The Artemis Transat 2008: the race, day 1 to day 10

Day 1 (May 11 2008) - And they're off!
Given by Mike Golding, winner of the 2004 edition, aboard the Royal Navy ship HMS Argyll, the start of The Artemis Transat was followed by 1,000 spectator boats. Heading off towards Eddystone - first race gate of the course - at 9 knots of boats speed, the skippers fought a close battle as soon as the gun went off... Loick Peyron (Gitana Eighty) was the first skipper at the Eddystone Omega race gate. But now there is an ocean to cross, and the first night at sea might prove tricky.

Day 2 - A close-fought battle for the Atlantic
Light winds requiring constant attention on deck, thick fog and heavy traffic making for a stressful ride on top of the nervous tension generated by the tricky tactical situation... Welcome to the sleep-deprived world of The Artemis Transat! As the front of the fleet has now crossed the longitude of the Fastnet rock, the skippers - led by Sébastien Josse's BT - are facing a new challenge, expecting a shift, and as Jean-Luc Nélias (strategy consultant for the race) puts it, "The race looks complex with many possible changes of leader."

Day 3 - Windy, wild and wet night
Tough night for the IMOCA fleet, caught under spinnaker by gusts up to 30 knots. High speeds but also high risks - aboard Safran, Marc Guillemot crash gybed and might be suffering from a broken rib. Despite the pain, the Breton skipper stays in the race and says " I really want to go to Boston, but..." Meanwhile, up in front, the battle continues with Yann Elies (Generali) as new leader, and the first four boats within 17 miles.

Day 4 - Uncertain tactics... and a positions blackout starting Friday night
The leading pack is still amazingly tight in terms of distance to the finish, after more than 800 miles spent at sea. Tactically speaking, the big question of the day lies within the 80-mile latitude gap separating the top 6 boats: have some significant choices been made, is the North - South positioning difference really relevant? Aboard BT, 3rd placed Sébastien Josse believes it is, and says the dice have been thrown 48 hours ago, while his rivals remain sceptic. The skippers have taken some rest and are now preparing to cross a high pressure ridge, expecting to be parked in 24 hours.

Day 5 - Foncia out!
Could this be a decisive moment in the race? Sébastien Josse's escape, revealed this morning by the first positions update, makes for the biggest gap seen within the leading pack since the start of The Artemis Transat, and it would certainly be very worrying for his rivals if... there wasn't another ridge to cross tonight! Confident with his southerly option yesterday, BT's skipper undoubtedly took an advantage - if only psychological - but remains very careful. The end of the day brings shocking news, race favourite Michel Desjoyeaux announcing he throws in the towel after having collided with a whale.

Day 6 - It's oh so quiet... for now.
Voices of the high seas have been very quiet this morning - skippers had warned when contacted by Race HQ shortly before dawn, it had been a tiring night on top of 3 tiring days, and most of them would spend a few hours asleep. Wind conditions were steady enough to allow for some rest - the front boats doing around 8 knots, pilots coping well - and the tactical options were bound to be limited today anyway... Which does not mean the whole fleet had taken the day off! Sébastien Josse, still leading aboard BT, managed to maintain his position despite yet another night of park up, and this morning the first trio has pulled away from Yann Elies (Generali), north, and Armel Le Cléac'h (Brit Air), south.

Day 7 - "Real" North Atlantic weather, and a positions blackout
Finally the 23 skippers still in the race have conditions that one expects on The Artemis Transat - wet, cold, upwind, foggy, all the shades of grey you can imagine as Loick Peyron mused at this morning's brief call to Gitana Eighty. Grey yes, but black also, as since last night at 1800GMT the 36 hour positions blackout has kicked in. Instead of the 2 hourly position updates that the skippers normally get during the day now they get nothing - no information at all about where the other boats are. Not even the race organisation communication team have the information - just like in the old days!

Day 8 - Race leader BT pulls out
The big news of the morning morning is the retirement of Sébastien Josse, plagued by a broken mainsail headcar, and unable to climb up the mast given the sea state. But the race goes on, and the morning was also a busy time for everyone who tried to analyze what had been happening in the dark during the 36-hours positions blackout. The most obvious move was Loick Peyron's tack, favoured by a wind shift to the west at about 22:00 GMT on Friday. "I had planned to tack, but of course I waited for the blackout", said Gitana Eighty's skipper this morning, "I think it was a good move in terms of saving some manoeuvres and efforts in the long run." Now repositioned further south, Peyron is second only 26 miles behind Riou (leading), and has a 30-mile advantage over Armel Le Cléac'h's Brit Air, who moved into third position aver the blackout.

Day 9 - Straight (?) to the ice gate
When will they finally get some rest, when will the boats will finally enjoy stable conditions, allowing the autopilots to perform the task they've been designed for? Bumping at mid-morning into yet another light patch - foreseen by our expert Jean-Luc Nélias four days ago - the leaders have to be on deck, trying to prevent the dreaded speedometer values downfall. Less than 0,5 knots of speed for PRB, race leader, at the 10:00 GMT position update - Vincent Riou sees Loick Peyron gradually gaining miles while Brit Air, even faster, closes the gap as well.

Day 10 - Clash of the titans. then Riou abandons ship
Race leader and Vendée Globe winner Vincent Riou says it himself, and the man is not exactly reputed for his tendency to exaggerate: "The gaps are negligible" - one couldn't be any clearer about the situation at the front of the fleet. After having covered roughly 2000 miles in nerve-racking conditions, today PRB and Loick Peyron's Gitana Eighty are less than 20 miles apart, which equates to merely over an hour given the speed boats travel at. 9 days of fighting for every puff, and they're still separated by a "negligible" distance. At the end of the day though, the argument is settled in a way no one would have wished for: Riou is to abandon ship due to major keel damage, following a collision with a shark! Loick Peyron rescues Riou, and two men are now aboard Gitana Eighty, leading.