Dominique Wavre and Michele Paret will cross the Transat Jacques Vabre start line tomorrow (Wednesday 2 November) at 15:00, destination: Costa Rica. Despite a delayed start, the first few days of the race are forecast to be rough.
The Transat Jacques Vabre start, scheduled for last Sunday, was postponed due to a storm. This weather system is currently situated over the Irish Sea, moving slowly towards the East and decreasing. The new start is scheduled for 15:00 on Wednesday 2 November. “The start is going to be rough despite the postponement,” said Mirabaud’s Dominique Wavre. “We are expecting gusts of over 35 knots and six metre waves, down from 10 metres, but tricky conditions nonetheless.”
The competitors will leave the port of Le Havre tomorrow afternoon for the second time to start at 15:00. The race committee has dropped the short coastal leg that was included for the benefit of the spectators, as the 300,000 people recorded on Sunday are not expected to travel to Le Havre again for the start tomorrow. Instead the 35 competitors will head straight for Costa Rica.
“Our tactics haven’t really changed,” said Dominique. “The first challenge – after the start – will be crossing the busy English Channel shipping lanes. In the early stages, we will reach across towards the Irish Sea and when the wind shifts to the North, we will head south towards a new low-pressure zone. We expect to sail upwind for a few days, probably until about the 7 November and beyond that the situation is unclear right now, as the Trade Winds are not completely established yet.”
The second half of the race will be fought out in much warmer climes, but the competitors will need to keep a close lookout for the dangerous tropical storms that still lurk at this time of year. The Caribbean Sea will be the final hurdle; the competitors are less familiar with this part of the world and there are plenty of potential surprises. Race yachts are expected to start arriving in Puerto Limon from the 16 to the 20 November, depending on weather conditions.
