Doldrums in the Libyan Sea sends the French into a tailspin at TAG Heuer VELA Cup Med Odyssey

TAG Heuer VELA Cup, all stopped in the Libyan Sea. Calm and sea as flat as oil.
An unforeseen overnight snag that jolted even the best routing software used by the experts and slowed down all the boats in the lead, especially the French boats , until yesterday donors to the leaderboard, now struggling.

What happened in the night: in defiance of the forecast, the entire group of champions found themselves literally bogged down in an area with only light winds on the horizon not exceeding 4 knots. As the champions float in the middle of the Libyan Sea waiting for wind, here’s the hoax, around them a hundred miles away, both north on the Ionian and along the African coast 15 knots are blowing.

Mocked by the forecast in the night, the leading boats thus all slowed down, and the routes, previously all very close together, began to separate–hunting for wind and a winning strategy.

We expected to wake up, accustomed to average speeds of 20 knots, with some boats already in the Cretan Sea, but instead — they are all still there.

The chasing boats, on the other hand, have found extraordinary conditions, seeing the leading group bogging down, have chosen to pass along the African coast, and are catching up hundreds of miles.

The becalmed weather thus disbands the overall ranking of the TAG Heuer VELA Cup Med Odyssey, remounting the Swiss with as many as 3 boats in the top ten, which until yesterday was dominated by the French. The 3 Swiss skippers, taking advantage of the experience of lake sailing conditions with weak winds, recover dozens of positions and we now find from fourth to sixth place the boats Rastapit, Tipacheri and Buddha.

Semillante and Nieulles, a French flag, remain in the lead.

But the real success is the Italian boat falcon470 that with a perfect strategy rises to 12th place in the global classic (yesterday it was 18th).

Undisputed first in the Italian rankings, he is now the most followed Italian champion, and we also had him in our daily live stream: he is followed by the feg boats, nicotnt and ziomario, at a distance of only 2 miles.
It will be a fight to the last tack for them because the three most coveted prizes are up for grabs: the TAG Heuer Aquaracer watch , the Garmin InReach satellite phone, and the Murphy&Nye Graphene jacket.

The lull in the Libyan opens a unique opportunity for those who want to enter the race today, because they will start the TAG Heuer VELA Cup Med Odyssey adventure by positioning themselves close to the frigate that is today under the Balearics where as many as 16 knots are blowing, a perfect situation to aim to climb the rankings and aspire to the prizes of the top 30 in the Italian rankings.

Today will be a decisive day and we will see who will enter the Cretan Sea first where we expect an increase in winds as early as the early afternoon.

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WHAT IS TAG HEUER SAILING CUP MED ODYSSEY

The TAG Heuer VELA Cup Med Odyssey is the largest virtual regatta in the history of the Mediterranean, 4,600 miles aboard the superboats all the same, of 100 feet Like the very fast Maxi Comanche, 50,000 competitors from all over the world, including major players in Italian and international sailing. Sky-high prizes for first-place finishers but not only. All you need is a tablet, pc or smartphone. Because the TAG Heuer VELA Cup Med Odyssey is entirely online! Here is the tutorial to learn how to sail “digitally” and all the secrets of the Mediterranean’s most important virtual regatta.

WHAT IT TAKES TO PLAY — FOR FREE!

• It is played from the Browser, Tablet or Smartphone. From the desktop computer no installation is needed, just click directly HERE. On smart devices, you play from the Virtual Regatta Offshore App available for Android and iPhone. The game is Italian language.
• It’s FREE, just register for the game. Those who register with the form below will see their names published in the print magazine among the Tag Heuer VELA CUP Med Odyssey participants and can be contacted during the daily live coverage of the event.
• It is not mandatory to stay connected, …. the boat continues to navigate itself on the set course even when you are disconnected, and finally…
• Amazing prizes!

SIGN UP NOW HERE!

PARTICIPATE AS A PROTAGONIST IN THE LARGEST VIRTUAL REGATTA IN THE MEDITERRANEAN!

Did you miss the TUTORIAL? watch it HERE

On May 15, the great adventure begins: 4,600 miles in the Mediterranean solo, tens of thousands of entrants, on 100-foot fast boats… You connect whenever you want, the boat you maneuver with your device, and when you are not there it goes by itself. Anyone can participate, for free. Welcome to the TAG Heuer VELA Cup Med Odyssey.

If you register with this form at the
TAG Heuer VELA Cup Med Odyssey
, in addition to competing for the
over 50 prizes up for grabs
:

• your name will be published in the July issue of the Sailing Newspaper in the big report on the THVC Med Odyssey
• you can be selected to participate in live webcasts with our speakers May 15-31

Done? Now sign up for the TAG Heuer VELA Cup Med Odyssey now!