Image: Seb Simon making a strong challenge for fourth

With under 200 nautical miles to the finish and having built himself a cushion of nearly 60 miles, Jérémie Beyou (Charal) will have enjoyed his final dawn of the New York Vendée Les Sables d’Olonne race knowing he is within touching distance of the third step on the podium.

Making a steady 14 knots this morning the wind will build slightly as he moves east, close to the finish line and lift which should allow him to accelerate more and more as he nears the Les Sables d’Olonne finish line. Beyou is likely to be somewhere around 24 hours behind Boris Herrmann who in turn was 17 hours behind Charlie Dalin. 

And then it looks like a busy Monday night into Tuesday for finishers. Thomas Ruyant (VULNERABLE) is under constant pressure from Seb Simon (Groupe Dubreuil) who is positioned to windward, going a little faster. And Simon, who lives in Les Sables d’Olonne, would dearly love to give the local race fans something more to cheer about. And, significantly for a sailor who has not had the best of good fortune since he had to abandon his 2020-21 Vendée Globe, fourth would be a strong statement of form and a big boost to his confidence. 

But the tight tussle for fourth is but one of the super intense matches within the race right now. Sam Davies is having a fabulous tussle with Yoann Richomme as well as being less than 20 miles ahead of Justine Mettraux. 

Hold on to our hats, these finishes are going to be close and exciting! 

Pip Hare is ninth and messaged this morning, "553 miles to go. There’s an obstacle course in the way at the moment. The wind is so unstable. It’s ridiculous. It’s shifting by as much as 30 degrees. Regularly and not oscillating with any pattern. Just kind of shifting and then, the wind strengthens. It’s between 12 and 18 knots. I ended up just having to get some sleep. I have had some sleep. You have to compromise and accept the fact that the boat is under-trimmed. At times, it’s the only way you can manage it. That comes back in a loop, so I’m going slowly. Oh God, it’s just torture. On the chart, it just looks so simple. It’s pretty much a straight line there. So I’m managing the boat until that really stabilises… Maybe it will stabilise a bit at the back end of tomorrow, overnight tonight maybe… We’ll see. I have no great expectations. I think the main thing is I just have to try to establish more of a routine today of trimming and sleeping and making sure I have banked some sleep during the day. Yesterday, I was at the boat‘s mercy all day and it just absolutely exhausted me. 550 miles to go, but it feels like a week to go. That finish line can’t come soon enough.."

ETA (ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL) OF JÉRÉMIE BEYOU : BETWEEN 07:00PM AND 11:00PM, 10 JUNE
 
ETA (ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL) OF THOMAS RUYANT: BETWEEN 11:30PM 10 JUNE AND 02:30 AM 11 JUNE

ETA (ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL) OF SÉBASTIEN SIMON: BETWEEN 10:30PM 10 JUNE AND 01:00 AM 11 JUNE