A short update from Tim Long on the committee boat this morning
So we had a big right shift this morning from 6-10am ish and now we are heading downwind in 20-25kts everyone on big Spi.
We’re now starting to see the positioning decisions between the 3 packs (west, central and east) play out.
The western fleet saw the wind change first and initially gained, but having needed to cover more ground than the others it hasn’t yet translated into a commanding lead… but they have gained. The middle fleet saw the breeze next, which has cemented them in a strong position for now.
And the eastern fleet saw the wind later and with much less strength, Alexis’ lead has been wiped away from his feet.
Looking at the gribs this morning, the breeze does seem more even across the bay of Biscay, with a steady NW spreading across a large part of the bay.
The risk is going too far west or east and slipping out of this.
It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out, because now we mustn forget that the 3 packs are likely out of AIS range of each other, so they may make some more autonomous conditions.
On the other hand, it is also likely that the central and western packs converge and it then may translate into a 20h drag race to the finish.
Looking for there ahead into tomorrow, approaching Gijon there will be some coastal influence entering the tactics which may change things… nothing is set in stone that’s for sure
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