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2010/02/28-09h03
Fluctuations, variations and oscillations
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| Jules Verne Trophy 2009 - 2010 |
| This weekend the giant trimaran's trajectory has had to bend around as the NW wind backs round to the W, fluctuating between
20 and 35 knots. Franck Cammas and his men haven't seen the end of this bad weather reigning over this final stretch of the
Pacific, however the exit from the Southern Ocean is forecast for the middle of the week...
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In the virtual game between Orange 2 and Groupama 3 with five years separation, Franck Cammas and his men have chosen to `castle',
that is move their master piece to reposition themselves in the North, with a view to dealing the devastating blow before
rounding Cape Horn. Indeed, having sailed on port tack in a W to NW'ly wind for over 24 hours, the giant trimaran climbed
5° in order to put in a gybe at around 0400 hours (UTC) and is now on a course to the SE making thirty knots. The upshot of
this move in terms of their lead in relation to the reference time has been negative, though Groupama 3 has still been faster
over the past few hours because she's covered more ground across the water than her virtual rival. However, there will be
another reversal of the trend to follow with further twists in store until their exit from the Pacific. As such their lead
should vary between 450 miles, as is the case this Sunday morning, and 550 miles as it was on Saturday evening...
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Rocking and rolling"In fact, with the wind fluctuating between the W and SW, Franck Cammas and his crew have, in the space of a day, adopted
a more direct course towards the Horn again. However, the cape is still a long way off (2,400 miles at 0430 UTC) and this
won't be their last manoeuvre before reaching the exit from the Pacific Ocean. Indeed, in contrast to the Indian Ocean, the
second half of the crossing promises to be more complicated since Groupama 3 will have to deal with a fairly shifty wind this
Sunday (W to SW). After that she will have to handle a disturbance moving across from the W at high speed at the start of
the week, just as she is running along a zone renowned for its frequent presence of icebergs. As a result, the progress of
Franck Cammas and his crew will once again require a great deal of effort as far as Cape Horn as well as the maximum amount
of concentration in this rather unwelcoming environment" analysed Sylvain Mondon from Météo France
As such
the sailing conditions will become harder and more `rock n' roll'! It's not the same tempo, the same rhythm, the same atmosphere
or the same music, even though the average speed will still remain between 27 and 30 knots. Colder with bigger seas, more
danger (icebergs to watch out for), more manoeuvres and more humidity, Franck Cammas and his nine crew are truly entering
into the `land of obscurity' now! If all goes to plan though, this most difficult section of the Jules Verne Trophy will only
last four days, with Cape Horn likely to be rounded from as early as Wednesday evening.
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