METEO CONSULT WEATHER bulletin for Saturday, April 26

General situation

This Saturday, the Azores High is shifting eastward to center at 1029 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.

Sunday, moderate northeast trade winds in the area between Madeira and the Canaries and over the eastern Atlantic.

On Monday, a trough is approaching from the west of Madeira, while the trade wind regime is well established between the Canaries and Cape Verde and over the open Atlantic.

Weather conditions at sea for the Transat Paprec

This Saturday morning at 7am, the fleet was heading towards La Palma after passing the latitude of Madeira during the night. The Portuguese trade winds were still well established, blowing between 16 and 19 knots on average, from the northeast. While the Martin Le Pape/Mathilde Géron duo on DEMAIN were in the lead this Friday and had pulled off a good operation by distancing their competitors, they approached as close as possible to the Madeira Islands and performed several gybes. It is now once again the Laure Galley/Kevin Bloch duo on DMG Mori Academy who are in the lead, having chosen a more direct route by sailing at 11 knots. Most of the leading competitors are making their way west-southwest on starboard tack before turning south to reach La Palma late this Saturday evening. The Lola Billy/Corentin Horeau duo on Région Bretagne - CMB Océane, after their rudder damage and their passage through Cascais on Thursday, are still bringing up the rear but are making up some ground, 92 miles from the front of the fleet.

Saturday, April 26

After making a few jibes during the night from Friday to Saturday, passing southeast of the island of Madeira, the first sailors are heading west on starboard tack before starting a final tack with a course towards La Palma after midday, at the longitude of Madeira. They will benefit from a downwind from the northeast which will have strengthened to between 20 and 23 knots on average and will allow them to make progress on port tack with a speed reaching 12-13 knots. This speed gain will also be due to a less rough sea with waves coming from behind the boats, unlike the day before when they were hitting the sailboats on the starboard side. In the afternoon, on the descent between Madeira and the Canaries, the trade wind 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 race course. Nevertheless, the speed race will continue in a still choppy but more orderly sea. The first skippers are expected late Saturday evening or even overnight in La Palma, a little over six days after the start of the Transat Paprec in Concarneau. The sailors at the back of the fleet will continue their descent towards La Palma during the night from Saturday to Sunday in a northeast wind of around twenty knots. Their arrival is expected at the very end of the night or early Sunday morning.

Sunday, April 27

This Sunday morning, the fleet will have started the Atlantic crossing under a northeast trade wind of around twenty knots, allowing rapid progress with a west-southwest heading. The sailors will have to think about the best possible trajectory to anticipate the variations in speed and direction of the trade wind, which is not looking like a long, calm river... From midday this Sunday, it will lose a little of its power by turning a little to the left. It will turn north-northeast, blowing at an average of 17-18 knots during the afternoon and until late evening. Note that the trade wind will be a little more vigorous south of the direct route than in its northern part, which could be taken into account in the game options. Overall, speeds will slow down for a good part of the fleet with a wind that will always remain a little stronger in the southern part of the race zone. The ridge to the north continued to establish itself north of their position until nightfall.

Monday, April 28

This Monday, the sailors will find pressure as the hours go by on their route and the trade wind will gradually strengthen from the north of the race zone, thanks to the weakening of the ridge of high pressure to the north. The sailors who chose a northerly route and were penalized the day before will be the first to benefit from this renewed air and can hope to make up the lost time. It is especially at the end of the day this Monday that the trade wind will clearly regain strength, turning right as it turns northeast and exceeding a good twenty knots again in the evening. This trade wind could even exceed 25 to 27 knots during the night, where the skippers will have to redouble their concentration, even if the wind will be downwind. Note that the sailors will have to think carefully about their race strategy to optimize their trajectory in anticipation of a weakening of the trade wind expected in the second half of the week.

Tuesday, April 29

On Tuesday, the trade winds are expected to remain strong along the skippers' route, gradually turning to the right again. Strategic thinking will be required to find the right compromise between speed and course selection. At this stage, the fleet will be sailing across the Atlantic at high speed in a trade wind of around twenty knots (20 to 25 knots). The skippers will have to perform several gybes to maximize speed while remaining as comfortable as possible. This will be the time for our competitors to consider their strategy for the following days, with the trade winds expected to weaken from Wednesday evening. Some will choose to take a more southerly and less direct route to keep some air, while others will choose to maintain a more direct route, but with the threat of finding themselves in a wind pocket.

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