The Minis Transat fleet was emphatically divided by hundreds of miles when the leaders managed to get themselves well south past Cape Finisterre in northwest Spain before ferocious weather and aggressive killer whales forced a significant section of the fleet - including Ireland’s Yannick Lemonnier racing Port of Galway - to seek shelter in ports in the Vigo region at the weekend. Nevertheless when they got going again only three boats of the fleet of 90 didn’t resume racing, the most spectacular exit from the lineup being by Black Mamba, which had found an immovable bit of Spain blocking her route while trying to make port.
The four leading boats - all from the Proto class - were in a race of their own, and the first stage to Santa Cruz de la Palma (yes, that Santa Cruz de Palma, volcanoes and all) was won by Tanguy Bouroullec on his Pogo, going so well that he was into port on Monday barely a day after the tail-enders had got away from Galicia. The first Serie boat, SignForCom raced by Melwin Fink of Germany, made a masterful job of the downwind sailing to finish well ahead of any classmates at 13.30 French time today (Thursday).
Yannick Lemonnier has been getting every last ounce of speed out of his 2004 vintage-but-modified Port of Galway, and is lying 17th as he approaches the latitude of Madeira making 7.6 knots, but with higher speeds expected in an improving wind pattern.
Tracker here
