Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre - New leaders in IMOCA and Class40 as suspense heightens

Imoca fleet is pictured during Imoca start of the Transat Jacques Vabre in Le Havre, France © Vincent Curutchet / Alea

Winners of the 2021 Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre IMOCA race Thomas Ruyant and Morgan Lagravière (For People) returned to the front of what is proving to be an all consuming 2023 edition of the 3750 nautical miles IMOCA race from Le Havre to Martinique.

A few days ago theoretical computer modelling seemed to favour the feisty northerly course chosen by Switzerland's Justine Mettraux and her French co-skipper Julien Villion on Teamwork.net. But now current predictions suggest an almost exactly even outcome between the Swiss-French duo and whichever of the faster moving pairs emerge from the more southerly, downwind trade winds charge towards the French Antilles.

Mettraux and Villion are expected to sail the shorter distance to Martinique but a big proportion of it is upwind. This morning their course angle is not good as they feel the first effects of the passage of a low pressure system. But when they get to the other side of the low they will get a faster reaching angle more directly towards Martinique.

At the same time as Teamwork.net were doing seven to 10 knots upwind in 25-30kts breezes and actually pointing east of south, Ruyant and Lagravière are leading the charge west at more than 20 knot averages, gybing downwind with about 1550 nautical miles to the finish line which the winners are expected to reach during the night between Saturday and Sunday. Today's routings show less than five hours between Teamwork.net's choice and the leaders of the southerly pack, a margin which amounts to nothing in this situation of dynamic weather systems.

What is especially impressive is how Ruyant and Lagravière have pulled out 25 miles on second placed Yoann Richomme and Yann Eliès - already a three times winner on this race - who are racing the Finot Conq-Koch designed sistership Paprec Arkéa.

Eliès reflected this morning, "The trade winds aren't that strong, but it's pleasant. We're trying to keep the boat moving, but it isn't that simple. We're a bit disappointed as yesterday we were just ahead of For People. That means that in 24 hours, we have lost some ground, but it's nothing too big. For the next part of the race, it looks like quiet trade winds, but more importantly blowing straight from behind, so we're going to have to gybe a lot downwind. That's going to be for two days. After that we'll see whether we still have trade winds forcing us to change tack or whether we meet up with Justine. We're watching how she is progressing and we hope to cross paths not far from her."

For People and Arkéa Paprec have built a useful cushion on the boats directly behind them and to their south fourth placed For the Planet which Briton Sam Goodchild is sailing with Antoine Koch - co- designer of the leading two IMOCAs and fifth positioned Charal (Jéremie Beyou and Franck Cammas).

"Antoine is a happy bunny for the moment." Chuckled Goodchild this morning, "We had a really good night which is as much of a surprise to us as anyone else I think, but we have been going fast so we have managed to get back close to Charal and put a little bit of distance on Initiatives Coeur which is cool, but we have four more days of this and it is pretty stressful. We can keep it up to the finish but it is about wind strength and sea state. Weather options are not so many, we are just trying to get west in the tradewinds and keep ourselves in the band of best pressure and the little daily windshifts so we make sure we are not doing more distance than we have to, while keeping a close eye on everyone else. We have 1600 or so miles to the finish and it is going to be pretty much the same angle all the way to the finish."

Switzerland's Mettraux on Teamwork is third at 55 miles behind the leaders. British-Aussie duo Sam Davies and Jack Bouttell on Initiatives Coeur are sixth, eight miles behind Goodchild and Koch, whilst Boris Herrmann and Brit Will Harris on Malizia Seaexplorer lie eighth, L'Occitane en Provence sailed by Clarisse Crémer and Brit Alan Roberts are ninth, albeit around 100 miles behind.

The weather situation is broadly similar for Class40. Their leaders have choices to climb north and use the same low pressure system or stay south and use the trade winds. Leaders yesterday Xavier Macaire and Pierre Leboucher (Groupe SNEF) are investing in a northwesterly course whilst the Italian Musa 40 Alla Grande PIRELLI sailed by Ambrogio Beccaria and Nico Andrieu leads again alongside Italian rivals IBSA, the Manuard designed Mach 40.5 sailed by Alberto Bona and Spanish ace Pablo Santurde del Arco.

Beccaria enthused, "The battle is raging, but our rivals aren't alongside us. There's a certain separation between us. We know that with our strategy, we are gaining more miles than those in the North. The class split up, but that's normal when the weather models don't agree. It's a question of risk analysis. The Italians go south and the others north! There isn't much wind. I had hoped for more. The sun is just coming up. It's the first time we have seen some clouds since the Canaries. We've been having blue skies. At night we can't steer, so it's not as busy as during the day. But that is likely to change in the coming days."

Fourth and fifth placed ULTIMS arrive in the night

In fourth place Thomas Coville and Thomas Rouxel (Sodebo Ultim 3) arrived mentally scarred and frustrated, whilst newcomers to the giant multis Anthony Marchand and Thierry Chabagny had no regrets and felt they could be proud of their race. There was a real mix of feelings at the finish for the two maxi-trimarans that arrived during the night into Martinique. There was a marked contrast between a disappointed Thomas Coville, who revealed that his rudder had been damaged, limiting the ability of his Sodebo Ultim 3 and the pair on the final ULTIM to finish. They were happy to have completed the voyage "on a razor's edge and in style."

First words from Thomas Coville and Thomas Rouxel (Sodebo Ultim 3)

Thomas Rouxel: We're tired. It was a long, hard race. Of course, we're pleased too. It's always nice to finish in Martinique. We had a great day of sailing today and enjoyed ourselves. We set off in tricky weather conditions. After that there were a lot of transitions. The wind was very unstable and our rivals took the level right up. Trying to get up there was really hard.

Thomas Coville: I like finishing in Martinique too, because here in the Caribbean, the people are a bit like sailors. They always worry they will be forgotten. They worry about what may happen. Three weeks ago there was the threat of a cyclone. We feel that tension out at sea too. Back on dry land on the continent, it's impossible to understand.

We got the boat back in the water after some major modifications. We didn't have much time to train. We were a bit lacking in terms of performance at the start, but on the way into the Doldrums we were only 90 minutes behind François, so we had done rather well. The damage really shook us. The foil on the starboard rudder was chopped off by a UFO. I didn't talk about it, but everyone must have known. It was early in the race and things could have happened to others too. When I felt the shock, I screamed. My memory of this is finding Thomas sobbing in the cockpit. I took him in my arms, as we knew the race was going to be different.

We accept this fourth place like any disappointed sportsmen. At the start, if don't believe you're going to win, you might as well stay at home. We never managed to take full advantage of the modifications that were made to the boat, as when the conditions corresponded, we were on the other tack and we had had that damage. But we learnt a lot.

First words from Anthony Marchand and Thierry Chabagny (Actual Ultim 3), 5th

Anthony Marchand: It's fantastic to finish after 9000 miles. The Coffee Race is the equivalent of two transatlantic crossings for the ULTIMs or a third of the round the world voyage. It's quite something spending so many days getting 100% from these boats.

Thierry Chabagny: 16 days in a row aboard an ULTIM is not something you often see. For me sailing double-handed it was a first. A magical experience thanks to Anthony and Team Actual. You're on the edge all the time. You take advantage of every second, so when you get here, it all drains away and you can finally relax.

Anthony Marchand: We don't have anything to regret. We pushed the boat to her limit and fought all the way. It would have been nicer to finish third or fourth. We don't have any regrets in terms of strategy, nor in how the boat sailed. We didn't have much time before to test the new foils. We saw how solid they were and we're still learning how to adjust them. We can see there is a lot of potential and that helps us sail faster. It's really given a boost to the boat.

I felt a lot of responsibility throughout the race. Towrads my partner and the fifteen people in the team. They hand you the keys just like that. I'm pleased to have brought her here without any major problems, even if the daggerboard hit something 100 miles from the finish.

I'm now looking ahead to the round the world race. The boats are reliable and can really clock up the miles. I'm going to get some rest, but I can't wait to get out there. We won't sail the same way sailing solo. Here up to thirty knots of wind, it was full on, with the big gennaker, full mainsail, J2 as a stay sail...

Thierry Chabagny: We won't forget the roaring start. We were at full pelt, but didn't know where to go in relation to the Alderney Race. Two hours before, we were the hotel and you suddenly find yourself at the helm at full speed. You focus on the manoeuvres, try to plan ahead and attempt to find a compromise between sailing safely and not getting left behind. I won't forget passing Ascension Island. It's so small on the charts. In the end, it was nice to see it, even if it only lasted half an hour or an hour. Then, of course, there was the finish, when you cross the line and can suddenly relax.

Anthony: The race saw some magnificent winners. They sailed very well and there was a great fight with SVR Lazartigue. We followed it on our screen. It's good for the class to have such a fascinating race. Thierry was the perfect person for this race. It all went smoothly. We complement each other and sail in tune with each other. On the line, I told him I was pleased to have done it with him. I even gave him a kiss on his forehead!

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