Craig Horsfield and Skyweb Express qualify for the 2009 Charente-Maritime/Bahia Transat 6,50
Craig crossed the finish line of the Mini Pavois in 9th place overall. Despite the altered course, the Pavois is still counted as an 800-mile race giving Craig more than enough miles to qualify for the 2009 Charente-Maritime/Bahia Mini Transat.
New Finish Line for the Mini Pavois
Because of an ugly-looking depression, predicted to move in on Thursday night and Friday morning, the Mini Pavois race organisers have decided to move the finish line to the mark at Les Birvideaux, between the Islands of Belle-Ile and Groix.
And the second leg of the 2009 Mini Pavois is...
Course "B", a 430 mile course from Gijon to Karek Greis, around the Basse Pérennès in the northwest Glénan archipelago, around La Jument in the southwest Glénan archipelago, on to Les Birvideaux, then to a mark at the entrance of Petruis d'Antioche, with the finish line at the Minimes buoy just outside of La Rochelle.
According to the Mini Pavois rankings, Skyweb Express is currently in 2nd place among the series boats in what looks like very light and variable conditions.
Leg 2 of the Mini Pavois starts on Monday
The second leg of the Mini Pavois will begin on Monday, May 11th at 2 PM. The weather forecasts are varying, and so the race committee has 4 possible courses from Gijon back to La Rochelle and will announce the final course tomorrow at the skippers meeting.
If the original course is followed, the second leg will take the fleet 520 miles through what is being described as an “inter-island slalom”. The leg begins with a 256 mile crossing of the Bay of Biscay to Les Birvideaux Islands off the Brittany Coast. From Les Birvideaux, the fleet will sail 31 miles to the Lower Mares in the Glénan archipelago. Leaving the islands to starboard, they will sail 4 miles back north to the Lower Pérennès. The last mark of the northern section of the course is Karek Greis, 6 miles away. Next comes a 164 mile run, passing by the islands of Brittany, the Vendée and Charente to the BXA just west of the Gironde estuary. From there it is another 30.5 miles to the mark at the entrance of Peruis d’Antioch, then another 21 miles to the finish line, just west of La Rochelle.
You can track Craig and Skyweb Express on the Mini Pavois race tracker.
The Mini Pavois starts May 6th
The Mini Pavois begins on Wednesday, May 6th at 2 PM and Craig on Skyweb Express will be at the start line with 51 other sailors. The 800 mile, single-handed race will be in two legs, with the first leg taking the sailors 300 miles from La Rochelle, France, across the Bay of Biscay to Gijon, Spain. In the second leg, they will sail 500 miles from Gijon back to La Rochelle by way of the South Brittany Coast.
It will likely be a slow start, with light and variable winds of 1 - 10 knots from the north. During the night, the wind should shift to the north east, averaging 7-10 knots, but should drop again by Thursday.
You can track Skyweb Express on the Mini Pavois blog site in French or in English.
