Groupama 3 is beginning its final sprint in a steady, 20 knot SW’ly wind. Franck Cammas must now seek to position himself ahead of a cold front, which should push them all the way to the finish off Ushant. However, the trajectory isn’t likely to be direct, initially at least, as the giant trimaran is set to cover a little more ground to the North in order to totally escape the high pressure of the Azores, before swooping on Brittany with the help of a few gybes.
Groupama 3 should find herself ahead of another cold front that is moving across Newfoundland at nearly thirty knots. As such, the aim is to stay ahead of the relatively steady SW’ly air flow, by maintaining a speed of close to that of the weather system. Theoretically, the wind should then continue to pump out 25 to 35 knots of breeze as the front approaches. In order not to get shaken up by the waves, which will increase in size over the coming hours, Franck Cammas and his navigator Stan Honey have planned to put in several gybes to stay to the South of this disturbed system.
Day 39 (11 March): 255 miles (deficit 309 miles)
Day 40: 288 miles (deficit 473 miles)
Day 41: 503 miles (deficit 483 miles)
Day 42: 445 miles (deficit 403 miles)
Day 43: 482 miles (deficit 216 miles)
Day 44: 401 miles (lead 72 miles)
Day 45: 441 miles (lead 412 miles)
Read the full story here: http://www.yachtingworld.com/news/447175/groupama-3-on-final-charge
