Image:  VULNERABLE skipper Thomas Ruyant (FRA) is pictured on September 12, 2024 off Groix, Lorient, France - Photo by Pierre Bouras

The Vendée Globe race leaders are emerging from the Doldrums and into the SE’ly trade winds. Thomas Ruyant (VULNERABLE) is about 80 miles to the west of his stable mate Sam Goodchild and has been making double figures boatspeeds since last night. Ahead of them it looks like a race against time to hook into a low pressure system which is forming off Brazil’s Cabo Frio.

And so after Goodchild led into the Doldrums it is his teammate Ruyant who has taken the race lead this morning for the first time on this, his third Vendée Globe. His more westerly positioning has allowed him to get more wind and at times he was twice as fast as his rivals in the middle of last night. 

"In the middle of the night, over 4 hours, his speed was 16.9 knots, compared to 5 to 6 knots for Sam (Goodchild) and Sébastien (Simon).” Reports Pierre Hays from the Vendée Globe race management hub. “He managed to find a less complex passage and take advantage of it." 

And behind the two leaders the fleet are fighting hard not to be left behind. Charlie Dalin (MACIF Santé Prévoyance) explained this morning: 

"The Doldrums are not that simple. With Yoann (Richomme), we had made up a lot of ground on Sam (Goodchild), Thomas (Ruyant) and Nicolas (Lunven). Then we had a nice corridor of breeze but a new cloud mass formed right above us and we took a bit of a hit. Yesterday, we had very light winds with sometimes zero knots, a little current not necessarily in the right direction and then small wind corridors to take from the end of the afternoon to tonight. I hope to get out of it soon, even if you never really know when it's completely over".

For Dalin as for all in the top 10 – separated by just 50 miles - the eyes are mainly on what's next. Any delay could be costly. 

"We mustn't be stuck here too long. Weather systems are like trains: when it's time to leave, you have to leave! If we want to catch this low pressure system that will push us towards the South-East, now is the time to get out of the Doldrums!"