The suspense builds
As Day 6 of racing gets underway, the tension is higher than ever in The Ocean Race Atlantic. The top four boats — DMG MORI Global One (1st), United by the Ocean (2nd), 11th Hour Racing (3rd) and Team Malizia (4th) — are separated by less than 50 miles. They should soon pick up stronger winds again as they race towards Lorient, where they are expected to arrive on Thursday.
Benjamin Ferré has a real talent for describing life offshore with simplicity and a healthy dose of humour. During the Vendée Globe, he famously gave each of his fellow competitors an animal nickname as they raced across the oceans. His infectious good humour can now be heard on board United by the Ocean, where he as again teamed up with Paul Meilhat following last summer's edition of The Ocean Race Europe.
Yesterday, it was with a laugh that he summed up the situation: “The low-pressure system that has been pushing us along for the past few days has gone into standby mode. It’s taken a little break,” he joked.
For now, the rough seas, 40-knot gusts and low grey skies are behind them. On Monday, the leading crews sailed across relatively flat seas in 15 to 20 knots of wind.
“We took the opportunity to feel human again,” Benjamin smiled. “We hadn’t slept for 48 hours. So we were finally able to eat, sleep, brush our teeth… It’s actually quite nice!”
“We’re going to get a bit of everything before the finish”
On the same trace as the leading quartet, the low-pressure system is continuing east. “It got squeezed by the high-pressure system off the Bay of Biscay, but it’s going to strengthen again, and we should be able to enjoy that big downhill ride all the way to Lorient.”
Positioning will be crucial, however, because “once the low-pressure system comes back, everyone will take off again at the same time.”
“The high-pressure zone is moving, but we don't know how quickly,” explained Francesca Clapcich of 11th Hour Racing.
Arisa Moriya of DMG MORI Global One was even more cautious: “We’ll have light winds upwind, reaching conditions, then downwind sailing. We’re going to get a bit of everything, and we'll need to make the right sail choices to stay competitive.”
A slight advantage for DMG MORI Global One?
This morning, the leading boats were sailing at no more than 15 knots. A high-pressure bubble ahead of them is expected to gradually move south, opening the door for the fleet to benefit once again from the approaching low-pressure system.
The key right now is positioning and finding the shortest route to the finish. This also explains why Malizia, which was 120 miles laterally from DMG MORI Global One yesterday, has managed to close the gap to 80 miles.
While the battle between United by the Ocean (2nd) and 11th Hour Racing (3rd) grabbed most of the attention yesterday, DMG MORI Global One appears to hold a slight advantage thanks to its more southerly position.
Kojiro Shiraishi and his team continue to demonstrate the potential of their boat, which was launched at the beginning of the summer.
Around 1,100 miles remain for the leading teams, who are expected to cross the finish line in Lorient this Thursday.
Further back, the gap is widening between the leaders and Embrace the Challenge (5th) and MSIG Europe (6th). The two trailing boats are sailing in a different weather system and are currently 330 and 426 miles behind respectively.
But the crews of Oliver Heer and Conrad Colman are still in contention for the daily Super Sprint — a 20-minute challenge that rewards the fastest team each day. On Monday, Embrace the Challenge took the win, while MSIG Europe finished third.
The next Super Sprint, as every day, will take place during today's OnBoard Live show beginnning at 17:00 CEST, available on www.theoceanrace.com