Predictions
A journalist who followed the whole GGR called this morning asking for a prediction. I laughed. What else can one do, except express an immense respect for these sailors who are still racing hard after 227 days at sea?
After Bayanat briefly took command yesterday, Minnehaha is back in the lead today! Abhilash is negotiating the low-pressure to his north with short seas on a wounded boat, while Kirsten is full on in attack mode under spinnaker, with today’s best distance of 163 miles directly aimed to the finish. Simon in Chichester in stronger winds, seemed to have dropped the spinnaker. He has neither lost his fighting spirit nor his sense of humour during this round-the-world voyage. His stated goal? To arrive in time for his birthday on the 4th of May. Easy peasy!
Behind Michael served his penalty on time and came back in a superb 3rd place towards Les Sables d’Olonne, signing an exemplary course on a Nuri in perfect condition. Jeremy (CH) finally arrives in the doldrums, he’s running out of sweets, coffee and the little things that make life on board enjoyable. His plan on arrival? Take a nap barefoot in the grass under a tree, smelling the flowers and listening to the birds. A good programme!
So what’s the prediction? For days now, we’ve been running routing programs, discussed polars and VPP (you sure a Rustler is 63% of a Figaro 2?), and the options for each sailor to the finish, but what’s the point? The only two predictions I’ll make this week are the following: first, we’re looking at a group arrival from 28/04 for the long Labour Day weekend. The second is that the GGR family and the people of Les Sables, Vendée and Pays de la Loire will once again be out in force on the banks of the legendary channel, to give these three sailors a welcome worthy of their incredible achievement.
