailing in 14 years. I had not really sailed the boat much. The boat is immaculate, I am not criticising the boat, and Tom Gall the boat captain, Tony Lawson and Team Concise have been great, but it is about building a relationship, and as I said then, (at the start) I now feel ready to start the Route du Rhum. If you look beyond this race, then this is effectively a training race. I was a bit rusty at the beginning, but I have a bit of experience and so I did not break anything. I am loving it.”

And Marco Nannini, the London based banker racing UniCredit, who has built a following of thousands for his unmissable blog (marconannini.com), said on today’s radio vacation:

“This for me is about me being an office worker who one week before the race I was sitting behind a desk in the office. I am not a French pro and I did not come here expecting to perform as a French pro. I held my own, especially in the first part of the race and I was very proud of what  I was achieving, then of course experience comes in and I made a bad mistake, but here I am, still racing absolutely enjoying every minute of it, in this adventure. I have seen things I have never seen before. I was caught in an electric storm last night, which scared the hell out of me. It is for me a great adventure, and so the blogs, sharing it with others, makes it so much more enjoyable. I receive many, many messages on the boat, reading my blogs – and I am talking thousands and thousands –every time, it is fantastic.”

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