Transat Café l’Or: another twist for Class 40s, could still change everything
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Day 18 of racing at the Transat Café l’Or, with the Class 40s still in the middle of the Atlantic for a race that is proving to be much longer than expected for them. Some are also starting to complain of reduced energy and food reserves on board, and the weather scenario on the horizon is not the easiest. For Italian sailing, eyes are on the 6 skippers engaged in this very class.
Class 40, new weather twist
After the very complicated anticyclone choice between those who went north and those who went south, the last 1,000 miles of the course for the Class 40s remain equally difficult from a strategic point of view. Indeed, in the next 48 hours, a new depression will crush the Trade Wind from the north, causing it to drop sharply east of Martinique, where the bulk of the fleet will inevitably converge. Intensity will plummet below 10 knots, with more dancing direction, but with one certainty.
To the south there will be more wind. The weather models seem to agree with a couple more knots of intensity, and a more stable but very SE-turned direction, for those who will approach Martinique from the south. It will be a race of speed, between those from the south who will sail with a little more wind but with a very rested gait, with the risk of having to do a lot of gybing. And those from the north will come over with a tighter gait and a better VMG but with less wind intensity.
Ruotages to date continue to slightly favor the north option, but in view of the shuffling of cards in the dying trade wind, the situation may still hold many surprises. For Italy, the only skipper still in the northern option is Andrea Fornaro on Influence 2, paired with Alessandro Torresani, currently in 10th position. Pietro Luciani, Luca Rosetti and Matteo Sericano, Alberto Riva, follow the southern choice. In particular Rosetti with Maccaferri chose the most extreme southern position. Luciani co-skipper of Les Invincibles is the northernmost of the “southerners” and is currently in third position.
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