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Who could have predicted such a turn of events? With the first skippers due to arrive in Saint-Barth in less than two days' time, the rankings were completely turned upside down last night. Less than 24 hours ago, the leading quartet - Wings of the Ocean (1st), Cap St Barth (2nd), Les Étoiles Filantes (3rd) and Skipper Macif (4th) - were still leading the way with their more northerly trajectory. But by the end of the day on Tuesday, the hierarchy had been overturned: the sailors who had taken the southerly option took the lead. Demain (Martin Le Pape and Mathilde Géron) is now in the lead, ahead of Décrochons la Lune (Romain Bouillard and Irina Gracheva), Région Bretagne - CMB Océane (Victor Le Pape and Estelle Greck) and Faun (Adrien Simon and Chloe Le Bars). " With less than 400 miles to go, we're really seeing a new start," comments race director Francis Le Goff. I've never seen anything like it since I've been in charge of this race!"
As a result, the Cap Saint-Barth duo, which was one of the most northerly crews, plummeted down the rankings to 14th place at 7 a.m. ( local time). Yesterday was a difficult day mentally," says Cindy. At 10 UT we were in the lead and at 3 UT we began our vertiginous fall." While the fleet is still making slow progress, some sailors are benefiting from brief passages of air. " Some will be able to take advantage of local situations with 2 to 3 knots more, while others may come to a screeching halt," Francis Le Goff points out. This is particularly the case for Cindy and Thomas: "We had a big lull for almost 15 hours. We could see the others moving fast and in the right direction, while we were stopped with the sails flapping." Suffice it to say that the sailors' nerves are being severely tested."With fatigue, the mental aspect will play a major role," adds the race director, " We need to be solid, have a close-knit duo and not be destabilized by the constantly changing rankings!"
As they approach the Caribbean Sea, the sailors also have to contend with sargassum clinging to the boat."We' ve met our friends the seaweed and they're a bit 'relous'," said Romain Bouillard (Décrochons la lune). The Étoiles Filantes crew even broke one of their seaweed rods. Another technical problem, Pier-Paolo Dean and Tiphaine Rideau (Banques Alimentaires) tore their large spinnaker: "We have to deal with the small spinnaker, so speed is bound to be very reduced". Despite the difficulties, Cindy and Thomas are staying the course. Even if tempers are flaring on board, we're not giving up hope until the finish line," says Cindy. Anything is possible! We all have a lucky star and ours will come back." In moments of doubt, any sign is good to take. The sailing instructor photographed the sunrise that has "chased away the bad weather and the greyness", and enjoys seeing that they are now sailing at 9.2 knots instead of 5 knots before. In any case, the island native is getting closer to home, where she hopes to receive a warm welcome. According to the latest estimates, the first boats could arrive from midnight on Friday until Friday evening at the latest. Whatever the time of arrival, there's no doubt that the native of the island will be warmly welcomed.
