By the early hours of this first morning at sea, the bulk of the Class40 fleet in this 15th CIC Normandy Channel Race had completed their cross-Channel sprint and left the heavy shipping in their wake. Many of the sailors spent all of last night at speeds bordering on 10 knots and were within sight of the English coast at daybreak. At the head of the pack, the first competitors stumbled up against the current as they closed on the Isle of Wight, immediately reducing the gap the leaders had managed to open up. To lead the way forward in the Solent and find the most favourable route through the mist and the shifting sandbanks, who else but the Norman contingent to take on the role of conquerors… The duo of Guillaume Pirouelle / Cédric Château has not let go of the top spot since Ouistreham and was also the first to be able to make the legendary port of Cowes and the hub of British sailing. Hot on their heels is another Norman boat, Legallais, skippered by Fabien Delahaye and Benjamin Schwartz. They are clearly keen not to let their fellow competitors get away from them as they tackle England’s south coast. To do this in the light breeze, their strategy will likely favour skirting the coast in a bid to sidestep the strong current as best they can as they begin to punch tide. As such, being in front when the tide turns will benefit those at the front, enabling them to extend their lead over the back of the fleet.
For now, the back of the fleet is still making its way across the English Channel, the wind having veered slightly, pivoting round from the N/NW to the N/NE, forcing the sailors to put in some tacks whilst the majority of the competitors were able to make headway on a direct course. This has had immediate repercussions with the fleet now stretched across nearly 50 nautical miles. The back runners will naturally be late to the party in the Solent, which means that they’ll be punching tide, causing them to drop further back from the head of the race.
For the day ahead, the duos will have to make a series of strategic choices. These will revolve around hunting a stronger NE’ly breeze in the middle of the English Channel or hugging the coast to try to harness the thermal breeze whilst protecting themselves as best they can from the current. Such is the dilemma for the coming hours of navigation…
Picture © Paul Peggs
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