Posted by Brian Hancock
There is a saying among sailors looking to cross the North Atlantic from east to west and it goes, “sail south until the butter melts then hang a right.” This is simple, yet excellent advice but only if you have butter on board. The fleet sailing the Globe 5.80 Transat got a head start on this by leaving from Lanzarote which is already well south but the tactic remains the same. Let me explain.
Actually it’s getting harder too explain because the weather patterns that have been in place for centuries are no longer as predictable as before, but here goes. The North Atlantic is dominated by a high pressure system generally referred to as the Azores High because it’s mostly situated around the area of the Azores Islands. Great islands by the way – I plan to retire there, but I digress. Wind in the northern hemisphere rotates clockwise around high pressure zones meaning that if you want a fun and fast ride across ‘the pond’ as it’s referred to, you need to keep the center of the high on your right hand side (starboard side for you sailors among us). This means you can be relatively assured that the wind will be favorable, as in on the beam or up the chuff (nautical term).
If you are following the tracker on the Globe 5.80 Transat you will see that the fleet is tucked in nicely under the high and enjoying some hot days with the spinnaker flying, champagne sailing if you will. The high pressure however, is a bit like my first wife; a tad unpredictable. It sometimes moves over Europe and sometimes goes the other way so the weather can be unsettled at times. This point is hardly worth noting but my ex wife lives in Europe now 🙂
So far, now two weeks into the race, it’s a game of boat speed. Most of the fleet are experiencing the same weather, the boats are essentially one-design so it comes down to each individual sailor and their talent and experience and their ‘need for speed’ (thanks Tom Cruise for that comment). So far I am hugely impressed by all of the sailors and the competition at the front of the pack has been exciting to watch. Renauld Stitelmann on Capucinette is leading, but he is being challenged by second place Keri Harris on Origami. Right now just 17 miles separate them on a distance to go basis. Great stuff.
One of the problems with this kind of sailing is that there are few passing lanes. We won’t see anyone taking a different course and getting lucky (unfortunately). It’s a bit of follow-the-leader and the leaders have to be on their toes. One spinnaker drop that goes wrong and the kite ends up in the drink and they will get pounced on by the chasers.
Safe sailing all you adventurers out there competing and chasing your dream. Antigua is a beautiful place and they have plenty of butter there that’s not melted.
