On day 3 of the race, Pat Lawless’ Green Rebel is doing great in the heavy weather, solidly in the lead, northwest of the fleet and perfectly placed to negotiate the passage around La Coruña tomorrow. He is followed closely by Simon Curwen and Abhilash Tomy who have done well tacking along the Asturian coast. Behind them, led by Guy Waites and Ertan Beskardes, the rest of the fleet remains tight together, in ambush.
Of the west option escapees, only Tapio Lehtinen persists in the strong headwinds and heavy seas, waiting for the westerly wind shift that will allow him, at last, to tack and head towards Cape Finisterre. Behind him, Edward Walentynowicz, Ian Herbert-Jones, Arnaud Gaist, and Mark Sinclair who spent the night under three reefs and staysail have all decided to tack and head back towards a more direct route. Time will tell.
Damien Guillou called Race Control yesterday at 21:00 to report damage to his wind vane gear. He spent the night heaving to, trying to repair, alas with no success. He decided this morning to head toward Les Sables d’Olonne less than 200 miles from his position. The notice of race allows him to return to the port of departure and set off again before the line closes on Sunday 11th September at 16:00. More information on this topic in the weekly Thursday GGR press release.
After a tough start for the sailors, the next 24 hours should finally bring some respite with a westerly rotation allowing a more direct route in lighter winds between 15 and 20 knots. Until then, hold fast and stay safe!
