Armel le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire VIII), who has been competing at the head of the fleet with Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) for several weeks now, is finally taking his revenge on his British rival! He set a first record in this Vendée Globe - all of which had been achieved up until now by the skipper of Hugo Boss.
Armel crossed the longitude of Cape Leeuwin, in the south-west of Australia at 9h14 on Monday 5th December 2016, after 28 days, 20 hours and 12 minutes of racing. An incredible time, which underlines the speed at which the solo sailors are leading their mounts across the oceans. In fact, the latest record to date was that of François Gabart, achieved in the previous Vendée Globe (2012/2013 edition) in 34 days 10 hours and 23 minutes. It was therefore an express crossing of the Southern Ocean that Armel achieved! He took five and a half days less on this same segment of the course.
The skipper of Banque Populaire will have taken just 10 days and 16 hours to cover the distance between the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa and the Leeuwin in Australia.
How do you explain these incredible times that the skippers of this 8th edition of the Vendée Globe are achieving? The "fault" of the foils? The experience of the sailors? The incredible weather conditions? Or certainly a bit of all three?
