Bulletin: 1st November 2006

Southerly Option for TEMENOS II

No upsets in the Imoca fleet since yesterday, except perhaps in terms of the ranking, which now has Sill-Véolia as the new leader. For the rest of the monohulls progress continues to be made in a steady 20-25 knots E’ly. The sea has built a little since the day before and logically there is more load on the hardware.

Aboard TEMENOS II, the past night has been quickly put behind him; the blue and black monohull having conceded around fifty miles to the leading group. Contacted in the middle of the afternoon, its skipper looks back at the reasons that cost him those precious miles: "I had to feel my way around a fair bit filling my ballast tanks overnight. I probably had them too full at a particular point; the boat felt heavy and it was a struggle to take off. Out at the front, the leading trio seemingly had more wind, which I hit at nightfall, and they made the most of it to head offshore…”

Dominique keeps the situation in perspective nevertheless: "It’s a training period for the boat. I will have to learn to get the hang of all the various parameters, including filling the ballast tanks. TEMENOS II is sensitive and delicate to trim and last night was spent trimming by trial and error.”

Hesitation is perfectly normal for Dominique given that you can count the days he has sailed on his monohull on the fingers of two hands.

"At times it feels great and I immediately find the speed, while other times it’s more difficult to get the boat to take off. I even broached yesterday in fairly little wind. The boat was stopped in a wave and then it went into a broach without any warning. These are some of things I still have to learn about its behaviour.”

However, before getting to know the boat like the back of his hand like the skippers in the top trio, Dominique will certainly need more than a transatlantic, even if the skipper rarely hesitates in his trimming. With each ranking TEMENOS II is racking up some very fine average speeds.

"There is currently 20 to 25 knots of wind. I am under gennaker. The boat is going well and is within its polars. I’m happy with the way it’s trimmed, certainly a lot more than last night anyway! I’m in two minds about taking a reef. I’m going to helm for a while and see how things shape up.”

As regards my tactics for the race, even if the weather situation leaves little leeway for some bold options, a few differences can be distinguished in relation to the previous day’s positions. Two skippers, Jean-Pierre Dick and Dominique, opted to drop down to the South overnight.

Questioned about this position, Dominique said "the goal is to go in search of a more favourable wind curve by moving closer to the depression situated off the Azores."

A better angle and stronger winds may allow Virbac-Paprec to take back the reigns and for TEMENOS II to make up a little ground on the frontrunners.

A gamble on the future to heighten the suspense at the head of the race. Answer tomorrow perhaps…

Aboard TEMENOS II, both the boat’s form and speed are good! "Everything is going very well. The incident with the daggerboard tired me out a bit. I was really worried that I wouldn’t be able to repair it. I had to have a complete change of clothes as I was soaked from head to toe under my foulies.”

At the 1600 hour ranking, TEMENOS II was in 5th place, 115 miles from the leader.