Nick Cherry and Sam Goodchild aboard Artemis, are currently holding the most southerly position in the Transat AG2R La Mondiale fleet. Taking a gamble on a less direct route to St Barths, the co-skippers hope that the northerly boats led by Nacarat and Cercle Vert will be slowed by the light airs of a high pressure weather system, meaning their southerly route through the gusty trade winds will prevail.
Now ranked 14th, Cherry and Goodchild took an early decision to invest in the south side of the fleet, taking a risk straying away from the more experienced Figaristes:“We are currently the most southern boat which is a bit risky, but we have faith that this maneuver can help us gain on the rest of the fleet.” Goodchild goes on to add: “We also know that a small change in the forecast could set us back a lot…” However, Gildas Morvan the experienced skipper of Cercle Vert (on his 8th AG2R race) this morning commented that they needed to be more south in the coming days, Currently at 20º42’N the fleet could be as far south as 11N (Artemis is currently at 18º59’N).
With Artemis’ position jumping from 8th to 5th to 14th over four days, Goodchild and Cherry are confident that this sporadic change in ranking is just the initial consequence of their overall strategy: “The risk is quite stressful but adds a bit of pressure to keep going fast all the time. The regular tracker updates don’t help either, despite expecting early losses in return for later gains, it’s never easy to take.”
As reported earlier this week, the sailors have also been in the process of mending a broken spinnaker; substituting vital rest time for tedious hours spent sewing out on deck. By Wednesday (02.05.12), Cherry’s hours on the needle had paid off: “I’m quite confident given the time and effort we’ve put in, we would be well within our rights to bill the Artemis Offshore Academy for a professional sail repair. But then there is always the distinct possibility it will explode as soon as it fills, a prospect that doesn’t bear thinking about…but it’s nice to think we have a spare spinnaker once again”
The Transat AG2R fleet are now 2000nm from St Barths (the half way mark for the race), with Goodchild estimating another 11-days across the Atlantic before arriving in Caribbean waters and crossing the finish line. Conditions en route continue to hot up with Cherry reporting: ‘it will soon be time to crack out the mini-fans.’ Goodchild also exclaims: “Feeling HOT HOT HOT! in the south. Enjoying trade winds and wildlife too: squids, dolphins, flying fish,and birds!” Although try as he may, Goodchild is still unsuccessful in capturing the elusive pod of dolphins following Artemis on film.
With weather predictions not in agreement on the likely positioning of the light airs ahead, it is impossible to determine whether west would have been best, or going south will prevail for Artemis. Whilst there is more wind in the south, getting there is costly in terms of extra distance to sail. What we can be sure of is Goodchild and Cherry’s decision to head south now, will decide their final Transat AG2R La Mondiale ranking.
From : Artemis Offshore Academy
Credit : Artemis Offshore Academy
Now ranked 14th, Cherry and Goodchild took an early decision to invest in the south side of the fleet, taking a risk straying away from the more experienced Figaristes:“We are currently the most southern boat which is a bit risky, but we have faith that this maneuver can help us gain on the rest of the fleet.” Goodchild goes on to add: “We also know that a small change in the forecast could set us back a lot…” However, Gildas Morvan the experienced skipper of Cercle Vert (on his 8th AG2R race) this morning commented that they needed to be more south in the coming days, Currently at 20º42’N the fleet could be as far south as 11N (Artemis is currently at 18º59’N).
With Artemis’ position jumping from 8th to 5th to 14th over four days, Goodchild and Cherry are confident that this sporadic change in ranking is just the initial consequence of their overall strategy: “The risk is quite stressful but adds a bit of pressure to keep going fast all the time. The regular tracker updates don’t help either, despite expecting early losses in return for later gains, it’s never easy to take.”
As reported earlier this week, the sailors have also been in the process of mending a broken spinnaker; substituting vital rest time for tedious hours spent sewing out on deck. By Wednesday (02.05.12), Cherry’s hours on the needle had paid off: “I’m quite confident given the time and effort we’ve put in, we would be well within our rights to bill the Artemis Offshore Academy for a professional sail repair. But then there is always the distinct possibility it will explode as soon as it fills, a prospect that doesn’t bear thinking about…but it’s nice to think we have a spare spinnaker once again”
The Transat AG2R fleet are now 2000nm from St Barths (the half way mark for the race), with Goodchild estimating another 11-days across the Atlantic before arriving in Caribbean waters and crossing the finish line. Conditions en route continue to hot up with Cherry reporting: ‘it will soon be time to crack out the mini-fans.’ Goodchild also exclaims: “Feeling HOT HOT HOT! in the south. Enjoying trade winds and wildlife too: squids, dolphins, flying fish,and birds!” Although try as he may, Goodchild is still unsuccessful in capturing the elusive pod of dolphins following Artemis on film.
With weather predictions not in agreement on the likely positioning of the light airs ahead, it is impossible to determine whether west would have been best, or going south will prevail for Artemis. Whilst there is more wind in the south, getting there is costly in terms of extra distance to sail. What we can be sure of is Goodchild and Cherry’s decision to head south now, will decide their final Transat AG2R La Mondiale ranking.
From : Artemis Offshore Academy
