The Bridge is the first journey of its kind, one of the largest ocean liners racing four Ultime Trimarans from St Nazaire to New York in 3,150 miles in a great race week.
All eyes will be focusing on the four Ultime Trimarans in St Nazaire in Commerce Quay later night. Judging by the weather conditions that were announces, these large boats are preparing for a very thrilling transatlantic race. On Sunday evening at 19:00 the four crew will have to set sail from the North to the West with a moderate breeze to exit the Loire’s estuary, next to the QM2. The four yachts and ship will not all sail the same route...
Four giants and one titan
The ocean liner will be taking the direct route without being preoccupied by the weather conditions, whilst the four multihulls will have to find a calm zone off the coast of the Gascogne Golf in the evening. This arrangement could cause Francis Joyon (IDEC Sport), François Gabart (MACIF), Thomas Coville (Sodebo Ultim’) and Yves Le Blévec (Actual) to choose different routes! The solo round-the-world record maker, Thomas Coville, announced on Friday that he will opt for the North route, his round-the-world crew sailor, Francis Joyon thought about taking the Southern route.
Even on this day, nothing has been clarified on the Atlantic Ocean: a shallow depression will pass on THE BRIDGE's route from Monday night, Going by the North will ensure that there is a Westerly breeze, and going South would mean being pushed by the trade wind from North East to East. The titans of the sea will have to choose the right or left of the direct path almost directly after the canon shots! Even if these two routes will be separated by almost 1 000 miles sideways, landing on the American coast will be the most important.
The cruise's speed
By announcing its arrival in New York, on 1st July at 8 am (local time), Queen Mary 2 will have to sail approximatively 550 miles in five days and nineteen hours, so be a direct route of 23 knots! Admittedly the Ultime trimarans will not have the ideal weather conditions to follow the track or the regularity of the cruise's rhythm but it is certain that the four multihulls will sail at more than 40 knots, travelling more than 700 miles some days. The challenge for the trimarans will be to know on which side to reach Long Island, knowing that an exclusion ice zone of ice (South of Newfoundland, because of the icebergs swept by the cold current in Labrador) will limit the Northern possibilities.
On the routing today, we are looking for a Northern route that will take us to New York after eight or nine days at sea because the start is quite slow. The race but the race, above all, is between us four. With the weather predictions, we do not have the possibility of arriving before Queen Mary 2.
Thomas Coville, Sodebo Ultim' skipper
Concerning the Southern path, it is not that simple due to the Açores anticyclone implosion at the end of the next week. Between Bermuda and the Big Apple, the wind does not answer anymore this week-end. Therefore the skippers seem to be going crossing for full eight days, but what matters the most on this transatlantic crossing THE BRIDGE, is the average speed reached by the Ultime trimarans and the distance traveled in one day on those 3 150 miles from Saint-Nazaire to New York ! And then, the four giants will be, without doubt, swifter than the sea titan, who won't be relying as much on the weather conditions.