Bulletin: 6th June 2007

TEMENOS II up with the leaders

With a fleet scattered across 189 miles from the 3rd day of racing and those in 5th place in the ranking relegated to a 108 mile deficit on the leader, it was difficult to see how one of the top four could not take victory. However, that was prior to taking into account the zone of high pressure over Ireland, which seems to have decided to create some added suspense for the race.
Not surprising then that we have seen the deficits melt like snow in the sun over the past 24 hours. Back-runner Maisonneuve has regained 120 miles, creating a pretty regrouping of the fleet.

With at most 5 knots on the anemometer overnight, the progress of the monohulls offshore of the Irish coast has been laborious. However these erratic winds have not stopped TEMENOS II from reaping the benefits of its W’ly separation and making up its deficit. The night has certainly been difficult but it has born fruit for Dominique Wavre ’s monohull. At the 1600 hour ranking, TEMENOS II was just 2,70 miles from the leader PRB, and only 0,10 little mile from VM Matérieux.

Contacted at the beginning of the afternoon, Michèle Paret looked back at the past few hours of racing:

"We had very little wind last night. We made a lot of manoeuvres, followed every wind shift and that paid off. You had to battle to make headway. There was a fairly big swell which meant that the sails were slopping around a bit. When the boat ended up in the hollows of the swell, the mast would cant over in the opposite direction, taking the sails with it, filling the other side… Since this morning, the swell has calmed, there’s an established 8 to 10 knot NEly, and the sea is a turquoise blue. It’s fabulous; I’ve rarely seen such a colour."

TEMENOS Sails in turquiose blue seawater

To their great delight of having hit more wind there is an added bonus for the crew of TEMENOS II:

"We were scanning the horizon this morning and could make out PRB and VM Matériaux who were tacking out to sea, then they must have tacked again and came across onto the same course as us. We then saw VM Matériaux and since lunchtime the blankets of fog have dissipated and we can also see PRB."

Besides the pleasure of being back in touch with the leading duo, this contact sailing has a lot of other advantages for the crew:

"It’s highly stimulating from a sporting angle and that enables us to calibrate the boat. We are still in a learning phase, and we haven’t got the knack of all the right sail choices yet, or all the right combinations. To have another boat next to you gives you some reliable benchmarks. Alone or in a fleet, you are always concentrated on the trimming but when you’re sailing within contact, the sentence is immediate and we allow ourselves to make adjustments as soon as we start to lose ground."

Aboard TEMENOS II the atmosphere is very much like the ranking:

"Everything is going very well. We’re playing at being furniture removers. We are making a lot of manœuvres and each time you have to shift all the moveable ballast aboard. Staying active is a good thing; it keeps us alert for the watches, which drag on a bit sometimes when there’s not much wind like last night. With the fog, it's very wet aboard. We spent the night getting dumped on by the sails as they flogged around. Since this morning though the skies have cleared and the sun is hotting up which is very pleasant."

Earlier today the top trio hit more wind. Around ten knots of NE'ly, which is enough to ignite the speedos and fill the sails, as well as make a few more gains on the chasing pack too with a bit of luck!

IMOCA 60 - RANKING 06/06/2007 1550
Rank	Boat name	Latitude	Longitude	Vmg	Vit.	Cap	Dist to arrival	Dist. 1er
1	PRB	53 10.84' N	10 39.52' W	6.9	8.2	46	1213	0
2	VM Matériaux	53 10.52' N	10 56.04' W	4.5	4.6	7	1216	2.6
3	TEMENOS II	53 07.84' N	10 37.76' W	6.5	7.9	46	1216	2.7
4	Roxy	52 29.60' N	10 27.00' W	2.7	3.6	321	1253	40
5	Cheminées Poujoulat	52 29.84' N	10 34.56' W	3.7	6.1	312	1253	40.1
6	Artemis Ocean Racing	52 28.92' N	10 42.88' W	4	4.6	37	1255	41.6
7	Aviva	52 25.52' N	10 34.32' W	4	5.2	45	1257	44.4
8	Delta Dore	52 20.08' N	10 34.12' W	3	3.1	351	1263	49.8
9	Akena Verandas	52 14.20' N	10 33.40' W	3.7	4.6	40	1269	55.6
10	Generali	52 10.96' N	10 36.64' W	6.3	7.7	41	1272	59
11	Maisonneuve	51 59.72' N	10 45.20' W	8	8.2	20	1284	70.8