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2010/03/05-17h56
Into the light...
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| Jules Verne Trophy 2009 - 2010 |
| With Cape Horn astern, Groupama 3 is now traversing some very different weather conditions: the downwind breeze has given
way to headwinds, but the giant trimaran is managing to maintain her lead. However, Franck Cammas and his men know only too
well that the finish line off Ushant is still 6,800 miles away...
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Groupama 3 rounded Cape Horn a long way offshore last night, at 1830 UTC on Thursday 4th March. However, one hour later, a
NE'ly rotation of a lighter wind inspired Franck Cammas and his nine crew to change tack and follow the longitude of the most
S'ly rock in America, before switching back on course towards Ushant and hence right to the foot of Cape Horn. The crew were
then able to immortalise this high point in their round the world with a photo session as the sun dropped over the horizon...
"Last
night, things were pretty light as we approached Cape Horn, which is rather unusual in this part of the world! We even came
close to rounding it three times... In the end we found ourselves at the very foot of the rock, which was superb. Since then
we've been able to put the pedal to the metal again on very pleasant, flat seas. In addition the wind has shifted round to
the NW so we're reaching on a favourable tack. The three new cape horners (Bruno, Steve and myself) were very happy because
we were allowed a piece of chocolate... The cape is pretty high and more imposing than on the photos! It makes you want to
return here and cruise around the channels of Patagonia" indicated Franck Cammas at the 1130 UTC radio link-up with
Groupama's Race HQ in Paris.
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The midnight delight of the lighthouse keeperSince Auckland Island to the South of New Zealand, Franck Cammas and his cape horners hadn't seen land, let alone other boats
or a voice on the VHF radio...
"Ronan had a chat in Portuguese with the lighthouse keeper at Cape Horn: he
told him that we'd come from Brest, but when he said we were going back to Brest as well the guy didn't really understand!"
As such it was actually shortly before midnight UTC that Groupama 3 truly entered the Atlantic Ocean: "It's a very big cliff!
However, we're happy to have got past it after fourteen days in strong winds and difficult seas. Even though it was superb
to sail through such beautiful seven metre high Pacific waves, it's rather like a kind of deliverance now after the high speeds
we had to maintain. The pressure's eased! We're going to open a bottle at the Bar des Sports this evening..." adds
Steve Ravussin.
As regards the third new cape horner of the day, Bruno Jeanjean was also enthusiastic about having
rounded the famous Horn: "It's an important passage in a sailor's life! Conditions were ideal for enabling us to see
it up close: it's the final boundary of the Southern Ocean. It will also make the last third of this round the world course
very tactical because we didn't have much of a lead on rounding the rock. We haven't taken any risks up till now and we've
been lucky to have some fairly cooperative weather conditions. Right now we're really going to have to show what we're made
of in terms of our skills, our manoeuvres, our time at the helm and our decisions at the chart table! It's going to be complicated
and it's certainly going to be a close call at the finish, but it's going to spice up this ascent of the Atlantic."
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Pressure, decompression, expressionThe wind is set to remain stable over the coming hours as well as being moderate, which is a change from the lows of the Pacific.
The seas are no longer heavy, the sun is out, the waves are no longer drenching the helmsman and the crew has made the most
of the situation to open the hatches for a short while to get some air down below. However, the temperatures are still cold
around the Fifties and Franck Cammas and his nine crew will have to wait another couple of days before they can really dry
out both boat and bodies alike... After the pressure of the Pacific, it's time for the decompression of the Atlantic! Indeed
the three new cape horners weren't shy in expressing their satisfaction at having reached this third cape of the Jules Verne
Trophy.
However, though the giant trimaran is still making good headway to the NE, she will have to deal with headwinds
over the coming days. The current programme is for Groupama 3 to pass to the East and a long way offshore of the Falkland
Islands and further extend the distance to travel; a detour which could add an extra 1,100 miles to the course between Ushant
and Cape Horn in relation to the wake of her predecessor, Orange 2... Some additional miles on the menu then, but this will
accompany a largely sufficient average speed (nearly thirty knots) to maintain a lead of 150 miles. This news comes as a further
paradox since Bruno Peyron and his crew were very fast on this ascent of the Southern Atlantic (8d 05h 36') as far as the
equator, benefiting from downwind conditions as far as Brazil, while Franck Cammas and his men are sailing with slightly eased
sheets in a moderate breeze... Ultimately conditions aren't proving as unfavourable as all that then for the giant trimaran,
which seems to have a particular fondness for the medium wind and flat seas!
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