Domaine du Mont d'Arbois and her skipper set a course to the south last night, in order to pre-empt the depression which is arriving and then negotiate an area of high pressure which will have to be either circled, or crossed as efficiently as possible. The distances between the first four in the BPE Trophy have thus been reduced over the last twenty hours, but their shared objective remains unchanged: to stay ahead and contain their pursuers who are arriving from the south borne by the trade winds.
Thierry Duprey du Vorsent at 11:30 this morning…:
A mid-term report “Things are going pretty well. Apart from my torn spinnaker in the first 24 hours of the race and losing the VHF aerial off the mast head, I've got no technical problems to speak of on Domaine du Mont d'Arbois, who's still behaving perfectly. From the start, I opted for this route because I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up with the ‘southerners' in terms of pure speed and that their Figaro experience would give them a big advantage. In any case, I'm getting real satisfaction from testing myself against the others and analysing the weather files so as to exploit them to the max. But where pure sailing and speed sensations are concerned, it's definitely not the same as on a multihull. With this boat, you need 25 or 30 knots of wind on a reaching course to get up to 13 or 14 knots. I'm still learning how best to handle her by making a few small errors, particularly in terms of my sail changes. But it's getting better and better.''
On the next 72 hours “I think they'll be decisive. I have to get as much sleep as possible and eat well over the next twelve hours because after that, things are likely to get hairy. A depression with big squalls awaits us, followed by an area of high pressure with very variable winds in terms of intensity and direction. If I manage to deal with those two weather systems correctly and then hook up with the trade winds, that'll be good. But if I get bogged down in the high pressure zone, those southerners will start to become a real threat. So from a tactical perspective, it's really exciting.''
On life on board “The boat is still a bit of a sieve… but I'm bailing her out. My water and food supplies are still enough to feed a regiment, but as for my fuel, it's hard to tell how much is left because the boat is still at an angle. Apart from that, I'm sleeping ok and eating 3 times a day, almost like clockwork. The experience and stress I've gone thorough during my years on multihulls is standing me in good stead. If I'm sleeping and the boat suddenly gets hit by a 30-knot gust of wind, I nip out and release the sails without worrying. On a multihull, it's a different story altogether...”
On the end of the race “I'm still 100% focused on arriving at the other end with the boat in good condition. But getting through the next 3 days is my top priority at the moment. I'll think about the finish nearer the time.''
The Domaine du Mont d'Arbois onshore team. “They keep sending me messages letting me know they're watching closely and it's really nice to feel they're right behind me. I'm going to meet up with them at Marie Galante and tell them all about this transat which, for me, is the longest solo voyage I've ever done.''
Ranking of the BPE Trophy Wednesday 4th April at 03:00 pm :
Place Bateau / Skipper Latitude Longitude Vit. Cap Dist. But Dist. 1er
1 Gedimat - Armel Tripon / 34 16.15' N 34 23.51' W 7.4 186 1830.0 0.0
2 Suzuki - Eric Defert / 35 11.39' N 34 07.48' W 6.1 188 1869.7 39.7
3 TheoliaRobert Nagy - 32 30.96' N 32 20.37' W 6.5 264 1870.4 40.4
4 Domaine du Mont d'Arbois - Thierry Duprey du Vorsent 32 58.68' N 32 18.32' W 6.1 263 1884.1 54.1
5 Art Immobilier Construction - Daniel Dupont 33 34.28' N 31 39.67' W 6.6 276 1927.6 97.6
6 A.ST Groupe - Marc Emig 28 35.80' N 28 57.46' W 2.3 298 1950.2 120.2
7 Groupe Céléos - Ronan Treussart 28 34.81' N 28 57.63' W 1.6 276 1950.3 120.4
8 Cercle Vert - Gildas Morvan 27 01.93' N 28 25.19' W 5.6 255 1953.3 123.3
9 Luisina - Eric Drouglazet 28 44.67' N 28 50.26' W 2.4 269 1959.5 129.5
10 Les Mousquetaires - Bertrand de Broc 28 44.49' N 28 36.53' W 3.8 198 1970.9 140.9