On Friday, the ship continues its imperial march towards New York as well as the Hudson River, where Queen Mary 2 is expected tomorrow morning at dawn. In its transom, the four sailors of the Centennial Transat are not accommodated in the same boat and dealing with situations that have not finished to put them on their nerves. On the 5th day of race, Macif (François Gabart) seems to have maintain their lead. However, a certainty prevails: it is not over yet and all tactical moves are allowed to have the honnour of being the first to cross the finishing line under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
Towards the West again
Last night was not calm for crews, solicited on the deck, on the maneuvers and precise adjustments, to get the best of the evanescent and capricious winds, which have raged on the edge of the ice exclusion zone in the passage of a joint area between two anticyclones (the Azores and Bermuda) of the North Atlantic. If no changes occurred in the rankings, gaps, widening and diminishing in the inevitable thick fog of the Grand banks of Newfoundland, exerts suspense and augur a race ending open for all kind of surprises and twists.
As Macif leads, they logically got the first new wind coming from the West on that night, while IDEC SPORT and Sodebo Ultim' were still fighting in this transition phase with its very random and changing winds
Winning trifecta? Place your bets...
This afternoon, François Gabart and his crew are 40 miles ahead of Francis Joyon’s quintet. In 3rd position, Thomas Coville’s men are struggling to regain ground in order to come back in the battle for the Trifecta of this Centenary Transat. They are back to a dozen miles on their immediate predecessors. Further back, the Actual mixed crew led by Yves Le Blévec, who is not progressing in the same system as the first other three, fights to limit his delay on board his slower and less efficient multihull.
Weather wise, if forecasts are fairly reliable until Monday morning, maps and models are blurred and diverge for the New York Bay landing. "We must admit that it's a big mess, and it is difficult under these conditions to set the ETA (Estimatd Time of Arrival). We do not know what is going to happen and routings differ a lot," commented Dominic Vittet, the race’s weather consultant. "Macif is on track, but as the situation is not very clear, a lot of uncertainty remains. Multiple scenarios could happen. Doubts persist for the leader which leaves a bit of hope for his competitors. If they manage to return to 20 or 30 miles, everything is possible..." Three days away (minimum) from a finish on the waters of the Big Apple which is difficult to assess, place your bets!