Meteorologist Marcel Van Triest is now in charge of Mirabaud’s destiny. From his office in Barcelona, he gives Dominique constant updates on the course he must steer and even tells the sailors when to switch on their engine.
“Yesterday, Mirabaud passed through a very deep low pressure system, with winds of over 40 knots and huge breakers,” Marcel explained. “Shortly after losing the mast, I advised them to use engine power and head north-west in order to get out of the centre of the depression. Now that they are out of the worst of the conditions, the priority is to switch off the engine and preserve fuel as much as possible. They’re in a tricky situation: they have enough fuel on board to cover around 80 nautical miles but have at least 500 nautical miles to reach land. They also need the motor to desalinate water and run the onboard instruments, including the communications systems.”
“My priority has to be guaranteeing their security. We have to try and route them round the biggest low pressure systems but keep them moving in the right direction. The aim is not maximum speed but to head the right way bearing in mind the conditions. For the moment, I’ve advised them to get as far north as possible as they will have to get through a depression sometime on Thursday and we’re trying to get them into the best position to deal with it. Once through that they should be able to head for land, although their final destination hasn’t been decided on yet. At this stage Bahia Blanca or Mar de Plata could be good options.
“The most important thing at the moment is to preserve fuel. As they get closer to the coast, they might be able to find a fisherman who can sell them some diesel, but then again they would need some cash and I’m not sure they have any aboard!”
“At the end of the day, it all depends how effective their jury rig is. Whether they’re sailing at three or six knots can make a huge difference to the routing but, as I mentioned before, the most important thing is where they get to, not how quickly they get there. Depending on how the weather pans out, I hope they will reach dry-land at the beginning of next week at the earliest.
