Transat Jacques Vabre: Nov 4 - Ultim reels off 736nm day ahead of the Doldrums
by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World.com/nz 4 Nov 2023 12:29 UTC
4 November 2023
Co-skippers Armel Le Cleac'h and Sebastien Josse, during the Transat Jacques Vabre, on November 03, 2023 © Banque Populaire
Maxi Banque Populaire XI (Armel Le Cléac'h & Sebastien Josse) continues to lead the Ultim division, in the 2023 TransAt Jacques Vabre, as the fleet lines up for the the next rounding mark the islands of São Pedro and São Paulo.
At 1200UTC on Nov 4, the trimaran has clocked up a 24hrs run of 736.8nm, well short of the world record of 908nm - but the best run of the five boats in the 105ft Ultim class.
However that storming run could come to end in a few hours as Banque Populaire XI enters the Doldrums, or InterTropical Convergence Zone. Already Banque Populaire has slowed to 28kts - down from the 33.2kts earlier in the day.
Once through the ITCZ, Le Cléac'h & Josse will head for Ascension Island, the southern most point of the 7,000nm course. Banque Populaire has not yet reached the halfway mark on the course, and has 4525nm to sail to the finish at Martinique.
Maxi Edmond de Rothschild (Charles Caudrelier & Erwan Israel) is second - just over 100nm behind Banque Populaire, with early race leader SVR Lazartigue (François Gabart and Tom Laperche), in third a further 50nm behind. Sodebo Ultim 3 (Thomas Colville & Thomas Rouxel) is 233nm behind the leader with Actual Ultim 3 (Anthony Marchand & Thierry Chabagny) 350nm behind Banque Populaire.
There is no change for the 90 boats in the IMOCA60, Ocean 50 and Class40 classes which remain in Le Havre and Lorient waiting for a second storm to pass through - of similar strength to Storm Ciarán.
The latest weather projections forecast a break in the 60kt winds on Monday morning with the next westerly gale due to hit on Thursday morning, and the three fleets should be racing by Monday afternoon.