With a bitterly frustrated Jean-Pierre Dick forced to abandon due to his keel hydraulic issues, it is Armel Le Cléac’h on Banque Populaire who leads this morning by just a couple of miles from Macif in second.
PRB is third, some ten miles to leeward of the race leader. It has been quite an active, difficult night made no more pleasant by big bursts of rain, as the fleet work SW, almost at 90 degrees to the direct, straight line course to the turn at Santa Maria in the Azores. Work rates have been high, trimming, sail changing, ballast configuration changes, steering, and trying to catch some shut-eye, but it is the unpredictablilty of the squally weather – big wind shifts and change in pressure – that takes it toll.
The wait just now is for the wind to suddenly back to the SW which will allow them to tack on a course making more towards the Azores. Meantime there is still little between the top three boats. Bernard Stamm’s tracking beacon has been a bit dicky, but all is reported to OK on Cheminées Poujoulat.
The leaders have about 210 miles to Santa Maria. Winds have been moderate but will increase as it backs later, with strong winds tomorrow.
They said:
Kito de Pavant (FRA), Groupe Bel (FRA): “It has certainly not been a simple night. We are upwind, starboard tack, working towards the next wind shift to the south. And there were the squalls, quite a night. The clouds bring rain and upset the direction of the wind, and shift the direction. Crewed we would have tacked and changed sail area all the time. But solo there is the difficulty of hitting your limit, because you don’t really know what is going to happen in 10 minutes after you have done the manoeuvre. You have to get used to setting an average but that never really feels satisfactory, you feel undercanvassed and slow when it’s lighter and overpressed when the squalls hit.
I play with the ballast volumes which is easy as they are only turn valves. And I try to grab some sleep because the eyes are heavy. I get into some good habits too, I got the iPod out and here is the playlist of the 2nd stage of the Europa WarmUp.”
Credit : SeaandCo
PRB is third, some ten miles to leeward of the race leader. It has been quite an active, difficult night made no more pleasant by big bursts of rain, as the fleet work SW, almost at 90 degrees to the direct, straight line course to the turn at Santa Maria in the Azores. Work rates have been high, trimming, sail changing, ballast configuration changes, steering, and trying to catch some shut-eye, but it is the unpredictablilty of the squally weather – big wind shifts and change in pressure – that takes it toll.
The wait just now is for the wind to suddenly back to the SW which will allow them to tack on a course making more towards the Azores. Meantime there is still little between the top three boats. Bernard Stamm’s tracking beacon has been a bit dicky, but all is reported to OK on Cheminées Poujoulat.
The leaders have about 210 miles to Santa Maria. Winds have been moderate but will increase as it backs later, with strong winds tomorrow.
They said:
Kito de Pavant (FRA), Groupe Bel (FRA): “It has certainly not been a simple night. We are upwind, starboard tack, working towards the next wind shift to the south. And there were the squalls, quite a night. The clouds bring rain and upset the direction of the wind, and shift the direction. Crewed we would have tacked and changed sail area all the time. But solo there is the difficulty of hitting your limit, because you don’t really know what is going to happen in 10 minutes after you have done the manoeuvre. You have to get used to setting an average but that never really feels satisfactory, you feel undercanvassed and slow when it’s lighter and overpressed when the squalls hit.
I play with the ballast volumes which is easy as they are only turn valves. And I try to grab some sleep because the eyes are heavy. I get into some good habits too, I got the iPod out and here is the playlist of the 2nd stage of the Europa WarmUp.”
Jean-Pierre Dick forced to abandon
It was an extremely difficult decision for the skipper of the Virbac Paprec 3. Leading the pack from the start from Cascais, JP was forced to abandon the second step of the Europa Warm Up due to a problem with the hydraulic canting keel. This morning, Jean-Pierre Dick announced officially that he was withdrawing from the race and was en route to Cascais for repair work.
JP: “I made my decision, I will abandon definitively. I'm going back to Cascais to resolve the problem with the hydraulic canting keel. I am obviously disappointed. Yesterday morning, I was in the lead with a little breathing room from the competitors and in a few seconds it all went up in flames.”
A problem with the hydraulic keel
JP: “At the time I was navigating portside at a good pace when I heard an enormous noise in the boat. The hydraulic canting keel was going crazy and I couldn't keep it under control. The keel started rocking from portside to starboard in function with the incline of the boat. The result was that my boat lost a great deal of power and speed. It's impossible to navigate calmly with a keel that doesn't stop moving. I spent 10 hours on the phone with the manufacturer and my technical team but we didn't manage to solve the problem. I had to resign.”
Repairs are an Imperative
JP: “The boat must be repaired as quickly as possible so that the boat continues to navigate. I am currently on the way back to Cascais where my technical team is waiting for me. I hope to be able to transport the boat to La Rochelle. Fortunately, that this happened now and not during the Vendée Globe. I would have really like to continue the race with my comrades and to have passed the Acores and do the lovely descent downwind in the direction of Fastnet Rock.
29/05/2012 - 18h00
1 Banque Populaire Armel Le Cléac'h
2 MACIF François Gabart 6.0
3 PRB Vincent Riou 6.8
4 Cheminées Poujoulat Bernard Stamm 19.2
5 Groupe Bel Kito de Pavant 55.1
6 ACCIONA 100% EcoPowered Javier Sansó 63.3
From : Europa Warm'Up and JP Dick
It was an extremely difficult decision for the skipper of the Virbac Paprec 3. Leading the pack from the start from Cascais, JP was forced to abandon the second step of the Europa Warm Up due to a problem with the hydraulic canting keel. This morning, Jean-Pierre Dick announced officially that he was withdrawing from the race and was en route to Cascais for repair work.
JP: “I made my decision, I will abandon definitively. I'm going back to Cascais to resolve the problem with the hydraulic canting keel. I am obviously disappointed. Yesterday morning, I was in the lead with a little breathing room from the competitors and in a few seconds it all went up in flames.”
A problem with the hydraulic keel
JP: “At the time I was navigating portside at a good pace when I heard an enormous noise in the boat. The hydraulic canting keel was going crazy and I couldn't keep it under control. The keel started rocking from portside to starboard in function with the incline of the boat. The result was that my boat lost a great deal of power and speed. It's impossible to navigate calmly with a keel that doesn't stop moving. I spent 10 hours on the phone with the manufacturer and my technical team but we didn't manage to solve the problem. I had to resign.”
Repairs are an Imperative
JP: “The boat must be repaired as quickly as possible so that the boat continues to navigate. I am currently on the way back to Cascais where my technical team is waiting for me. I hope to be able to transport the boat to La Rochelle. Fortunately, that this happened now and not during the Vendée Globe. I would have really like to continue the race with my comrades and to have passed the Acores and do the lovely descent downwind in the direction of Fastnet Rock.
29/05/2012 - 18h00
1 Banque Populaire Armel Le Cléac'h
2 MACIF François Gabart 6.0
3 PRB Vincent Riou 6.8
4 Cheminées Poujoulat Bernard Stamm 19.2
5 Groupe Bel Kito de Pavant 55.1
6 ACCIONA 100% EcoPowered Javier Sansó 63.3
From : Europa Warm'Up and JP Dick
