TJV2019 Day 2 East or West?

So now the cards are down in the IMOCA 60 fleet.

The play to get west by a hand full of boats is in action with Alex Thomson Racing In HugoBoss leading the charge West With Kevin Escoffier - PRB Furthest South /East right along the Spanish coast. In the middle (and leading the tracker) we have Jérémie Beyou & Christopher Pratt in Charal.

Who will come out In front? We may have to wait 3 days to see!

Below There is a snap of the tracker as well as a snap from the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe tracker from last year at this point in the race, a picture we have seen before. Last time Boss managed to power down over the fleet with speed and pop out just ahead at the Canary Islands.

RDR2018

TJV 2019

The west is an investment (and can be a riskier option) you sail more distance with the hope of finding more wind and a nicer angle. will they be able to do it this time and sail fast down over the boats in the east? there is defiantly more wind in the West but the shift looks a little delayed. It looks pretty close and keeping the hammer down and the speed up will be key.

There are a couple of boats sailing really well at the moment ;

Initiatives Cœur Sam Davies & Paul Meilhat who although not in a new boat have made some very clever developments to Jérémie Beyou old boat that finished 3rd in the last Vendée Globe

Voile Banque Populaire sailing in the old SMA (winner of the last Route du Rhum) it is no surprise that Armel Le Cleac'h is right in the action with Clarisse sur l'Atlantique getting a great apprenticeship and introduction in to 60 Sailing, this boat is a fast one especially upwind!

Yannick Bestaven Officiel in Maître CoQ with is also showing great form in the north bunch.

What is very interesting is that the majority of Figaro sailors seem to be bunched together in the south, Is this the optimal route? or are they all being influenced by one another and sticking together to be able to keep a reference? Or by staying on the Rhum line are they taking less risk? it certainly played out that way in the La Solitaire URGO Le Figaro this year.

There is only one 60 out of the race, Isabelle Joschke - Skipper MACSF and Lagraviere Morgan.