Transat Paprec - The moment of truth

The 17 crews still in the running at this stage of the race are getting closer to their goal. According to the latest estimates, the fastest crews should catch a glimpse of the island of Saint-Barthélemy as early as Thursday, May 8. "Possibly more than five nights at sea", hopes the crew of Etoiles filantes. But the next few hours will prove decisive for the outcome of the race. The notorious windless zone that the sailors have been dreading since the start of the week is now showing its face, blocking the direct route to Saint-Barth. While several options were available, the whole fleet headed north to get around it, before plunging towards the Caribbean arc.

The frontrunners are still the leading trio: Wings of the Ocean (Alexis Thomas and Pauline Courtois, 1st), Cap St Barth (Cindy Brin and Thomas André, 2nd) and Skipper Macif (Charlotte Yven and Hugo Dhallenne, 3rd). Charlotte Yven and Hugo Dhallenne had regained the lead yesterday by briefly shifting south. They finally fell behind by repositioning themselves to the north late on Friday afternoon. As for Wings of the Ocean and Cap Saint-Barth, they are so close that it's hard to tell them apart on the map. The two crews seem to be playing cat and mouse, alternately occupying first place in the rankings.

The surprise of the night: the crew of Les Étoiles Filantes managed to close in on the leading trio by shifting northwards. "It was a long and unstable night, but we managed to pull away from the group behind us," explained Quentin Vlamynck. The rest of the fleet is progressing further south, like Demain (Martin Le Pape and Mathilde Géron, 5th), Région Bretagne CMB Espoir (Victor Le Pape and Estelle Greck, 6th), and Laure Galley and Kévin Bloch (DMG MORI Academy, 7th). Trajectories are likely to deviate on Saturday morning: some may choose to sail along light wind zones to ensure a more direct route to Saint-Barth, or opt for a more northerly, but longer trajectory. " This decision will be the great moment of truth in the race," says Francis Le Goff, race director.