Francesca Clapcich: Route du Rhum Day 11 Report
The wind finally returned last night for Francesca and 11th Hour Racing following a slow, almost calm day. This new breeze is still lighter than typical Caribbean tradewinds, but she averaged 11.2 knots [12.9 mph | 21 km/h] of boat speed, with a maximum of 12.9 knots [14.8 mph | 24 km/h], over a four hour period early this morning.
At 0700 UTC she was 180 nautical miles [207 miles | 333km] from her waypoint at the north-west corner of Guadeloupe and 224 nautical miles [256 miles | 415km] from the finish at Port-à-Pitre on the island’s south coast.
However, two factors are hampering speed compared to her nearest rivals. Firstly, the wind locally is at a tighter angle than for the boats that are on a line further to the east. They are therefore able to sail faster. “It's a bit hard to digest,” she said in a voice note to her shore team early this morning, “but it is what it is.”
Secondly, 11th Hour Racing’s broken bowsprit means Francesca is restricted to using the J2, plus the J3 as a staysail, rather than the bigger sails that normally set from the end of the sprit. “I'm really trying to make this J2, J3 staysail combination work,” she says, “but the angles are really tight – the wind is quite right-shifted at the moment and it's just not that easy to get it going.”
As a result, Sam Goodchild (Macif Santé Prevoyance) and Sébastian Simon (Groupe Dubreuil – Air Caribes), in fourth and fifth places respectively, were tangibly faster overnight and continue to pull further ahead.
Davy Beaudart (Bureau Vallée) also benefitted from a position further east and slipped past Francesca yesterday afternoon. At the moment she is still holding off Maxime Sorel (Vaincre la Mucoviscidose), who remains 30 miles behind on the leaderboard.
The breeze is expected to continue to build slowly during the day, potentially reaching an average of around 15 knots [17 mph | 28 kmph] when Francesca gets to the north-east corner of Guadeloupe. Current progress suggests this is likely to be around 1900 to 2100 UTC this evening, but she says it might be earlier, “if the wind picks up a little bit and shifts left slightly.”
While she is “looking forward to seeing land in a few hours,” one of the biggest challenges of the entire Route du Rhum remains: negotiating the notorious wind shadow to the west of Guadeloupe’s high mountains.
“Rounding Guadeloupe is not easy at all – it can be a struggle to do those final miles,” Francesca says. “There are a lot of wind shadows, a lot of tricky things to go through. Boris [Herrmann] was there for a while, trying to get through. It will be another long passage for me.”
Beyond that, after the finish she says, “I’m looking forward to seeing my team and people on shore, to have a good meal all together. And in a couple of days get on a plane and go back and hug my kid at home. That's probably the thing that I'm looking forward to the most right now – getting back to her and spending time together.”
Team Francesca Clapcich Powered by 11th Hour Racing’s Technical Partner - Team Malizia, skippered by Boris Herrmann - finished second earlier this morning. "I'm really happy for Boris - it's a good result with a brand new boat. He has shown a lot of consistency throughout the whole race with great speed in all conditions," she said. "I think Boris always has this low-key vibe, but he has tons of experience, and it's really special to see him in the front. And for me it is pretty cool too - I have been racing close to him and Elodie throughout the entire race and it gives me good confidence in the future to get similar results moving forward.
"And of course awesome to see Anne-Claire cross the finish line with UpWind by MerConcept- the first woman to race the Route du Rhum in an Ocean Fifty. In my opinion it is one of the hardest boats to sail out here - it is risky, unstable, and always with the potential to capsize in the back of your head. She did an amazing job, both managing the boat and also pushing to the end. I'm really looking forward to seeing her on the dock and giving her a big hug.
"This year there has been a lot of history, not only Anne-Claire, but also Alexia [Barrier] to be the first woman to compete in the ULTIM class. Women are really showcasing the sport is for everyone - we can all do well - and hopefully Elodie [Bonafus] will be able to get on the IMOCA podium and demonstrate that we too can be on the top spots of the ranking."