METEO CONSULT bulletin for Thursday, April 24

General situation

This Thursday, a sustained north-northeast regime from the coast of Portugal towards Madeira and the Canaries, on the eastern edge of a high pressure ridge.

On Friday, a fairly strong north-northeast flow between southern Portugal, Madeira and the Canaries, on the southeastern edge of the high pressure system centered on the Azores at 1029 hPa.

On Saturday, the Azores High will shift eastward to center at 1028 hPa midway between the Azores and northern Portugal. On the southeastern edge of the high, a fairly strong northeasterly flow is in place from Madeira to the Canary Islands.

Weather conditions at sea for the Transat Paprec

This Thursday morning at 7am, the race remained very intense with a still very close match at the head of the fleet at the latitude of Lisbon. Martin Le Pape and Mathilde Géron on Demain took the lead of the ranking, closely followed by their competitors Laure Galley and Kevin Bloch on DMG Mori Academy in 2nd place and Davy Beaudart and Julie Simon on Hellowork in 3rd place. These three neck-and-neck duos managed to gain some distance from their pursuers who benefited from slightly less favorable wind conditions. As expected, the elastic has tightened within the fleet with gaps that have widened compared to yesterday morning. The top 10 now spread over around twenty miles and the duo of Ellie Driver and Olivier Hill on Women Engineering Society brings up the rear, 60 miles behind the leader.

Thursday, April 24

In the morning, the entire fleet is sailing under a Portuguese trade wind averaging 17-18 knots, taking a slight right to steer north-northeast. With this wind close to the great circle (the shortest route to reach La Palma in the Canaries), the sailors continue to gybe along their route. After moving away from the Portuguese coast, most of the sailors are heading southeast. There are no real options to play with this fairly steady wind across the fleet, but depending on the skippers' sideways positioning, some benefit from a little more wind than others. The gaps could therefore widen a little further within the fleet, with the frontrunners often being the most favored, as the wind gradually accelerates towards the south. With an average speed expected to be around 11 knots, the first sailors are expected at the latitude of Cape Saint Vincent in the late afternoon. They will have started a long tack towards Madeira, under a wind which will have returned to the north and will blow between 18 and 20 knots.

Friday, April 25

During this Friday, the sailors will continue their navigation on starboard tack at high speed between Portugal and Madeira, under a northerly then north-northeast wind that remains brisk, close to 20 knots. It's a real highway with big slides under spinnaker in which each sailor will have to give up nothing to maintain what has been acquired... With a sea that will become rough with 2.5 m waves coming from the starboard, it could be quite rough and hinder the progress of the sailboats a little. The sailors will have to remain very focused and take care of their boats. Approaching Madeira at the end of the day, with a wind that will have taken a little from the right, they will have to return to the south in order not to deviate too much from the direct route that leads them to La Palma. The first skippers are expected in the middle of the night from Friday to Saturday at the latitude of Madeira.

Saturday, April 26

In a northeasterly wind that will strengthen a little further to reach 22-23 knots, the final gybes will take place in the southeast of Madeira before a final tack due south towards the La Palma mark, which will mark the starting point of the great Atlantic crossing. In this descent between Madeira and the Canaries, the trade winds will become more unstable and irregular, which could shake up the rankings a little, with some benefiting from a slightly stronger wind than others, depending on their position on the water. Nevertheless, the speed race will continue in a sea that is still choppy to heavy. The first skippers are expected in the first part of the night from Saturday to Sunday in La Palma, less than 7 days after the start of the Transat Paprec in Concarneau.

Sunday, April 27

This Sunday, a large part of the fleet will begin the Atlantic crossing under a slightly irregular north-northeast trade wind with some slack effects to leeward of the island of La Palma. As they head out to sea, the trade wind will become more regular and brisk, blowing at around twenty knots. A new speed race will take place within the fleet with a broad reach on starboard tack towards the Antilles arc. This well-established trade wind allows for a fast race, but the slightly longer-term forecasts indicate that the trade wind regime could be disrupted in a few days. A case to watch closely...

Full bulletin here: https://marine.meteoconsult.fr/