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Mercator Ocean provides a new generation of ocean bulletins
Races pit competitors and their boats against the sea and the wind. To have the best chance of winning, skippers have to know their boat inside out and analyse the weather to pick the right route. Today’s skippers and boats are better prepared than ever before and weather forecasts are studied in fine detail. So where does the ocean enter the equation?
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 Source : A. Desombes / Alcyone |
 Source : JC L'Espagnol |
Until now, the ocean was viewed simply as the stage for the competitors. But the ocean obeys the same rules as the atmosphere. Ocean anticyclones and depressions generate currents that the boats can ride to their advantage. Obviously, the wind remains the decisive factor, driving them across the Atlantic at an average speed of 12 knots. However, the distance between competitors on the finishing line shows that ocean currents can make a difference. For example, a boat travelling at a speed of 15 knots sails through an ocean eddy spanning 200 kilometres in six hours. Thanks to Mercator Ocean, the skipper would be able to ride the eddy with the currents and gain about 0.7 knots (or 4.5 miles), thus saving 20 minutes. In the first edition of the Route du Rhum in 1978, Mike Birch finished just 98 seconds ahead of Michel Malinovsky.
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