Foto copyright Yvan Zedda / Paprec-Virbac / Vendée Globe
Jean - Pierre Dick con su Paprec Virbac, diseño de Farr Yacht Design lidera la competitiva flota de Open 60 que están participando en la Vendée Globe 2008-2009. Las condiciones de las primeras horas de regata fueron durísimas, con vientos que llegaron a los 50 nudos, mucha ola y todo de proa. Ahora ya salieron del frente frío y las condiciones han mejorado sustancialmente y en viento bajó a 20/25 nudos pero más franco.
Destaco la buena performance del barco de Farr pensando en los Telefónica y sus chances con condiciones de ceñida o través para lo que viene. Es obvio que los Open 60 no son iguales que los Volvo 70 pero algunos conceptos tienen que tener en común sin dudas.
Reporte completo de la web de Vendée Globe (en inglés)
Within just a few hours the vicious cold front is gone and with it the 40-50knot winds. Almost immeditalely the whole rhythm of the race changes as the fleet sail with increasingly favourable 20-25 knot NW'ly winds, racing off Cape Finisterre.
All the 30 Vendée Globe skippers were expecting an extremely tough opening 24-48 hours of racing, and that is what they got with eight boats now having returned or on their way back to port since the start in Les Sables d’Olonne on Sunday.
Those who rode it out the under fifty-knot gusts and six metre high waves with lashing rain, have made their tacks as the cold front passed over and the conditions have eased to give faster reaching conditions. However, even if the wind suddenly veered by 90° and eased off in just a few minutes, that has not changed the sea state much. They have not only tacked to head south-westwards, but have also had to hoist more sail, which has required a lot of physical effort. Jean-Pierre Dick on Paprec-Virbac 2 and Roland Jourdain on Veolia Environnement seem both to have timed this well after continuing westwards for as long as possible and they now lie in first and second, with 1.1 miles of difference between them. Loïck Peyron, leader yesterday evening on Gitana 80, chose to tack first and is now to leewards of the fleet, inshore, closer to the coast of Spain.
Sailing at more than 15 knots in the 25-knot NW'ly, the leaders will benefit from a sea that will begin to calm and a wind veering to a favourable northerly and easing off a little.
Mike Golding on Ecover 3 has gained two places overnight and is up to tenth, 41.4 miles behind leader Dick, and he has Dee Caffari on sistership Aviva, slightly offshore and to leeward, calculated to be about 12 miles behind him. Brian Thompson on Bahrain Team Pindar is up from 17th on yesterday evening’s report to 14th and is on a more southerly heading than Golding and Caffari, mirroring Peyron’s move to stay closer to Finisterre , Sam Davies on Roxy made one place to 15th.
Despite his last minute, rushed preparations Steve White on Toe in the Water appears to have ridden out the worst of it in good shape and lies 17th, 87.4 miles behind the leader Paprec-Virbac 2.
At 0530GMT, Michel Desjoyeaux left the harbour in Les Sables d’Olonne: he is expected to set sail again imminently and restart the race to the south of the Nouck Buoy. Foncia has around 360 miles to sail to catch up the leaders, as they approach Cape Finisterre.
He reported: " Foncia set out again this morning at around 5h40 after a pit stop worthy of Ferrari. It's as if she was brand new. Many thanks to the support team and everyone at Nanni (engine makers). The sea is still very rough, although the wind has eased off and gone around to the WNW.
