29 Oct Transat Jacques Vabre : Departure is delayed – Be Water Positive to stay in Le Havre with IMOCA fleet.
Because of a rapidly worsening weather forecast, in particular for the period Monday into Tuesday with predicted winds of 80kts and 10m seas, the start for the 40 strong IMOCA class for the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre, the two handed race from Le Havre to Martinique due for 1229hrs today, has been postponed and the fleet will not leave Le Havre until the situation improves.
“The race has been postponed – So the start has been held for the IMOCA’s they had already decided to split the race for the class 40s & Multi 50s and being one of the slower IMOCA’s we are on par with the faster class 40s. The conditions are pretty terrible out there for us in the time frame so I’m glad they made the decision for safety. We are of course ‘Gung oh’ sailors who want to get going and it will take a lot to turn us away but it is the right decision from a race standpoint. Obviously, it’s super disappointing as we have put in all this preparation and are ready to go. We have all the horses lined up at the start gate chomping at the bit to go and then now we are putting it all on hold. So all the prep is done but a lot of energy to regain and get fired back up for another start. I hope there will be another start the weather looks pretty challenging for the next little while so we will see what the Race organisation comes up with” – explained Scott Shawyer, as he was getting back on the docks with his co-skipper Nick Moloney.
The team is now awaiting further instructions from the race organizers, in order to reschedule a start in the next few days, once the danger has been averted.
More information to follow.