The Ocean Race Europe: Fleet compresses at Ushant after sleepless night, as drag race to Portugal begins

After stretching to nearly 40 miles from front to back in the Channel, the fleet was compressed to within a handful of miles as the breeze collapsed, creating the first major turning point of the leg.

Sunday evening’s start from Cowes had delivered perfect conditions, with the fleet charging down the Solent under spinnaker and tide. Biotherm once again proved sharpest, taking maximum points at the Needles scoring gate, with Paprec Arkéa close behind for the single point.

“We had a bit of a difference in sail choice to some of the others, but we picked the right sail and the boat was going quick down the Solent,” said Biotherm’s Sam Goodchild. “Everything came together to get to the two-point gate, max points. That’s exactly what we needed.”

Others were equally upbeat. “We had great conditions to leave the Solent and cross the Channel, we really enjoyed it,” said Morgan Lagravière on Allagrande Mapei Racing, happy to be back in the mix after Leg 1.

Once clear of the Isle of Wight the pace shot up, the leading group pushing over 20 knots as darkness fell. “It was pretty full-on with a strong easterly wind and some waves – we were actually faster than the routing predicted,” added Goodchild.

The race changed dramatically at the northwest tip of Brittany. As forecast, the easterlies gave way to a transition zone with just a few knots of breeze. Boats that had been flying now found themselves crawling, crews working constantly to keep the boats alive.

Paprec Arkéa tried to slip inside Ushant through the narrow tidal channel – a move that could have paid off with a 15–20 mile jump had they caught the gate. But in the dying wind, they missed it by less than an hour. Forced to tack back and reroute to the west, Yoann Richomme’s crew tumbled from the front into the chasing pack.

While Paprec Arkéa paid the price, Biotherm, Team Malizia and Canada Ocean Racing opted for the northern route. It proved the safer call: Biotherm held a narrow lead, while Canada briefly surged into first place, a milestone moment for Scott Shawyer’s team. By morning, just 15 hours after leaving Portsmouth, all seven IMOCAs were once again side by side.

As of 12:00 UTC, Team Malizia, Biotherm and Holcim-PRB are leading the pack, neck and neck and pushing 20 knots in 13 knots of wind. Just eight miles separate first from last, with Team AMAALA bringing up the rear – proof that it is still all to play for.

The fleet is expected in Porto by Wednesday for the short fly-by, before resuming racing immediately towards Cartagena.

Text and images courtesy of The Ocean Race. Read more here.