Ahoy Sea Wolves! Never a dull moment in an #Imoca sailing race like the Transat jacques vabre. After #charal (Jeremy Beyou and & Frank cammas) dominated the almost 4000 mile course to Martinique from the start, we now see a remarkable and daring split in the fleet. With Teamwork.net (Justine Metraux & Julien Vilion) breaking to the west and taking a chance with a wilder, more direct route, betting on a faster passage through the Azores High (which has spread itself like a wall accros the entire atlantic) somewhere more to the west, cutting of the current leaders and possibly grabbing the win in a surprising upset! The route west had been much talked about and was clearly on the mind of many skippers, as several other teams broke for the west as soon as Justine and Julien altered their course. With GROUPE DUBREUIL(Sébastien
SIMON & Iker MARTINEZ) following suit and it looks currently as if Pip’s Medalia and Freelance.com are perhaps also heading west. Will this bold strategy pay off?!
In the Ultimes class Banque populair seems to be strengthening their lead as they fly towards Martinique at +35 knots. Hot on their heels is SVR Lazartique, but with only a day or two left in the race for them, will they be able to wrestle the lead from Banque populaire or is already to late?!
In the class40 fleet a similar split is happening, with the former leaders optiing to to sail around the islands, betting on a sure wind, while several others have opted to pass between the island, risking windshadow area’s in order to sail a shorter route, and possibly outpace the leaders.
The Ocean 50 seem to finally be hitting their stride, with a decimated fleet, the three remaining teams are making fast headway towards their turning mark with SOLIDAIRES EN PELOTON now with a string 200 mile lead, the race is theirs to lose, and with still half the course to go, you can be sure they will do everything they can to keep the boat in good shape and make it to the finish line in Martinique.
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Daily update for the race at 19:00 (ish EST).
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