Transat Paprec Day 9 - The Westward Conquest
by Transat Paprec 28 Apr 15:31 BST
26 April 2025
As the second week of competition begins on the Transat Paprec, a new race has started. After passing the La Palma waypoint during the night from Saturday to Sunday, the duos are now making rapid progress towards the Caribbean.
Though the intense weekend battle has left its mark, everyone is now focused on the coming days, with more stable conditions ahead. It's a time for managing effort and staying optimistic, especially as the weather outlook appears less complicated than initially feared for the end of the week. Here's the full update.
"It's extraordinary — at every edition, La Palma always brings a Netflix-worthy scenario!" said Yann Chateau, member of the race management team, on Sunday morning, visibly excited while tracking the competitors' paths. Throughout the weekend, the sailors of the Transat Paprec — a race organized by OC Sport Pen Duick — fought a fierce battle. And, as often happens, nothing went quite according to plan. Competitors fought hard as they approached Madeira on Friday and Saturday, trying to position themselves as best as possible. After passing east of the Portuguese island, an intense tactical game unfolded, involving multiple gybes and repositionings. During the night from Saturday to Sunday, rounding La Palma from the northwest caused plenty of heart-pounding moments.
Strain on crews and boats
Those who sailed closest to the coast encountered stronger winds and had to hang on — but it paid off for boats like Wings of the Ocean (Alexis Thomas and Pauline Courtois). Everyone knows that you can't win the race at La Palma, but you can certainly lose it there. Crews and boats alike suffered. "It was a crazy night; I've never been so scared in my life," admitted Cindy Brin (Cap St Barth). "We had gusts up to 45 knots, we wiped out three or four times, and it felt extremely violent." The Saint-Barth native added: "Our spinnaker almost got caught in the foil — it could have been catastrophic."
Throughout the fleet, spinnakers took a beating: spare sails were hoisted aboard Région Normandie (Jules Ducelier and Sophie Faguet) and Hellowork (Davy Beaudart and Julie Courtois), and Martin Le Pape and Mathilde Géron (Demain) reported "a small tear" in theirs. A torn spinnaker also forced Arno Biston and Vittoria Ripa Di Meana (Article.1) to head to Tenerife. Upon arriving on the island Monday morning, they learned that repairs would not be possible before Wednesday and thus announced their withdrawal early in the afternoon.
"Winning West on the Direct Route"
Meanwhile, Thomas de Dinechin and Aglaé Ribon (Almond for Pure Ocean) had to patch a hole in their mainsail, as did Maël Garnier and Catherine Hunt (Selencia - Cerfrance). Pier-Paolo Dean and Tiphaine Rideau (Banques Alimentaires) had a chaotic night too. Pier-Paolo shared: "The boat filled with water, we tore a spinnaker, lost a knotted rope, removed seaweed from the keel... We made all the classic rookie mistakes in the Figaro. But that's exactly the experience we came for. It's incredible to feel so small — we're like tiny peanuts in this vast nature."
Continuing the journey westward is therefore a tremendous source of satisfaction for all the sailors. Especially since after the effort, comes some relief: since Sunday, the wind has been relatively steady at around 15 knots. It is expected to strengthen slightly (up to 20 knots) by the end of the day but without causing a major crisis. "The goal is to win westward by sticking to the direct route," explains Francis Le Goff, Race Director of the Transat Paprec. Some minor shifts are happening, such as that by DEMAIN (Martin Le Pape and Mathilde Géron), but they remain "within the same wind system." Current conditions are similar for all skippers, which should help keep gaps small. "We're seeing similar speeds between the leaders and the tailenders; the weather isn't conducive to creating large gaps," adds Francis Le Goff.
Looking Ahead: Improving Conditions
However, there were earlier concerns about the outlook: after several days of solid progress, there was apprehension about conditions toward the end of the week. The worry centered around a trough — a low-pressure system nestled between two high-pressure zones — that could have severely slowed the fleet roughly 1000 miles from the finish line. Such a phenomenon could have split the fleet and delayed arrivals. Fortunately, the situation is improving.
"The trend is less complicated than forecasts suggested yesterday," clarifies Francis. "Yes, the winds will ease somewhat, but the system appears to be moving away. The risk of the fleet grinding to a halt now seems unlikely." As a result, "we're back to more standard routing scenarios, with an expected arrival around May 10." Before then, sailors will need to remain vigilant for sargassum seaweed, squalls, fatigue, and the tricky approach to Saint Barthélemy, which always holds surprises. With margins between competitors still razor-thin, one thing is certain: the suspense remains high in this fiercely contested 17th edition.
Track the fleet here.