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View the race from your computer Weather router Jean-Yves Bernot talks tactics Which way to go in the TRANSAT? Ellen MacArthur and Kingfisher learn the ropes Roger
Badham of team Sail downwind in the Southern Ocean
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Playing the wind tunnel With low pressure to the north and the Azores High to the south, race leaders are taking every opportunity to beat right into the heart of the great Atlantic bellows This satellite image shows mid and upper level winds, with the blue arrows representing the direction of water vapor at jet stream level - about 200hPa. This river of moist vapor originates in the atmospere above the Gulf of Mexico and ends up in the guts of a low pressure cell east of Newfoundland. (you can just see Nova Scotia in the top left). To the east, or right, lies the Azores High, shown here as a dull hazy football-shaped blob. The dark valleys between these two systems are where the wind blows. Image
courtesy of Tropical Cyclones group, June 9, day 5. Race leaders are more than halfway to Newport! After Wednesday night's low, the monohull fleet slogged through rain squalls and winds of 25-35 knots, blowing in from the north west between the low and another front barking on its heels. Behind the western front lies a ridge of high pressure and then another frontal system - this next one is huge. The low which created it is far to the north of Newfoundland and its frontal cloud band extends all the way to the sub tropics. In fact, less than two days ago it had its feet in the tropical convergence zone - that great boiler box of cumulous clouds and low pressure above the equator - sucking hot, wet air into the northern latitudes. It should have been a whopper - and certainly the low dumped plenty of rain over the waters east of Newfoundland yesterday. Will this wet energy become wind energy? Only time will tell, but if it is like Wednesday night's low and the front that followed it, something wicked might develop sometime today. Then again, it might not.
However, the fleet has sailed too far south to let these northern storms worry it much longer. Unless a new storm develops out of the frontal cloud band between the low and its southern moisture source, race leaders may have more of a worry dealing with light winds directly under this broad cloud band. Meanwhile, the leading yachts are taking advantage of a relatively stable relationship between weather systems. The real trick is to stay right between the band of low pressure in the cold north and lighter airs associated with a football-shaped high pressure area to the south. This 'high' is a given thing down at those latitudes and it gives the Azores a beautiful climate. At the extreme centre of each of these weather systems there is very little wind. But between them blow the bellows of the north Atlantic! Take a look at Virtual Spectator and you can see the pattern clearly. One of the two leaders of the multihull fleet, Alain Gautier approaches every wind shift as if it is a message from the gods. He tacks, and stays facing the bellows. Young Ellen MacArthur, now leading the monohull fleet, is doing exactly the same. These two skippers seem to react first and as a result, they may be able to maintain their positions. The downfall, here, of course is that throat of the bellows is violent, and rough seas from the west can take a toll of skipper and gear. Looking back ... In hindsight, it is now clear that the monohull fleet was most affected by Wednesday night's low because the bulk of the boats were located in the south west quadrant of that storm as it suddenly intensified. Because storms move from west to east, and because they spin counter clockwise, or right to left, they pack a punch along their leading edge. Any one caught in the path of that right hook will get a beating! The multihulls, meanwhile, either sailed through the low or right around it to the north - the quietest quadrant. And anyway, the storm had not developed when the multis sailed past it. What they did get were brisk north west winds following the storm, and the front immediately west of it, to sail towards the centre of the Azores high. Race headquarters comments: LLB/Mary Ambler
Monohulls In this last half of the race we have witnessed extreme conditions, which have rendered 3 dismastings in the Class 1 Monohull fleet (Eric Dumont, Euroka UUDS ; Yves Parlier, Aquitaine Innovations ; Thomas Coville, Sodébo), one return to port for the American Bruce Burgess (Hawaiian Express) due to his engine – and thus his energy resource – failing, and a ripped main sail last night for Dominique Wavre (UBP), for whom to qualify for the Vendée Globe is paramount. The 15 monohulls still racing are being lead by the remarkable young British female skipper, Ellen MacArthur (Kingfisher), followed closely by Roland Jourdain (Sill Beurre Le Gall),who has been on the same path and in sight of Ellen since the start… just about 4 miles apart! Michel Desjoyeaux (PRB) is ‘on the same train’ but 18 miles behind. Friday morning at 0400hrs (French time), Thierry Dubois (Solidaires) climbs to 5th place just behind Mike Golding (Group 4), who has clocked the best speed so far. Marc Thiercelin (Active Wear) and Catherine Chabaud (Whirlpool), both suffering from problems with their furling systems, are 130 miles further back in the fleet. Multihulls Alone Yvan Bourgnon (Bayer en France) did not come out of the depression unscathed. Unable to use his Main sail as the traveller has come away from the mast and so he is heading for the Azores to make his repairs. Ahead, Francis Joyon (Eure et Loir) is not that comfortable with his small 19 mile lead over Alain Gautier (Foncia), and Jean-Luc Nélias (Belgacom) stays 85 miles further back. Marc Guillemot (Biscuits La Trinitaine), still far South from the rest of the fleet, has gone into top gear and clocked 3 more knots in speed (19 knots) than the rest of the fleet to bring him up to 4th place over Franck Cammas (Groupama). Lalou Roucayrol (Banque Populaire) is only reaching 10 knots unlike the 16 knot average of the others, due to less favourable conditions where he is. He has conceded 240 miles now (180 miles last night) over leader Joyon. Alain Gautier comments on wind and weather "The wind has returned to the South West and I am sailing upwind, but in similar conditions to Wednesday. I would prefer to have slightly better weather. The rhythm of sailing solo has increased each year: now you only need 10 knots of wind and the boat reaches its maximum speed." The effects of the antcyclone have been brief for Alain Gautier (Foncia) since the trimaran is sailing along at 15 knots in a 25 knot SW wind. The only difference the day before, the temperature is markedly better than when I had a Northerly wind." Ellen MacArthur aboard Kingfisher comments: June 8: "Its been pretty hard going, the wind has been changing
from 20 to 35 knots (Editor's note: Ellen did. Tack first, that is. And, like multihull leader
Alain Gautier, Ellen takes advantage of each wind shift to tack and sail towards
the windiest sector between high and low pressure. It is becoming clear that
this young woman with roots in the Isle of Skye, is a smart little cookie. Bring
on the Vendee Globe!) Jean-Yves Bernot talks us through the next 24 hours: "June 8: Change of rhythm: the leading boats are facing the
anticyclone which is building in the middle of the Atlantic. The current rain
storms with 25 - 35 knot NW winds should be replaced by some good weather &
NW winds reducing to10 to15 knots. Read our interview with Jean-Yves as he talks Atlantic tactics. More sailing news from Yachting World magazine:
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. |
