As the leading five boats now head north, Paul Meilhat’s Biotherm crew holds around a ten-mile advantage. But there’s still everything to play for before the expected finish in Boka Bay on Monday morning.
One of the things that makes offshore racing unique compared to other sports is that the only people who can truly describe the action and the emotions are the participants themselves — the skippers. In addition to being sailors, competitors, and problem-solvers, they are also storytellers.
Benjamin Ferré (Biotherm) is among the most gifted of these storytellers. His participation in the Vendée Globe proved it, and the voice messages he sent last night confirm it again. Here’s how he described the night:
“We’re sailing upwind. It’s a night with a beautiful starry sky. There are thousands of stars, just like in The Lion King movie. I’m lying in the cockpit, looking at the stars, trimming and easing the mainsail.”
A slightly more northerly option pays off
This long starboard tack began earlier, sailing across a ‘glassy sea’ and taking in a stunning sunset. But while the scenery may have been breathtaking, the competition was never far away. And ‘Pépino’ (Benjamin’s nickname) is particularly cheerful because the overall race leader has now reclaimed the top spot for the first time since the start of this leg.
After leaving the Sicilian coast, the blue boat managed to get ahead during the long eastward stretch yesterday. Paul Meilhat’s crew had deliberately chosen a slightly more northerly route than their rivals. “It was Amélie (Grassi)’s plan,” explains Benjamin. “We believed we’d get better wind up north, a better angle, and most importantly, a lower risk of falling into a wind hole.”
The Mediterranean roller coaster
It was a winning choice – ‘champagne sailing’ jokes Benjamin – which allowed Biotherm, leaders of the overall ranking since the first scoring gate just a few minutes after the start in Kiel, Germany over a month ago, to take control once again. Paul Meilhat’s crew had a 10-mile lead as they rounded the easternmost waypoint on the course. From there, they began the climb north towards the next mark near Calabria.
Behind them, the other four boats are packed within just 16 miles of each other. Among them is Allagrande Mapei Racing, which Hugo Feydit says made a “great comeback during the night from Thursday to Friday.” He admits it’s been “a bit of a roller coaster,” with weather conditions “always difficult to predict.”
“We’ve had light winds, strong winds, transition zones to deal with so it’s the full Mediterranean racing package!”
Yet Ambrogio Beccaria’s co-skipper insists, “the mood is excellent on board.” He admits the current long upwind stretch “is not exactly where we’re most comfortable,” but the team is digging deep: “We’ll keep sailing as best as we can — there’s still a long way to go.”
For the five leading teams, there are still more than 48 hours of racing left, an Adriatic Sea to tame, several waypoints to round, and, most importantly, the last chapter of this great story to write.
A long road for Team Amaala and Canada Ocean Racing
At the back of the fleet, Alan Roura (Team Amaala, 7th) is also having a tough time with the Mediterranean winds:
“These last few days have been pretty long. We can count the hours when we’ve had more than 10 knots of wind, so when it happens, we really savor it! Most of the time, like this morning, we’re stuck in windless patches.
“Of course, it’s a bit tough to deal with because we’re fighting to stay in touch with Canada Ocean Racing – Be Water Positive. Every time we get closer to them, we slow down again because of the lack of wind… But we know this is part of the game! We keep fighting. We know we have to adapt constantly because conditions are always changing in the Mediterranean.
“Today, Saturday, it’s hard to know what’s coming. We take it hour by hour. We don’t really know when we’ll cross the finish line, what day it is, or what’s going to happen next… But the only thing that matters is to keep the boat moving and to keep the good vibes on board!”
