A few days before the start, Christian Dumard and his son Louis are fine-tuning Alexia Barrier’s weather strategy aboard the Ultim IDEC SPORT-CIC. Their mission: “to find the most optimal route”, taking into account the boat, the conditions and the skipper’s fatigue.
A route north of the Azores
The first trends point to a passage south of Ireland, then north of the Azores. The challenge will be to stay ahead of a low-pressure system to avoid strong winds and the heavy sea that comes with it. A scenario that “may still change a little before the start”.
A constant link between sea and shore
On shore, the routers will recalculate the course every time the weather models are updated, four times a day, and anticipate manoeuvres with Alexia. Thanks to Sopra Steria’s Crimson platform, they will be able to “see whether the forecast matches the reality of the boat”, using data from the onboard sensors.
An essential link to adapt the strategy and support the skipper all the way to Guadeloupe, after the start from Saint-Malo on Sunday 1 November at 1:02 pm.
