Friday 15 January: A trio of strong heads
At the head of the fleet, a trio consisting of Charlie Dalin (Apivia), Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée 2) and Boris Herrmann (SeaExplorer Yacht Club de Monaco) are sailing neck and neck. All three should pass Recife in the early evening. Behind them, Thomas Ruyant (4 e on Linked Out), is clinging on 55.3 miles behind the leader in the 15:00 rankings. Damien Seguin (Groupe Apicil) is 5th on his optimized 2008 boat, but still equipped with straight daggerboards. An incredible scenario.
Yannick Bestaven (Maitre Coq IV) is 105.3 miles behind, and the followers - Benjamin Dutreux (OMIA - Water Family), Giancarlo Pedote (Prysmian Group) and Jean Le Cam (Yes We Cam?!) are still in the game, as they have to negotiate the Doldrums, then a transition from before the depression.
If they are still slowed down, Armel Tripon (L'Occitane en Provence) and Clarisse Crémer (Banque Populaire) are likely to lose less time than feared in the calm that is holding them back at the entrance to the first trade winds.
Behind them, the group still sailing close to the ice zone (Beyou, Roura, Boissières) or cutting the pear in two (Pip Hare), Didac Costa (One Planet One Ocean) and Stéphane le Diraison (Time for Oceans) have tried their luck through Le Maire Strait, and it seems to be smiling at them. Having been stranded since rounding Cape Horn last night, Manuel Cousin (Groupe Sétin) is waiting for a gust of wind to set off again. From Cape Horn, Miranda Merron (Campagne de France) and Clément Giraud (Compagnie du Lit - Jiliti) are just over 500 miles away. Alexia Barrier (TSE - 4myPlanet) is getting closer to the Nemo point, but not alone: Sam Davies is just ahead of her, out of the race. Further on, Ari Huusela (Stark) is advancing very far north, and Sébastien Destremau (thank you) is trying to deal with his avalanche of technical problems).
Saturday 16 January: Sébastien Destremau throws in the towel
Faced with a number of technical problems, Sébastien Destremau (Thank you) has taken the decision to abandon the race and has been heading for New Zealand since this morning.
In the 15:00 rankings, Charlie Dalin (Apivia) had a 2.1 mile lead over Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée 2), who is increasing his pressure as the Doldrums loom, where the duo should make their entrance this evening. The two sailors managed to relegate Boris Herrmann to 41 miles. Thomas Ruyant is trying to maintain the turbo, only 90 miles behind. At 108.9 miles, in the 15:00 rankings, Damien Seguin is sailing not very far from the coast of Fernando do Noronha in an easterly flow that has taken on a southerly aspect. 6 e Yannick Bestaven is no longer increasing his deficit, while Giancarlo Pedote (Prysmian Group) is less than 200 miles from the leader.
Behind, Benjamin Dutreux plays all the possible shifts to stay in the group, like Jean Le Cam, 9 e 273 miles from the head.
Behind him, Armel Tripon is 1094 miles from the leader, followed by Clarisse Crémer, the first woman in the Vendée Globe, 50 miles to her south. Clément Giraud and Miranda Merron are just a few hours away from rounding Cape Horn, which they should round at around 10h this Sunday morning.
Sunday, January 17: North Atlantic Entrance Suctions
Since Louis Burton crossed the Equator on Saturday at 8:11 pm, one entry into the northern hemisphere has followed another. Charlie Dalin followed him 59 minutes later, then Boris Herrmann (Seaexplorer - Yacht Club de Monaco) on Saturday, Thomas Ruyant (LinkedOut) in the first French minutes of this Sunday (0:06 am), Yannick Bestaven (Master CoQ IV) and Giancarlo Pedote (Prysmian Group) at 10:13 am today.
In the 15:00 rankings, Charlie Dalin was leading the fleet in 168 e times since the start. He had an 11.4 mile lead over Louis Burton and a 55.6 mile lead over Thomas Ruyant, who replaced Boris Herrmann in the 3 e place, which is 63 miles from the leader. In the end, the Doldrums won't have widened the gap that much. Yannick Bestaven has climbed back up and is now just 100 miles behind the leader of the fleet.
At the entrance to the pot, Jean Le Cam put west into his route, while his companion from the early days, Benjamin Dutreux (OMIA - Water Family), chose to stay east, on the trajectory of Giancarlo Pedote.
After three days in the calm, Armel Tripon and Clarisse Crémer are 200 miles further behind. Romain Attanasion waits again. 14 e Jérémie Beyou has been advancing fast since he got out of the soft patch that stuck to his pursuers.
This morning, Miranda Merron rounded Cape Horn 14 days 19 hours and 40 minutes after the then leader, Yannick Bestaven. She was quickly imitated by Clément Giraud (Compagnie du Lit/Jiliti) at 11:54 a.m. GMT.
Monday 18 January: An uncertain outcome
The outcome of the race is still as uncertain as the fleet is sailing together. Nine sailors are only separated by less than 220 miles less than 15 days from the finish. Charlie Dalin and Louis Burton are the first to have passed through the Doldrums and will now attempt to catch the south-westerly winds to sail downwind as far as Cape Finisterre. Charlie Dalin, the leader by a narrow margin, has a lateral gap of 145 miles with the skipper of Bureau Vallée 2.
Their pursuers should make a more direct course, even if Boris Herrmann is sailing slightly backwards, due to a windless bubble in which he was stuck for a good part of the night. On the other hand, Damien Seguin and Benjamin Dutreux are the ones who have been doing best over the past few hours.
Yannick Bestaven revealed that he has had problems to deal with since the Cape Horn depression. He no longer has a balcony, a furling system and some sails he can no longer use. Jean Le Cam also admitted that he has been tinkering with his engine mount, which has come off.
At the rear, Armel Tripon is the one who has made the most progress in 24 hours, covering 431 miles, Clément Giraud has finally rounded Cape Horn.
Sébastien Destremau has reached Christchurch in New Zealand, while Isabelle Joschke is slowly approaching the Brazilian coast, stuck in a zone of calm.
Tuesday, January 19: Same situation as the day before
The situation hasn't changed since the day before and Charlie Dalin and Louis Burton are still leading the way. On the 2nd e has chosen a more westerly route and all eyes are on the weather files. However, watch out for the rankings, because as meteorologist Christian Dumard points out, "the better it goes, the more skewed it will be". Indeed, the competitors are ranked according to their position in relation to the distance remaining to the finish, but it is impossible to make a straight course to Les Sables-d'Olonne. Thus, if Damien Seguin took the 2 e place in the rankings at midday, he remains in a less favourable position than Louis Burton, currently 5 e .
Maxime Sorel, 10 e of the race has crossed the Equator, the last symbolic mark before the return to France. Armel Tripon is the 11th e to have passed into the northern hemisphere.
If the road is still long, fatigue is becoming more and more noticeable, as Benjamin Dutreux announced, who fought with the sargasso that threatened his hydrogenerator. Arnaud Boissière also encountered problems with this equipment.
Wednesday 20 January: Tension at the head of the race
The tension is palpable at the head of the race. Only 175 miles separate the top 7, and Louis Burton could take advantage of its westerly option to escape. Nothing is won since, as Charlie Dalin confided at the morning radio session, there will have to be a series of gybes and sail changes.
Long time 2 e in the Vendée Globe, Thomas Ruyant, who suffered damage to his port foil is not at an advantage, as the conditions are favourable for the foil sailors. He is feeling very frustrated.
At the rear, the battle also raged between Arnaud Boissières, in contact with Alan Roura and Jérémie Beyou. The latter has gone up the mast to repair his J2. Pip Hare, who has had to deal with a strong depression over the past few days, has encountered a new and rather unexpected setback. She was stung by a jellyfish, which took advantage of the waves to run aground on the boat.
If there's 6?000 miles between Charlie Dalin, 1 er and Ari Huusela, the last of the fleet, yet it is the smallest gap between the head and tail of the fleet.
Thursday 21st January: Who will be the winner of the Vendée Globe?
If Louis Burton could do well by having chosen a more westerly route than his fellow competitors, the suspense is still there. He could take advantage of a very southerly wind corridor, but he still has to be fast. The ETA for the first arrivals is 27 January.
However, we're going to have to monitor both the weather files and what's happening at sea: clouds, squalls, fronts, rain... The manoeuvres and gybes are going to be legion at the end of this race.
21st in the fleet, Manuel Cousin continues to round the St. Helena High via the NW. More than 5?900 miles from the race leader, Alexia Barrier is still making headway in the Pacific . "Cape Horn, it's mérite?! ", she says at the morning shift. She should spend the weekend, but before that, nothing is easy in the deep south.
