Route des Princes 2013

I wonder whether they retrieved the mast? I've not seen any info on that.

 

From Afloat.ie, today:

 

Tweet from the RoutedesPrinces organizer says inshore racing cancelled today, Sunday, on account of strong winds 25-26kts, gusting to 30.

And this morning's forecast sounded the same

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Oh well, here's where the action will be instead, today? The National Yacht Club in 'Dun Leery'





they have a rather nice bar at the National Yacht Club. On account of all the rotten Irish weather...

lol

 

A new map of the next leg in the Route des Princes, sent out on twitter today.




Jacques Guichard is recovering and no longer in any critical condition, but still in hospital with 5 fractures to the pelvis.

Maxi Multi PdB and Lalou's Arkema have had their gennakers repaired.

I hope Gilles Lamiré and the crew onboard Rennes-St Malo can make a better showing this leg, that's a pretty fancy boat which they've been goofing off on so far.

Four Multi50's, three MOD70's and the maxi (while Spindrift gets towed to La Trinité for a new mast). Time for more good offshore racing!

And Plymouth has a beautiful breakwater protecting the large bay, which offers the possibility of great inshore racing in a stiff breeze and flat water close to spectators... So they may well have a chance to make up for what became a complete lack of inshore racing in Done Leary!

 

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That map in the post above of the next leg, is different from what was was planned up until now, insofar as there will be no sailing around Ireland. I never understood the map used up until now on the Route des Princes website, where it looked like someone was supposed to sail all the way around.





What is the point of sailing around Ireland anyway?

Why should some Frenchmen be interested in that, eh?
The bloody Irish can do it themselves if it's so important.

lol

 

I gather they will motor Spindrift Racing's MOD70 to La Trinite. These things have a pretty decent motor installed so should be quick. They posted a few photos of readying the boat for transit and the aftermath of the capsize

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.589540594401119.1073741841.347512061937308&type=3

Video posted on Youtube by Geoff Waller shows the righting process.

 

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Monday morning, and the boats will be leaving the harbor in a few minutes, to start leg 3 an hour later at 1200hrs (Paris time).

The Dun Leahrey harbor webcams

After the start the boats sail 7nm along the Dublin Riviera east of the harbor, round some mark, and make for Bardsley island, the 'isle of 20,000 saints', legendary burial site of King Arthur.



The Multi50's then have a shorter course, straight from Bardsley island to round Bishop Rock off the Scilly Isles, while the bigger boats are going around Fastnet.

Bishop Rock on a less than clear day:



Strong currents with the full moon, and a tweet from RdP HQ this morning that the forecast is weak winds and reduced visibility from Monday night until Wednesday (we'll see them drifting around and anchoring up on AIS?).

 

Spindrift Racing have pulled out of the event citing inadequate time to rerig their MOD70 after the capsize.

http://www.spindrift-racing.com/2013/06/route-des-princes-spindrift-bows-out/

 

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Quick 15 second video from the leg 3 start at Dun Laoghaire.

Tracker showing Lalou dramatically slowed during last half hour.

 

Does this mean that the float was lifted on the foil by the squall and did this contribute to the roll over?

 

Unfortunately not... That would have made it more remarkable.

This video posted earlier by Doug, you see Spindrift half out of the frame at the beginning. They are still at what is a fairly normal angle of heel at 6 seconds of the video, but then they suddenly to go a more dangerous and then unrecoverable angle. I think Guichard is referring to the gust hitting them with increasing strength at that point when they are already heeled quite a lot, without their having adequate warning of it to react earlier.

 

This morning the MOD70's and Lionel Lemonchois' PdB Maxi are in something of a cluster, making their way towards Fastnet. Gitana and PdB have their AIS switched on, showing they are off Kinsale, some 60-70 miles further southwest than what the tracking shows.

But I'd never be complaining about the tracking, it wouldn't be sporting at all if the boats had to reveal their positions and speed all the time.

There's an Irish trawler close to Gitana, PdB, and Paprec-Virbac-Virbac-Paprec.

The trawler has the amazing name of "A la garde de Dieu" (in the custody of God).



That's a searchable name, I find, and it is quite the famous Irish trawler, with its photo featured as 'picture of the week' in the Fishing News, and October's Marine Times. Skipper William Power has a facebook page displaying the 'Prunier Trophy', not that he is too likely to have won it himself - it was a prize given back in the days of the herring industry, and with the disappearance of the herrings the prize ended up in a museum. What a shame.

William Power also watches Thalassa, the weekly French program devoted to all things maritime with special fondness for sailors and big multihulls. He can't have helped becoming something of an Ocean-racing trimaran expert, if he's been watching Thalassa for a while.

 

1430 Paris time, Gavignet's MOD70 Oman is hugging the coast near Fastnet and doing some 12 knots, Actual is 20 miles west of Penzance doing 10 knots according to AIS, 16 according to tracker, and Actual once again has Erwan le Roux in Fenetrea just a few hundred yards behind, and Lalou is only 2-3 miles behind. They are all making faster progress than what had been supposed.

I think it's demonstrated so often, how the first two boats appear to be inseparable during these long legs (and very long, as in Vendée-St Petersburg 2010) that now having a third equally fast boat (Arkema) means that although the class is tiny, they put on some of the best racing to be seen. Rennes-St Malo, which I read was a bit heavier (on account of its repairs when it was the Prince de Bretagne 50?) is said to prefer windier conditions, they are less than 20 miles behind Actual after racing for over a day.

I was reading the English language news on the Route des Princes site, and they are the best English updates I've seen in any of these French-organized races. There was even a snippet in the English article that I didn't see in the French versions, a quote from Gavignet about Spindrift's capsize:

It certainly was strange. Were they distracted and unsettled onboard, not to have made a better start that day, shortly after which the capsize took place?

 

Route des Princes 2013, leg 3:



That's all four Multi50's at 7pm (Paris time) on AIS (is it foggy or something?) with Lalou leading, followed by Fenetrea, Actual, and Rennes-St Malo not yet round Bishop's Rock but having closed the gap to the others.

The distance between Actual and Fenetrea is 2 miles. Not much wind, top speed at that time was 6 kts. Lalou's AIS name is ARA, and Rennes St Malo still has its Prince de Bretagne AIS name. Behind them the MOD70's have rounded Fastnet and are doing 23 kts.

 

Good and detailed article by Sabina Mollart Rogerson submitted to Sail-World.

http://www.sail-world.com/Australia/Route-des-Princes---Oman-Air-Musandam-breakaway/111234

Looks like Oman Air and Arkema are leading their respective packs for now. A bit of a pity that the revamped Maitre Jacques isn't racing with the other Multi50's in the Route des Princes but they have just put in an excellent showing in the recent Record SNSM.

A little questions and answers video session with the skippers posted by sailingnewstv