The leading pack in The Ocean Race Atlantic has been enjoying fast reaching conditions as the top four teams countdown the final 500 nautical miles of their 3,000 nm passage from New York to Lorient, France.
Earlier today, the leaders, Kojiro Shiraishi’s DMG MORI Global One (JPN), were hitting speeds close to 30 knots in southerly winds, making the most of flat water to the north of a high-pressure zone moving southeast. The Japanese entry has continued to benefit from its positioning move many days earlier in the race, being the most southerly boat in the leading group, now looking set for rapid progress directly towards Lorient.
At 1200 UTC / 1400 CEST today, DMG MORI Global One held a 10-nm lead over Francesca Clapcich’s second-placed 11th Hour Racing (USA), with Paul Meilhat’s United by the Ocean (FRA) in third, a further 13 nm back. In fourth was Boris Herrmann’s Team Malizia (GER), sitting 35 nm off the lead.
Despite the pressure of leading this inaugural transatlantic race, the sailors aboard the leading IMOCA looked remarkably relaxed in footage sent from the boat this morning.
“All is good on board,” said a smiling Samantha Davies. “We have less than 500 miles to go and we are sending it fast with the J0. We have been doing that all night and it’s fun. It’s fun and it’s fast and what is good is that we are still in the lead. But it is really really close, so we are going to have to push really hard – and that is what we are doing right now.”
Likewise, the mood was good aboard United by the Ocean, where the crew of four had been taking turns to steer the boat, enjoying the fresh air on deck after several days trapped below due to the sea state.
“Now it’s windier and no more waves – so champagne conditions,” said Portuguese co-skipper Mariana Lobato. “Everyone has been helming and it was nice to be able to see all the modes. In these conditions, I think we can do better than the pilot because we can find the balance, anticipate and make sure we don’t lose our apparent wind. As a sailor, I am enjoying the day, the moment, the life. It’s beautiful – the sky, the horizon – I feel free, liberty, and it is amazing to be on the ocean enjoying this privilege to be here.”
Although the top four are closely grouped, the crews are focused more on coaxing the maximum performance out of their boats than strategising about boat-on-boat tactics.
“It is not a control race right now,” summarised United by the Ocean skipper Paul Meilhat. “It’s about taking the best angle to the finish line.”
“Four boats can still win this race, with four different strategies,” agreed his teammate Benjamin Ferré.
Although the leaders are expected to continue making fast progress towards the French coast for the rest of today, lighter winds are forecast closer to the coast, which may slow their progress and could see another compression in the top four boats before they reach the finish line. Latest predictions suggest the first boats home could arrive between 1200 UTC / 1400 CEST and 1800 UTC / 2000 CEST tomorrow – Thursday, September 10.
“It will be close,” warned Nico Lunven from on board DMG MORI Global One. “The wind is dropping ahead of us, so the fleet will compress again before the finish. We might be leading now, but it could all change.”
Meanwhile, Oliver Heer’s fifth-placed Embrace the Challenge (SUI) and Conrad Colman’s non-foiling MSIG Europe (NZL) still look set to sail a more direct route to Lorient, without having to divert north to avoid the low-pressure system. In particular, Colman is upbeat having kept pace better than expected with the newer foiling designs.
“Over the past couple of days, we have been chomping into the lead of the boats ahead,” Colman said. “We are coming in with a new vein of breeze and that allowed us to take back a lot of miles on Embrace the Challenge. That’s a 2020-generation foiler – so in theory a lot faster than us – but we have been matching them boat-for-boat.”
“So on the whole, things are looking good – and crucially we are looking fast for the arrival… it looks like we are going to arrive in Lorient on Friday afternoon.”
For more on The Ocean Race, visit their website: www.theoceanrace.com
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