Elastic? Not So Automatic!

For the first time since the start of the race, gaps are beginning to form. Off the Portuguese coast, part of the fleet—led by DMG MORI Academy (Laure Galley and Kévin Bloch) and Maël Garnier - Catherine Hunt (Selencia - Cerfrance)—has found a stronger wind corridor and is breaking away at the front. Others, including Jules Ducelier and Sophie Faguet (Région Normandie), Adrien Simon and Chloé Le Bars (FAUN), and Victor Le Pape and Estelle Greck (Région Bretagne - CMB Espoir), have been slightly left behind. In short, “the elastic is stretching,” and the regatta is heating up.

There’s real excitement among the fleet—and it’s not just because of the stunning sunrise some sailors captured this morning, but due to the intense racing underway. Martin Le Pape described it like a sports commentator:

“We’re off downwind, maybe all the way to Saint Barthélemy. The spinnaker is up, and we’re in the right group!”

Adrien Simon (FAUN), more calmly, added:

“It’s time for long surfs all the way to Saint Barthélemy!”

Skippers are now gradually entering the Portuguese trade winds, after waiting in a patch of fickle breezes. After regrouping last night at the DST and Cape Finisterre, it turned into a race against the clock to catch the wind. The stakes were high—those who found it first could gain precious miles on their rivals. And that’s exactly what’s happening now.

“The elastic is stretching,” explained Yann Château from Race Management. “A group found a better wind corridor, moving away from the ridge without getting too close to land.” A low-pressure system over Spain is generating a stronger northerly flow, benefiting the frontrunners.

First Real Gaps Appear

Well-positioned since the start, Laure Galley and Kévin Bloch (DMG MORI Academy) were the first to benefit. As of 5:00 p.m., they were sailing at 12.3 knots, Romain Bouillard and Irina Gravecha (Décrochons la lune) at 12.5 knots, and Martin Le Pape and Mathilde Géron (DEMAIN) at 12.6 knots. These speeds are allowing them to steadily pull away from a second group averaging closer to ten knots. That second group includes Jules Ducelier and Sophie Faguet (Région Normandie), Adrien Simon and Chloé Le Bars (FAUN), and Victor Le Pape and Estelle Greck (Région Bretagne - CMB Espoir).

So, for the first time since the start, a true gap is forming.

Will this separation last? Yann Château remains cautious:

“With the strengthening of the thermal depression, the gap will narrow slightly in the coming hours, but the front pack will keep moving forward. Overnight, the wind will ease a little, but those further south will still have a bit more breeze.”

And he concluded: “Chances are, the elastic will keep stretching.”