Bulletin: 13th November 2007

A gentle introduction

It would be hard to imagine a more gentle introduction for a round the world than that of this first edition of the Barcelona World Race. It would be equally hard to wish for better for the 18 sailors, now at sea for two days, other than a few extra knots of wind perhaps. The conditions for the start of this race are idyllic, though they’re certainly getting the grey matter moving. The weather files are just about as reliable as they are changeable, but the sailors are benefiting from the Mediterranean climes to gently get into race mode.

As regards strategy, the Mediterranean has been transformed into a veritable chess board, and sometimes there is a fine line between making a winning move and one that isn't quite so good. Now hugging the Spanish coast, Delta Dore has left Véolia Environnement and Mutua Madrilena thirty miles or so in its wake; a great move enabling them to take 4th place. Meantime PRB and Virbac Paprec 2, leaders of the fleet, are continuing to benefit from more favourable conditions and extend their lead. Behind them it’s Estrella Damm, who has a slight lead over the top trio, made up of TEMENOS II and Hugo Boss. If we believe the weather forecasts the skippers must be patient for a little longer, prior to being able to pass Gibraltar and the opening to the Atlantic, with its more regular wind. This is what the skippers must secretly be hoping for at least!

Last tortilla onboard today.

Message from Michèle received at 1440 hours French time today.

“After a night spent making a series of gybes and chasing after puffs of airs, sometimes under code zero, sometimes under spinnaker,r and almost as calm an early morning, we hit a little fresh wind an hour ago. It’s nothing spectacular but Temenos II is finally making headway at over 10 knots under spinnaker and on course. That’s always a good thing. You have to be an opportunist in this kind of situation.

Life aboard is gradually settling into a rhythm and we’re trying to make space for ourselves but there's not much left! The boat has never been so cluttered. It's not easy to organise yourself in this small space 80% full up with bags, boxes and sails. We're planning to make a little room for ourselves and sort things out as soon as the weather allows. For the time being though, the light weather is forcing us to focus instead on the trimming.

We ate our last Spanish tortilla for breakfast this morning and we’re preparing to begin the first of the dried food, which we’ll be eating for the next three months.

Slight air at least until Gibraltar

The emotion from the start has now given way to the enjoyment of being at sea. Getting rid of all this emotion has taken up more time than I imagined. It has to be said that what we experienced on leaving the quay was really special. I couldn't stop myself from shedding a few tears, but I hope I hid it well... We don't leave the world of 'landlubbers' as easily as that. They were there at the start and will accompany us throughout our voyage in a corner of our hearts.

Right now it's into race mode! We spent a large part of the night with Hugo Boss and then our routes differed, we stayed further to the right and he headed off to the left. This morning we also caught sight of Estrela Damm. It’s always very good to be in contact with another boat. We’re constantly measuring ourselves against them, which enables us to get the best from boat, even if it's more demanding on the nerves. But that's exactly why we're here!