Rennes (AFP)
The monohull of Charlie Dalin and Yann Eliès (Apivia) always pointed to Friday morning's Transat Jacques Vabre (TJV), in the Imoca category, followed closely by Jérémie Beyou and Christopher Pratt.
At 09h00 (08h00 GMT), the tandem had tacked to the north of the Canary Islands at the head of the Imocas fleet, these 18-meter monohulls which are the stars of the mythical race around the world alone, the Vendée Globe.
Now 3,006.4 nautical miles from their point of arrival, the Brazilian port of Salvador de Bahia, the two sailors are closely followed by the pair Jérémie Beyou and Christopher Pratt (Charal), at 2.68 nm.
"It's a complete change of scenery," said Charlie Dalin Friday morning on Apivia. "The wind has risen to 30-32 knots when we gybed in the night and the boat is spiked to 26. We put the waxes and boots back in. It's heavy helmet atmosphere but I'm very happy with the performance of the boat. "
In front of them, the only three multihulls involved in this 14th edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre, part of Le Havre Sunday, were still in the lead. Sébastien Rogues and Matthieu Souben took first place thanks to a tight and well-controlled trajectory, while Thibaut Vauchel-Camus and Fred Duthil on the contrary jibed a little early, being forced to multiply the maneuvers to get out of the ridge .
In Class40, the tandem Louis Duc and Aurélien Ducroz (Crosscall Chamonix Mont-Blanc) took first place, followed closely by his two pursuers Aymeric Chappellier and Pierre Leboucher (Aina Childhood and Future) and Kito de Pavant / Achille Nebout (Made in Midi).
The ranking Friday at 09:00 (08:00 GMT)
. Multi50 (50ft / 15m multihull) - 3 engaged
1. Sébastien Rogues / Matthieu Souben (Primal) at 2.927 nm from the finish
2. Thibaut Vauchel-Camus / Frédéric Duthil (ARSEP Solidarity En Peloton) at 17.02 nm from the 1st
3. Gilles Lamiré / Antoine Carpentier (GCA Group - A thousand and one smiles) at 18.99 nm
. Imoca (60-foot / 18-m monohull) - 29 hired
1. Charlie Dalin / Yann Eliès (Apivia) at 3.006,4 nm from the finish
2. Jérémie Beyou / Christopher Pratt (Charal) at 2.68 nm from the first
3. Clarisse Crémer / Armel le Cleac'h (Banque Populaire) at 46.56 nm
4. Sam Davies / Paul Meilhat (Heart Initiatives) at 50.72 nm
5. Kevin Escoffier / Nicolas Lunven (PRB) at 62.96 nm
6. Charlie Enright / Pascal Bidegorry (11th Hour Racing) at 65.96 nm
7. Sébastien Simon / Vincent Riou (Arkea-Paprec) at 70.1 nm
8. Damien Seguin / Yoann Richomme (Apicil Group) at 75.59 nm
9. Nicolas Troussel / Jean Le Cam (Corum L'Epargne) at 78.55 nm
10. Fabrice Amedeo / Eric Péron (Newrest-Arts & Windows) at 146.94 nm
...
. Class40 (40ft / 12m monohull) - 27 engaged
1. Louis Duc and Aurélien Ducroz (Crosscall Chamonix Mont Blanc) at 3.439,4 nm from the finish
2. Aymeric Chappellier / Pierre Leboucher (Aina Childhood and Future) at 1.07 nm from the first
3. Kito de Pavant / Achille Nebout (Made in Midi) at 1.21 nm
© 2019 AFP