It's been another 24-hours of relentless pounding as Joe and his fellow Transat competitors make their way across the Atlantic headed for Boston. After a reasonable start to the day yesterday the wind increases in the early evening and by the middle of last night it was blowing close to 30 knots. "I was sailing with two reefs in my mainsail and a staysail prepared to go to the storm jib if necessary, but the wind held steady," Joe reported. "It was rough and a bit wet, but the boat handled the conditions well." The frontal system that gave the multihull and monohull 60 fleet a thrashing tracked to the northeast and Wells Fargo - American Pioneer and the rest of the monohull 50 fleet were spared the worst of it.
This morning the conditions remain unsettled as the old system moved away and a new front approached from the west. During our Iridium satellite conversation this morning Joe had to put the phone down a number of times to run on deck to alter the sails as the wind continued to gust. At one point it got so unsettled Joe asked if he could call back in an hour. It seems almost surreal to be sitting at my desk in Boston on a warm summer morning while at the other end of a crystal clear line Joe is mid-Atlantic dealing with some pretty demanding sailing conditions.
Once again it appears as if the larger dagger-boards on Artforms are giving the boat a speed edge. That's to take nothing away from fellow American Kip Stone who has sailed a flawless race so far. "The problem I am having is that Kip is not making any mistakes," Joe said. "He's sailing a great race and not allowing me any gap to get by. I am pushing as hard as I can and will keep doing so. At some point the conditions are going to get fickle and that's when I plan to make my move on Artforms." At the early poll this morning Kip Stone held a 60 mile lead over Wells Fargo - American Pioneer; at the later poll Joe had ground that back to 57 miles.
At the start of Day 5 of The Transat the leading multihulls are already approaching the halfway point. They have been on a tear since leaving Plymouth and the racing is very close. It's not, however, as close as the racing in the monohull 50 fleet as only 3 miles separate the top three boats and 87 miles separate the first eight boats. If you would like to get a glimpse of what the amazing multihulls look like, click on the link below. You will see the French catamaran M閐iatis R間ion Aquitaine sailed by Yves Parlier fly by the monohull Skandia. Joe was alongside Skandia at the time but just out of the video. He reported that M閐iatis R間ion Aquitaine came up from behind with a loud hissing sound and passed so quickly he felt that he must have stopped in the water.
Stay tuned over the weekend as we follow Joe's progress. Some rough weather is forecast. Your good vibes and continued support go a long way toward keeping his spirits up.
- Brian Hancock (great.circle@verizon.net)
