Day 5 Report: Next Stop Europe
(Friday, July 3, 2015) –This morning at 03:46 EDT (07:46 UTC), Mariette of 1915 was first yacht in the 2015 Transatlantic Race fleet to pass the southeastern limit of the Ice Exclusion Zone surrounding the Grand Banks, south of Newfoundland. While the exclusion zone extends off to the northeast, the giant gaff schooner is now much freer to sail her preferred course toward the finish line at England’s Lizard Point. At 0700 EDT this was 1815 miles away.
While all the boats have been enjoying brisk southwesterlies, Mariette will hit a meteorological brick wall tonight: an area of high pressure (and light winds) to her east. However, this will be short lived with a fast-moving depression, forming off Nova Scotia today, causing strong southwesterlies to fill in once again. But this bodes well for the boats astern.
