After nearly three days at sea in the IMOCA season-opening 1000 Race, Francesca Clapcich on 11th Hour Racing took a more direct route to the next waypoint than the long-time leaders.
On the race tracker this morning Clapcich, who had been in fifth place, 30 nautical miles behind the longtime leader Sam Goodchild on MACIF Santé Prévoyance, has a small advantage over second-placed Violette Dorange of France on Initiatives-Coeur.
This came about when Clapcich, with Dorange on her tail, opted to gybe inside the leaders on a favourable windshift on the way to the second of two virtual waypoints in the Bay of Biscay - Trophée Gallimard - set about 150 miles north of Cape Finisterre.
This left the three leading boats to sail extra miles, among them Goodchild who is currently listed in fifth position, with a lateral separation between him and Clapcich of 70 miles. The next few hours, however, will determine which option is best, with the routing still favoring Goodchild.
Clapcich was in great form this morning as she messaged from onboard, sounding tired but exhilarated by the challenge of what is her first solo race in IMOCA, as 11th Hour Racing surfed downwind at an average speed of 19 knots.
“Yeah, it’s really exciting,” she said, taking a break from the continual trimming in the cockpit. “It’s the first race of the year and the boat at the moment is in good shape. I keep trying to check on things and make sure I stay on top of things and keep pushing - keep pushing forward. To be honest, I am just really happy to play with what I have at the moment - it’s about reading the clouds and understanding what the wind is doing and playing with that.”
The 38-year-old Italian-American skipper laughed when she described life onboard. “It’s quite hard, to be fair,” she said. “The waves are really short and the boat accelerates up to 30 knots and crashes into the waves. It’s pretty powerful and it’s interesting to experience these kinds of conditions solo, instead of with a crew, because you have to manage how to get some rest and eat.”
She explained that the key in terms of boat management is to find a set-up that makes it easy for the auto-pilot to control the boat. “It’s all about the set-up that is quite forgiving for the pilot to drive with. I was able to get a few naps in for the night but I cannot say that I’m rested because I’m not!” she said.
In terms of her strategy from here, with 450 miles to go to the finish, Clapcich said she had gybed on a big windshift after the first virtual waypoint. Since then she has benefitted from strong wind conditions all night, although the northerly air stream is, as she put it, “super-squally and really up and down.”
“I was happy to have Violette around for a good fight on the water,” she said. “The race is really far from over. At the moment I’m just taking this shift with this good pressure, trying to make the most of it on the rhumb line to the next waypoint. The wind should drop for the day, and maybe turn left again, so hopefully it will open up a bit for another gybe on the good shift.”