The Saint Helena High is a semipermanent area of high
pressure, which can stretch for thousands of miles across the South Atlantic
Ocean. Sailors try to find a "corridor"
through using the low pressure systems forming off the coast of Brazil, that
move west pushing against the high pressure. The question here has been whether
or not the sailors could take the risky strategy of cutting the corner on the
high pressure, saving miles.
“Going right keeps you away from the high
pressure system, but if you are left you are the first to be caught and the
last to be released”- Mike Golding explained, while making easy miles to the
South East over the weekend as he worked his way around the dominant high
pressure system. The route into the South Atlantic has been the big decision
for all the skippers; Alex Thompson described it as a ‘highway’-
“as soon as you
are on the highway you are moving fast and it is normally very difficult to
move significantly up the field. There are exceptions of course but normally
the rich get richer”.
Throughout this past week the fleet had been split
between those sailing West and those taking the more direct, Southerly route. Golding
described the conditions as being similar to the doldrums, with scattered heavy
rain and light wind areas. It was a complicated system to decipher. At the time
Stamm explained the situation;
“The
leaders are trying to eat up a few miles in the centre, but those of us behind
only have the option of going around the anticyclone, and there are areas
without any wind that can be dangerous”.
With a pack of boats all entering
the Southern Ocean together, the following few days of the race have been
exciting to follow. With a split in decision making, Alex
Thompson found himself in second place, while Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec 3) and
Francois Gabart tackled the high pressure system, trying to edge out in front
before it extended any further East. Armel Le Cleac’h, leading and on the edge
of the system, hoped to be able to bypass the high pressure and sail the
shortest route.
By friday
the skippers were around 700 miles off Gough Island, the first mark into the
route to the Southern Ocean. The air temperature had started to cool,
signalling the gradual advance towards
the Roaring Forties- strong Westerly winds found in the Southern Hemisphere, in
the region of the latitudes of 40 and 50 degrees. The strong west-to-east air
currents are generated by air being displaced from
the Equator towards the South Pole and the Earth's rotation,
with few landmasses to serve as windbreaks.
A couple of days later and the first
few ice bergs were to be seen- although 320 nm South of the fleet, as reported
by Dominqiue Wavre on Sunday. On the same day, Francois Gabart, leading the race,
was expecting to reach the first ice gate by around 8pm (UTC), with just 16 miles
between him, Armel Le Cleac’h and Jean Pierre-Dick. The appearance of Albatrosses,
the largest flying seabird in the world (which live in the north Pacific and
Southern Ocean) were a reminder of the treacherous, chilly conditions the
skippers were about to face.
It is now the 4th
December and Armel Le Cleac’h has again taken the lead, with Francois Gabart
moving back into second position. Along with Alex Thompson, Jean Pierre-Dick
and Bernard Stamm, this group of five are the first to have crossed through the
ice-gate, and it looks like Mike Golding will be the next through in the coming
hours. It is now here, in the Southern Ocean, that the skippers will really be
challenged. Temperatures range from -2 to 10 degrees Celsius, with the waves
being some of the largest on the planet. The dangers of these waves and quick
wind shifts was highlighted today by Mike Golding, who, while trying to sleep,
has broached out twice. During a broach the boat falls over onto its side, and
with both rudders out of the water on an Open 60, you lose all steerage. Pretty
scary!
So it is all kicking off for the guys
at the front, while the trailers, Javier Sanso and Arnaud Bossieres, have
finally broken free of the St Helena high; first passing the the Tristan da
Cunha Island (with a permanent population of just 275 people) and then Gough
island (uninhabited except for the personnel of its weather station!). Alessandro
Di Benedetto, who lies roughly 2300 nm
behind the current leader (Armel Le Cleac’h), and has yet to pass these islands
and reach the wild waves the other skippers are expierecing.