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2010/02/11-07h33
The unbearable lightness of the air
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| Jules Verne Trophy 2009 - 2010 |
| At the heart of the high pressure of Saint Helena, Franck Cammas and his men are slowly finding their way out of this trap
with a view to finally making it through to the low... And at daybreak, the breeze was beginning to get its breath back after
a night of uncertainty.
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What a contradiction to find your pace has eased off dramatically as you approach the Roaring Forties; a zone whose very
name indicates a frequent succession of gales in the run-up to the Southern Ocean! Indeed, after what proved to be a rather
quick descent as far as the latitude of Rio de Janeiro, the Saint Helena High has been claiming victims. And yet, despite
the summer in the Southern hemisphere being quite far advanced, lows are still forming a very long way South and the high
pressure is stretching out across virtually the whole ocean, splitting into random cells. As such it's hard to anticipate
the movements of these air masses with their weak gradients...
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Helena and the boysTherefore the night has been pretty tense for the crew of Groupama 3, which has nonetheless managed to maintain a good course
to the SE since midnight and reached 35° South at around 0200 UTC. This reduced pace though has seen the giant trimaran's
lead over the reference time shrink to 150 miles overnight... However, Franck Cammas and his nine crew should finally be able
to leave the indiscretions of Saint Helena behind them and slip along increasingly quickly towards the Cape of Good Hope,
with a wind that will switch round to the NW late today. The first low of the Southern Ocean has been a long time coming,
but the pace should finally enable the giant trimaran to enter into the Indian Ocean as the weekend draws to a close. The
change in temperature will also be harsh once Groupama 3 crosses the symbolic latitude of 40° South early tonight...
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