Day four: The great north-south route debate

The great north-south debate

Which route is best in the long term?

June 7, Day 4, southwest of Ireland.

With 200 miles separating the leaders of the multihull and monohull classes, this year's fleet of solo skippers is beginning to spread along a line north and south.

The leading trimerans have sailed about 600 miles since leaving Plymouth and have about 2300 miles to sail before reaching Newport.

Yvan Bourgnon aboard Bayer En France is furthest north at 51.30 degrees, while Marc Guillemot (Biscuits La Trinitaine) and Lalou Roucayrol (Banque Populaire) have taken up the southern flank, sailing at 47.50 degrees.

Among the monohulls, Yves Parlier in Aquataine Innovations is furthest north, at 51.30 degrees while Giovanni Soldini (Fila), who started his southerly dive yesterday, remains at 47.28 degrees.

This composite image shows cloud and isobars over the Atlantic, from Chesapeake Bay to Portugal. The cloud band stretches from a low south of Cape Cod all the way to Ireland. This band marks the path of the jet stream and, as such, the path storms will take across The Pond. If skippers head too far south they may risk sailing into high pressure and lighter airs. Those on the north of this cloud band should get winds more from the south.

Picture courtesy of Intellicast.

With the UK met office predicting today's low, situated over the fleet, to continue north east, and a ridge of the Azores High to invade from the south, it might appear that skippers on the southern flank of the fleet could have chosen the wrong route early in the race.

Certainly, stronger winds should continue in the north for longer. And, when you look at the long cloud band stretching right across the Atlantic - the storm track for the next 48 hours or so - north does seem to hold an advantage.

Sailors can expect more of the same for the next little while.

Race leader confronts high pressure and softer winds

Here's what race headquarters had to say:

"The current leader of the Europe 1 New Man Star, Alain Gautier (aboard Foncia), contacted the Press Centre at around 9 o’clock this morning : ' I am on the other side of the depression in a 15 knot North Westerly breeze reaching off. It’s just great…I decided not to unreef the sails last night in the end and slept for a while. I am starting to get really tired out though! In the second part of the night I had to spend a lot of time on deck : with the new coffee grinder in the cockpit I have been able to set the sails with greater ease. It is less humid now but I am going to have to work out how to get round this High Pressure looming ahead of us.'"

Jean-Yves Bernot comments on the weather

"On Wednesday a small depression is moving through 48N – 25W and climbs up over the North of Ireland. The low will cross the fleet leaders during the day (7th June), bringing 40 knot (Force 8) winds with it. Two options face the leading multihulls: - circumnavigate the low to the North to get into 30-35 knot winds (at the risk of encountering shifting winds near the centre) - stay in the South of the depression in a SW 30 – 40 knot wind, which will turn into a strong North Westerly 40 knot wind as they go through this low. The monohulls, a little farther behind will not have much choice. They will encounter a strong SW wind, then on reaching the front the NW wind will follow through. The anticyclone will build more in the mid-Atlantic this week, and by Thursday 8th June those in the North will have less wind as they pass through this. However, the Southerly boats will in the long term have to pass through near the centre of this oncoming high pressure and so it seems that later on they will loose the wind too. Here we will see the effects of the strategic decisions taken by each boat at this early stage in the race."

Forecast:

SOLE: SOUTHERLY VEERING WESTERLY 5 OR 6 (17-27knts), INCREASING 7 (28-33knts) OR GALE 8 (34-40knts) FOR A TIME IN WEST. OCCASIONAL RAIN. MODERATE OR GOOD

SHANNON: SOUTHERLY VEERING WESTERLY 5 TO 7, INCREASING GALE 8 FOR A TIME. RAIN THEN SHOWERS. MODERATE OR GOOD

This animated synoptic chart from the UK's met office shows the low the Alain Gautier (Foncia) has only just sailed through. He now faces the challenge of sailing quickly over a ridge of high pressure to the west, before the next front sends him on his way again.

Race history:

We have a full archive of daily weather notes for the Europe 1 New Man single-handed trans-Atlantic race, beginning June 4, 2000, from Plymouth, England.


Who are we?	Advertise with us	Contact us