Holcim-PRB neck to neck with 11th Hour Racing Team
Hours of sleep since the start from Aarhus late Friday afternoon can be counted on the fingers of one hand for the four sailors on board Holcim-PRB.
Benjamin Schwartz, Abby Ehler, Yoann Richomme and Martin Le Pape catch a few minutes' rest here and there, but the race between Denmark and the Netherlands is too short and full of pitfalls for the crew not to allow themselves more time to recharge the batteries.
Setting out from Aarhus in very light airs, the IMOCA boats first headed south yesterday towards Kiel, where they aimed to round a buoy anchored in the German city's channel. They were greeted by thousands of people who had been waiting since 2002 to see The Ocean Race boats in their waters once again. That year, Kiel was a city of arrival of a leg. This time, the monohulls made a stealth passage called "Fly-by" by the Anglo-Saxons. Once they had rounded the buoy, the fleet retraced their steps back to the North Sea. The Americans of 11th Hour Racing Team were the first to arrive in Kiel, followed 3 miles further on by Holcim-PRB. Since then, the battle between the two monohulls has only intensified. Benjamin Schwartz and his crew, who are just one point behind 11th Hour Racing Team in the overall ranking, have only one possible option: to finish ahead of the Americans in The Hague. Last night saw a series of maneuvers to get around the northern tip of Denmark and slalom between the restricted areas, with Holcim-PRB losing a little ground on its rivals. Despite these intensive first few hours of racing, Abby Ehler was enthusiastic this morning.
We had a fantastic night. The boat was going fast on the reach. Now we're sailing along the coast in pursuit of 11th Hour Racing Team, and in very good conditions. The sea is flat and the sun is warming up. We're doing our best.
By mid-afternoon, the green and blue monohull was making headway along the Danish west coast, heading south, in an easterly flow from land of around ten knots. The two overall leaders are neck to neck, trying to keep up the pace by exploiting every wind shift. Holcim-PRB has closed the gap on 11th Hour Racing Team. Less than four miles separate the two monohulls. Georgia Schofield, the onboard reporter, describes the concentration and precision with which the crew is operating.
This short, intense leg leaves no respite for navigator Yoann Richomme. With only three days of racing and a lot of complexity to manage, we haven't set up any watch systems. Even for me, it's intense. I've fallen asleep several times in front of my assembly station in the middle of my work. From the start, the sailors try to do every maneuver together. Afterwards, the most tired goes off to rest. Yoann and Ben always make sure that at least one of them is on standby for navigation. But most of the time, they're both on it. Every decision is vital.
The rest of the route is made up of numerous restricted areas. The slightest mistake can be fatal, and you have to keep a cool head despite the lack of sleep. The choice of having three sailors from the Solitaire du Figaro could, in the coming hours, take on its full meaning. Everyone on board hopes that this configuration will make the difference and bring Holcim-PRB another victory. The boats should arrive in the Netherlands tomorrow afternoon.
