The Ocean Race: Fleets move into Bay of Biscay in search of stronger winds in Leg 7, 11th Hour dock out
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Updated 18/06/2023 at 19:01 GMT
The IMOCA and VO65 fleets that are still shipshape have left the English Channel as they move towards the Bay of Biscay and the North Atlantic, on their way to the western coasts of Spain and Portugal before heading towards the Mediterranean Sea. The winds remain gentle and there is a tactical calculation to be made about switching routes in order to pick up speed.
The fleet continues to experience light air conditions as they head out to sea – Daily Report
As both the IMOCA and VO65 fleets are through the English Channel they can now focus on the Bay of Biscay and North Atlantic, while 11th Hour finally docked out.
The target now is to leave the Bay of Biscay to port and sail down the Iberian coast before turning into the Mediterranean.
After two days of gentle winds, Sunday morning brought a light to moderate breeze, but in the general direction of travel, meaning choices will need to be made. Further west there is likely to be more wind, but it comes at a cost of extra distance. This tactical choice over the next day or so could be decisive.
"We lost a bit on Biotherm overnight, but still have a good lead at the moment. So far, so good," said Benjamin Schwartz on IMOCA fleet leader, Team Holcim-PRB.
His team lost a little over 10 miles in the early hours of Sunday, but have managed to stabilise now and are set up directly west of Paul Meilhat's Biotherm team, and almost 50 miles clear of Boris Herrmann's Team Malizia.
The VO65 fleet has moved further west than the IMOCAs, especially the race leader, WindWhisper Racing Team who are over 70 miles west of second-placed Mirpuri-Trifork and Team JAJO in third.
The decision ahead for WindWhisper skipper Daryl Wislang is to work out when there is enough west in the wind direction for them to tack and start making miles south - at the moment (09:00 UK time) his team is pushing nearly directly west, and not making miles towards their goal.
"It's definitely been a tricky time with very, very light winds," explained Viva Mexico skipper Erik Brockmann, in a pack of four VO65s chasing the leader.
"The last days have seemed more like the doldrums with a little bit of everything mixed in. Now we finally have some breeze and have sailed all night and I think we are finally getting into the southerlies we have been expecting. Only WindWhisper has been able to get into the wind first (and get away), but we can see the others, so it should be a fun day today."
Two boats returned to The Hague after the dramatic collision that marred the start of Leg 7 for the IMOCA fleet.
On Sunday morning, GUYOT environnement - Team Europe confirmed they would not be able to repair their boat in time to get to Genova for the Grand Finale.
"We wanted to finish this race and we put all our power towards that, but we try to go to Genova like this - no bowsprit, no downwind sails - we will arrive well after the stopover," said skipper Benjamin Dutreux.
"We have spent the past six months with all the other teams. We have that link together now. There is no way we will miss the arrival of the boats in Genova. All of our team will be in Genova to welcome the boats. Whether our boat is there or not there, changes nothing. This is a human story and we want to be there to share that with them."
Still in The Hague, Charlie Enright's team had continued to work around the clock on repairs to its boat with the aim reaching Genova for the Grand Finale.
On Sunday afternoon, the team docked out as they finally set sail for Italy. They will not be racing towards Genova, but they are hoping to arrive in time to take part in the Grand Finale, with the In-Port Race due on July 1.
“We are very tight on time but we will do everything we can to get to Genova to join the rest of the fleet for the Grand Finale of The Ocean Race," said Enright. "We want to be there in time for the start of the In-Port Race on July 1, to give us the opportunity to compete in, and win, the In-Port Race Series. It’s a race-within-a-race, and the countdown is now on."
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