DRHEAM CUP, GRAND PRIX DE FRANCE DE COURSE AU LARGE: searching for wind
After over 48 hours of racing, the competitors in the DRHEAM CUP/GRAND PRIX DE FRANCE DE COURSE AU LARGE have all been stuck since Sunday night into Monday in a stormy transition zone between the DRHEAM-CUP and Rochebonne marks, resulting in a general slowdown and, in some classes, a shake-up in the standings. The first boats are expected to cross the finish line in Lorient at 3am on Tuesday morning.
Downwind and reaching in 20–25 knots of wind, which characterised the fast opening stage of the race, are now nothing more than fond memories for the 93 competitors still in contention on Monday afternoon in the DRHEAM CUP/GRAND PRIX DE FRANCE DE COURSE AU LARGE. As Christian Dumard, the event’s weather consultant, announced at the weekend, a stormy low-pressure system moving up from Spain towards Brittany blocked the path of the entire fleet on the long leg between the DRHEAM-CUP mark – located more or less to the west, depending on the course – and the Rochebonne mark.
“They are in the situation Christian had described, namely a transition zone that is quite tricky to navigate, with light winds and quite erratic conditions.” “Some boats are heading north, others south; their headings are sometimes surprising. Some will have lost quite a bit on here, others gained; we will see the results at the finish”, comments François Seruzier, who, alongside Pierre Hays, assists race director Francis Le Goff.
A stormy low-pressure system does indeed mean unpredictable winds, ranging from fairly violent squalls to dead calm, with sudden bursts of speed and abrupt decelerations – all of which are moments of both hope and despair for the solo sailors, duos and crews competing. Sophie Faguet, competing on Class40 Défi Solidaire with Ellye and l’Arche, was feeling rather down on Monday afternoon: "I have just spent a s*** hour, I rarely scream on the boat, but this time! No, the sun isn't always shining, there aren't always dolphins in the sunset on a smooth sea! We are sailing in a fairly bumpy sea, in winds that are completely unpredictable in direction and strength. And I have just failed two tacks with the ballasts filled the wrong side..." The Normandy sailor did conclude with some hope: "Having said that, we are getting back out footing, the conditions are the same for all and there could still be some cards left to play.”
On the Ocean Fifty Solidaires en Peloton, Thibaut Vauchel-Camus described similar conditions: “It’s not exactly a walk in the park; we’ve got a small stormy low-pressure system bringing us unstable winds that keep shifting back and forth between the north-east and south-east, clouds, rain, and a bit of thunder… If luck isn't on our side and we don't find the right clouds to make headway, and get out of all this, it could be a long day…” In these conditions, nerves can be put to the test, even if many try to put things into perspective, like the crew of the classic Faiaoahe (Oscar Gérin, IRC crewed), who took advantage of the lull to get out their fishing rods and send a photo of their catch of the day carpaccio, or the Pogo 12.50 Cléobulle (Oscar Lenoel, IRC crewed): “We’re in stormy conditions, with very changeable winds – sometimes blowing, sometimes not – but everything’s fine on board; the crew haven’t killed each other yet!”
This transition zone is expected to slow the entire fleet down for a few more long hours, although for the front of the fleet it is almost over, with the finish looming – between dawn and late morning on Tuesday – for the two boats closest to the finish line in Lorient, which are competing on the DC 600 course. Namely the Orma Arkéa-Handicap International (Damien Seguin/Gérald Véniard), the clear leader in the Multi 2000 class, and the largest boat in the fleet, the Volvo Open 70 Ocean Breeze-Majorica (Alan Roura), set to win in real time in the crewed IRC class, likely ahead of the legendary 60-footer Le Cigare Rouge (Sidney Gavignet) and the Lift 45 Maxitude (Xavier Belluard), which have pulled clear of the rest of the fleet.
There was more uncertainty, however, for the Ocean Fifties, with a general regrouping at the start of the calm, which allowed the stragglers to catch up, and north/south options; but ultimately, the standings on Monday afternoon were close to what they had been 24 hours earlier at the DRHEAM-CUP virtual mark, namely Edenred (Basile Bourgnon) ahead of Wewise (Pierre Quiroga), Viabilis Océans (Baptiste Hulin), Elvest (Matthieu Perraut) and Sodebo Fifty (Léonard Legrand). The suspense over who will win is set to continue right up to the finish line in Lorient, where the frontrunners are expected to arrive on Tuesday morning.
It’s much the same in the Class40 fleet, with a leading group that remains very tightly bunched and is striving to sail through the transition zone as best it can, with the same three sailors still in the lead – though their order varies – namely Guillaume Pirouelle from Normandy (Seafrigo-Sogestran), Luca Rosetti from Italy (Maccaferri Futura) and Corentin Douguet (SNSM, Please donate!). As for the other two solo categories, Vintage Multi and Vintage Mono, the transition zone is on the agenda for the coming hours, which could shake things up among the three multihulls in contention, GDD (Halvard Mabire), MG5-Econav (Marc Guillemot) and Sterec Ultime (Christophe Bogrand), but also between the two 50-foot monohulls currently leading the Vintage Mono class, Eurvad (Tanguy Caradec) and Use it Again for Youth (Titouan Pilliard).
Whatever the race results, everyone will be given an equally warm welcome in Lorient, where the official race village opens on Tuesday 14 July at 10:00 and looks forward to welcoming the public, who will have the chance to come and celebrate the first finishers and Bastilleday with plenty of entertainment, food and drink available at the Lancelot tavern.
