Six IMOCA boats lined up for the start of the Artemis Challenge in Cowes this morning (Thursday) including five boats that competed in the last Vendée Globe with the sixth, Artemis Ocean Racing, skippered by another well-known name, Brian Thompson. At the end of a closely fought contest, it was Macif skippered by François Gabart, which won the race in the IMOCA category, finishing just two minutes ahead of Hugo Boss.
The Ocean50 one-design offers a technical, sporting an financial alternative in an economic climate that requires the invention of new modes of expression. It’s a principle of sustainability in the world of international professional sailing. The practice of sailin an Ocean 50 is a promising discipline for the future!
The Ocean50 class, which Michel Desjoyeaux had the idea of launching, has been pondering the first major event for the future Ocean50 monohulls for several months. Now, this project is taking shape thanks to the work done jointly between Michel Desjoyeaux’s Mer Agitée company, the development team at Mer Forte led by Denis Juhel and the event organizers, Mer & Média. They are developing a highly original project for a new solo round the world race from Brittany to Brittany via the three capes with stopovers in various French overseas territories and departments. Read More
After his earlier capsize in this area it’s a great moment for him to pass the point at 5th place.
Jean Le Cam franchit le cap Horn door VendeeGlobeTV
![cap-horn-gd[1]](http://fastoceancruisers.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/cap-horn-gd1.jpg)
Never leaders has passed Cap Horn as close as in this edition, but ranking stand still and will hold for at least the following days. Francois will reach more wind than Armel who is 20 miles closer to Argentine’s Coast line with less wind the following 24 hours. Read More
We’re half way to welcome the first sailors at le Sable d’Olonne. After 40 days of saling Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) & Francois Gabart (MACIF) are still racing eye-to-eye, the leading duo in the Vendée Globe have begun to extend away again.But not from each other. Armel said he could see Francois, no more than two miles away they passed the Auckland Islands, on the radar overnight. For his part, Gabart sent home a video trying, but not wholly succeeding, to show Le Cléac’h’s sails in the distance. Read More
Basically, I’m doing fine, enjoying myself more and more. I think I’m more comfortable now, more reactive when it comes to choosing sails. And if I had known my boat that well from the start, I could have sailed faster at the beginning of the race. But that’s how things are… I’ve been at sea for a month and it’s a special moment. You can feel the rhythm changing and you have to be extremely careful because whether you realise it or not, you are getting tired. And the temperatures have changed, too, they’re getting much colder so you drink less, which makes recovery more difficult. That’s why I eat soup several times a day, as well as energy supplements. And I try to sleep as much as possible. Micro-naps can be very efficient!
Conditions have improved. We now have more stable and stronger winds and it should last for four or five days. The sea is weird, though, the waves just don’t carry you as much as when you’re in the Great South. We’re sailing north to avoid iceberg and as a result, we miss some of the adventure. It’s become such a serious race…
The two leaders have extremely good boats that can truly make a difference in winds like this, that not that strong. Behind, the skippers who were chasing them got stuck near the gates, where there was basically no breeze. You can’t really use the weather when you have geographical constraints and areas you are required to sail in. But the leaders are also very well-prepared and with my boat and my preparation level, there’s no way I can compete with them. So I think it’s better to currently focus on skippers I can actually catch up with, Cali and Javier, while keeping an eye on Tanguy.
