Wednesday January 22After 48 hours of battling with the stormy Garoe depression, the weather situation remains complicated for Jérémie Beyou. At the start of the afternoon, we were sailing slowly south of Cape Finisterre, in a zone of light wind linked to the passage of a trough. After rounding Cape Finisterre, he will suddenly find a strong north-northeast wind, in the axis of the trajectory, which will force him to make tacks on his route, in heavy seas with 3 to 4 meters of wave coming from the front of the boat. A real nightmare, these last days of racing… Justine Mettraux is not much better off with a strong northerly current on the western edge of the depression circulating at the latitude of Lisbon. With the depression shifting eastwards, it will still remain under this headwind for several hours, forcing it to sail close-hauled, with tacks to be made as it heads north.
© METEO CONSULT Marine
Benjamin Dutreux is doing a little better with a northwest wind of around twenty knots which allows him to progress in reaching with a northeast heading taking him south of Madeira. It is sailing significantly further south of the direct trajectory towards the Bay of Biscay.Thursday January 23The wind conditions will improve significantly for Jérémie Beyou who will finally find himself on the waters of the Bay of Biscay after 3 days of battle and great fatigue. It will be able to recover under the effect of a ridge which will temporarily settle in the south of the Bay of Biscay. At the edge of it, it will sail under a west-southwest downwind of around 20 knots. He will also find a more manageable sea which will allow him to accelerate for the last miles to cover before arriving in Les Sables d'Olonne. It is in the middle of the night from Thursday to Friday that he should cross the finish line.
© METEO CONSULT Marine
The wind conditions will remain complicated for Justine Mettraux with a step-by-step climb off the Portuguese coast, due to a strong northerly wind facing her and forcing her to increase the number of tacks. It will end up being caught by a ridge arriving from the west and causing it to slow down significantly in the afternoon and evening of this Thursday. Benjamin Dutreux will also have to make several tacks to get back on track to the north. and look for southwesterly downwind winds in the west of the ridge.Friday January 24Justine Mettraux will have seen the southwest flow quickly enter her sails during the night from Thursday to Friday, allowing her to accelerate and pass Cape Finisterre to reach the Bay of Biscay. She will sail ahead of a front which will gradually catch up with her and will see the south-southwest wind clearly strengthen with gusts reaching 45-50 knots at the end of the day, linked to the stormy depression Eowyn, crossing the British Isles. The sea state will deteriorate significantly with westerly waves of 5 meters at the end of the day.
-© METEO CONSULT Marine
Benjamin Dutreux will also find a strong southwest wind after seeing the ridge pass at the start of the night from Thursday to Friday. It will progress quickly in the morning with a heading north-north-east. In the afternoon as the front approaches, wind and sea conditions will become strong with gusts of 40-45 knots and waves of 4-5 meters.
Cyrille Duchesne, expert meteorologist La Chaîne Météo / METEO CONSULT Find the METEO CONSULT Marine analysis every day in our special Vendée Globe report.
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