Groupama 3 v Orange 2
Groupama 3 v Orange 2

Ahead finally

Groupama 3 overhauls Orange 2

Tuesday March 16th 2010, Author: James Boyd, Location: none selected

 Image above courtesy of Expedition Navigation Systems and PredictWind

Date time Lat Long Spd Crs 24hr DTF v Orange 2
               
16 Mar 09:00 17°25.69 N 039°52.57 W 18.5 338° 665.4 2 516 4
16 Mar 08:00 17°05.27 N 039°44.63 W 22.3 335° 671.3 2 543 -20.3
16 Mar 07:00 16°41.75 N 039°34.76 W 27.1 338° 672.6 2 553 -30.1
16 Mar 06:00 16°17.43 N 039°24.23 W 26.2 336° 672.2 2 565 -41.6
16 Mar 05:00 15°55.40 N 039°14.36 W 23.7 340° 672 2 575 -47.4
16 Mar 04:00 15°33.29 N 039°05.24 W 28.8 340° 669.3 2 587 -57
16 Mar 03:00 15°05.50 N 038°53.98 W 29.7 336° 662 2 603 -71.6
16 Mar 02:00 14°40.19 N 038°41.89 W 28.3 335° 655.7 2 617 -83.8
16 Mar 01:00 14°14.11 N 038°29.87 W 29.6 335° 646.4 2 633 -95.6
16 Mar 00:00 13°47.41 N 038°17.66 W 27.9 341° 631.1 2 650 -109.4
15 Mar 23:00 13°20.94 N 038°07.79 W 29.1 340° 613.3 2 668 -124.8
15 Mar 22:00 12°53.69 N 037°57.46 W 28.7 338° 597.1 2 687 -139.3
15 Mar 18:00 11°12.71 N 037°08.14 W 29.9 330° 588.5 2 759 -177.8
15 Mar 17:00 10°46.93 N 036°53.14 W 28.4 331° 588.4 2 777 -186
15 Mar 16:00 10°21.86 N 036°38.75 W 29.2 331° 580.4 2 796 -195.4
15 Mar 15:00 09°56.75 N 036°24.61 W 28 330° 577 2 815 -207.4
15 Mar 13:00 09°08.03 N 035°57.20 W 29.9 332° 553.9 2 854 -227.6
15 Mar 12:00 08°41.63 N 035°43.25 W 31.9 331° 541 2 876 -244.7
15 Mar 11:00 08°14.61 N 035°27.89 W 30.6 330° 525.8 2 898 -260.1
15 Mar 10:00 07°48.32 N 035°13.33 W 28.5 325° 513.4 2 921 -277.6

Finally for the first time in nine days, Groupama 3 has charged ahead of Jules Verne Trophy record holder Orange 2's pace - and this is despite her being on a more westerly course compared to her virtual opponent. Big green has been benefitting from the northeasterly trades with her average speed for the last 24 hours topping out at 28 knots.

However the next few hours will see Groupama 3 slow as she passed the southwestern side of the area of high pressure/ridge currently centred just to the west of the Canaries. By this late this afternoon she should be across this area, will gybe on to port and head off on a more NNEerly course towards the finish in southwesterly breeze.

Sylvain Mondon from Météo France gives his assessment: "Groupama 3 is spending a few more hours sailing in the tradewinds this Tuesday morning before she gets to the zone where she can begin to cross the difficult obstacle lying across the home straight of this round the world record attempt at around noon. Mid-Atlantic, between Africa and the West Indies, the very fast sailing with the wind on the beam, will gradually slow along the southern edge of the ridge of high pressure extending off the Azores High. This new passage, with winds dropping off to less than ten knots this afternoon, is very tricky. As Franck Cammas quite rightly pointed out on Sunday, it's in zones such as these that the miles can very quickly be lost. However if they cross the area without any problems, they can also be places where precious time can be saved. So today will be devoted to the approach and the passage across this meteorological obstacle and will have a major influence on the outcome. The ultimate aim is to join up with the westerly air flow on Wednesday, with steady downwind conditions, which will enable them to slowly bend Groupama 3's course round towards the Bay of Biscay." 

Although the forecast for the North Atlantic is looking volatile with a new area of high pressure forming, at present is still showing the band of favourable southwesterly wind to hold until Friday which should get Groupama 3 most of the way back to the Bay of Biscay and in good shape, barring calamity, to claim the Jules Verne Trophy on their third attempt.

 

Latest Comments

  • 408267 16/03/2010 - 19:20

    Great stuff. Groupama just gybed on top of Orange to stay between them and the finish.

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