Lenze dismasts in the Bay of Biscay

The leaders are expected to pass Ushant from 10 p.m. this evening, just as the tide will to turn and Jean-Philippe Le Meitour (La Voix de l’Enfant) trails alone, 40 miles behind Elodie Riou on KPMG and over 90 miles from the leader.

The skippers have all been doubly vigilant whilst crossing the Bay of Biscay and underlying the fact that despite the technical surveillance equipment they all have installed, such as AIS and Activ’Echo (Automatic Identification System), this rare and unfortunate situation can still arise. Chasing Morvan, eleven boats are within just 2 miles of each other. Nicolas Berenger (KONE Ascenseurs), Gérald Veniard (Macif), Gildas Mahé (Le Comptoir Immobilier), Erwan Tabarly (Athema), Christopher Pratt (DCNS 97), continue to swap places as they gybe and hustle for the best angle of approach. “There are ten of bunched quite close together chasing down Gildas (Morvan) and, like on a cycle race, we face two major hills climbs, the Breton headland and the raz Blanchard, describes Veniard, “We all know the Breton coastline well and what is going to be tough is that Gildas is going to get round it at the right time before it turns, whilst we will get there later and it is going to complicate things” laments Vincent Biarnes (Côtes d’Armor) lying in 29th place and 20 miles from the leader.

British sailor, Andy Greenwood on Imtech, has gradually inched his way up the rankings and lies in 36th place ahead of Liz Wardley on Sojasun and fellow rookie sailor Adrien Hardy on Agir Recouvrement. 203.6 miles remained at 15:30 today to reach the finish in Cherbourg-Octeville and although it is early to predict the ETA with two headlands to round and strong tides and currents to contend with, the first can be expected to arrive from 17:00 local time tomorrow on what Erwan Tabarly (Athema) predicts to be “a coastal race from tonight onwards.”