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2010/02/24-18h02
Carried along by the swell...
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| Jules Verne Trophy 2009 - 2010 |
| On track to pass between New Zealand and Auckland Island, Franck Cammas and his nine crew have eased off the throttle slightly
to negotiate a slightly more chaotic sea. After picking up the record for the Indian Ocean crossing on Wednesday morning (8d
17h 39'), Groupama 3 is plunging towards the SE, regularly extending her lead over the reference time.
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There is not a lot at the entrance to the Pacific Ocean, though there is a swell... A fine W'ly swell which is enabling Groupama
3 to continue to lengthen her stride, pushed by a twenty-five knot SW'ly wind. The climate is still mild and (at last) there
is a seascape to contemplate as the clouds have given way to a starry sky.
"We don't need to push the boat
too hard because it would serve no purpose to be too quick due to the weather situation which awaits us over the next few
days. In addition, the seas aren't very organised following the wind shift and we're sailing with one reef in the mainsail
and small gennaker" said Franck Cammas at the 1130 UTC radio link-up with Groupama's Race HQ in Paris.
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A record along the wayNaturally the skipper of Groupama 3 was happy to have broken their first WSSRC record on this Jules Verne Trophy (from the
Agulhas Cape to the South of Tasmania: 8d 17h 39'). Most important of all though is the 200 mile lead the crew are boasting
at the entrance to the Pacific, which has resulted in them tracking nearly half a day ahead of Orange 2's course. The midway
point of this round the world has also been crossed this Wednesday, at around 0630 UTC, which means that Franck Cammas and
his men are closing inexorably on the finish now...
"This record for the Indian Ocean crossing is a great surprise:
Groupama 3 is a boat which isn't supposed to be quicker on this particular section of the course. However, the weather did
favour us for two thirds of that ocean... However, we've got to get to Cape Horn yet and it's a long old haul!"
With
twenty-five knots of W to SW'ly breeze, Franck Cammas and his nine crew will stay behind a low for several days as it fills,
but it will remain ahead of the giant trimaran. In addition a front is trailing them at the moment, which is causing the NW'ly
winds to rotate. As such conditions are favourable for making headway on more organised seas, pushed along by this new downwind
breeze throughout a large chunk of the Pacific Ocean.
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Approaching New Zealand"Since we gybed, the sailing conditions have been harsher: we're behind a front but at least the skies have cleared
with a few squalls, a beautiful moon and a starry vault. The temperatures are mild and it's pleasant: there are some stunning
lights in the sky. It makes a nice change from the grey that has coloured the past few days, though it's still night here...
The sea is a bit messy due to a depression generating E'ly wind over the zone a couple of days ago: the seas are still steep
and though they're not very high, they are chaotic. We're taking care not to put too much pressure on our steed..."
Once
round New Zealand, the first section of the Pacific promises to be relatively mild, even though there are a few icebergs quite
far North. Fortunately Groupama 3 should be able to leave them to port and slip along beneath them. With the sea temperature
remaining fairly warm, there is a decreased risk of encountering such phenomena, especially as Franck Cammas and his men have
requested satellite images of the danger zones along the scheduled route towards Cape Horn, between 53° and 54° South
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