Weather and strategy analysis of the second leg by Sylvain Mondon - Météo-France

Armel Le Cleach left Gijon on Tuesday 3rd August with a light 5/9 knots north/north westerly breeze which quickly shifted to north-easterly at the approach of the high pressure ridge not far from the Spanish coast. After tacking late afternoon, when the light wind became northerly again under the ridge axis, Britair begins her long port tack towards the SN1 mark, placed right along the mouth of the Loire river. The breeze keeps strengthening throughout Thursday, coming from the North/West with the passing of two fronts. Late afternoon the breeze increases to 25 knots with gusts from the NW before the leaders of the fleet get to the SN1 mark, topping 30/32 knots overnight. It’s in these high winds and choppy seas- with a swell of 2/2.5 metres that slows the fleet down considerably- that the leaders start the route to Groix. These conditions remain mostly unchanged until the early morning hours. As a consequence of a second ridge coming from the West, the westerly wind decreases to 8/12 knots. The Figaro II continue sailing upwind until the pointe de Raz where Armel Le Cleach can finally start reaching in fairly light winds (4/7 knots) to get to Brest in the middle of the night between Thursday 5th and Friday 6th. The last tacks to Sein are favoured by the current, while on the last stretch to the finish line Britair benefits from a more stable breeze from the SW sector of around ten knots, that counteract the negative effect of the tidal flow.