Arthur Le Vaillant and Mieux are ready for the final sprint to Guadeloupe
Press release of November 14, 2022
Asfor the whole fleet, the first half of the race proved to be tough, with two successive fronts that left their mark. "The first part of the race went very well for Mieux, although it was not easy with these two fronts, which Arthur managed very well by sailing very cleanly", explains, from Lorient, Pep Costa, one of the four routers assisting him during the race.
Mieux is now heading for Guadeloupe for a sprint of a few days that the trade winds will make as sporty as it is exhilarating. "Now that we're in the trade winds, which are between 15 and 20 knots, depending on the waves and squalls, we're accelerating strongly, with peaks of 25 knots and a south-westerly course," continues Pep Costa. "We need to plan for a few gybes to slip under the high pressure before starting the final passage to Guadeloupe. "
Mieux 's team of routers expects to arrive in Pointe-à-Pitre at the end of the week, with the margin of uncertainty that the tour of Guadeloupe holds, which can prove to be tricky.
Arthur live from Mieux, Monday at 2pm
"The beginning of the race was perfect, I loved being close to the others and playing at the tip of Brittany like that... Then, the fronts are never pleasant, but we went through them. You realize that on these boats, the slightest problem makes you lose a lot of ground on your opponents. On the second day, upwind, I had to find the right settings and I had some small problems to tuck in. Then, I went really safe in the second front, because the boat had been hit a lot. I had to tinker a lot and replace my hydro generator with a plug in the middle of the hull.
I would like to be closer to Francis [Joyon] and Yves [Le Blévec], to see how Mieux performs against less experienced boats in the world of sailing and trade winds. I'm not talking about the first three [Charles Caudrelier, François Gabart and Thomas Coville], who are sailing on another planet...
But what an incredible adventure! I am just beginning to realize that the worst is over, that the storms are behind us and that it is only happiness now... being careful, because there, all the canvas is out there and stupidity can happen quickly. I am starting to get into the rhythm and to feel good at sea... The nights are magnificent and I have beautiful gifts from the sky during the day too. I take a few good 20-minute naps to get my breath back before the next busy days and nights. I enjoyed this first warmer night! Shower today 😉
And we're not going to lie: Mieux is an incredible machine and to be at the helm of this trimaran at 25-30 knots in surfs all alone in the middle of the Atlantic, it's just great!"