With Thomas Ruyant (VULNERABLE) and Yoann Richomme (PAPREC ARKÉA) now repositioning to their north east, leader Charlie Dalin (MACIF Santé Prévoyance) and Seb Simon (Groupe Dubreuil) are left out on their own as clear leaders.
They are slowed – making 10-11kts – this morning in the transition zone before the low pressure system comes in from behind them. Ruyant already went north and then when he got into lighter unstable conditions yesterday evening Richomme made the move progressively yesterday evening and last night.
These are the decisions that we’ve made! On paper it's not necessarily a winning route, it's to escape the depression, but I didn't want to find myself in a situation where I'm subject to this depression. By positioning myself to the North, it allows me to if I wish gain a little more in the North to escape from the rough seas and strong winds.
Catching the train, or not
Nico Lunven, in sixth place on HOLCIM PRB, observed last night, “The boats in front are making different choices, but it's because the small gap we had of a hundred miles two or three days ago allowed them to keep the wind for longer and therefore go faster. I didn't do any routing for them, but they may have a slightly different scenario for managing this depression! But I had looked around a bit, and we can clearly see that in the first group Thomas Ruyant didn't manage to catch the first train and so he's a bit caught in the light wind, and he's heading more north, I have the impression that he's dropping back to us. Behind, they made pretty much the same choice as Jérémie and me. In any case, I preferred to make this choice early!”
And indeed HOLCIM PRB and Jérémie Beyou (Charal) are on a course more than 100 nautical miles to the north of the Ruyant’s and he is converging with them. It will be a tough call for Richomme to have moved north but it is all a question of timing, prudence, preservation and consolidation. The two leaders still had a little more wind last night but this morning are slowed.
Lunven is not keen on taking any risks with this little monster of a low:
“My choice to climb to the North? There is a depression coming from behind, from the West, which is going to catch up with us and sweep across the entire Kerguelen area, and when it reaches my level, it is going to deepen seriously and be downright bad. And the centre of this depression is quite to the North! If you were to find yourself trapped just in front of the centre of the depression, or worse in the South of the centre you find yourself in a North-East wind tacking upwind, in strong wind, we are talking about 30-40 knots, and especially behind the center of the depression it deepens very strongly and there are winds up to 50-60 knots. And it is obviously kicking up a big seas and waves forecast to be 8-9 meters. So conditions I don’t really want to get into, so we have a significant move to the North shift to avoid the strong wind and the rough sea behind.”
“These are the decisions that we’ve made! On paper it's not necessarily a winning route, it's to escape the depression, but I didn't want to find myself in a situation where I'm hit by this depression. By positioning myself to the North, it allows me to escape from the rough seas and strong winds. This depression deserves care and attention! We are still going to sail a committed route which will be easier to maneuver on and to be able to go faster, perhaps more than boats that would go to the centre of the depression with a risk of being knocked around, of having breakages, and of not handling their boat as it should be!”
Tonight I hope it will be more stable, and from tomorrow afternoon it should strengthen. At the beginning it will be nice, because the entire port tack that takes us towards the North-East the sea will still be flat, and unfortunately when we gybe towards the South-East and Australia, we will find ourselves confronted with this little trade-off between the strength of the wind and the state of the sea!
All the way through the top half of the fleet there are big differences in winds and boat speeds, all dependant on timing and positioning relative to the low pressure train. Paul Meilhat (Biotherm, 9th), struggled for breeze and was in a turbulent zone after Cape of Agulhas but has come back strongly last night on Yannick Bestaven (8th) and Sam Goodchild (VULNERABLE, 7th) who are both very slowed in light winds. All three also are staying well to the north.
For some of the Vendée Globe rookies it is learning by doing, taking new steps and adapting to the new norms. For Benjamin Ferré (Monnoyeur Duo for a Job) in 22nd place, his race is a wonderful mix of competition and adventure, trying to beat his closest rivals – loving the tussle for supremacy in the daggerboard fleet – but dealing with new experiences which very soon become the norm,
“Now I’ve beaten my record for time spent alone at sea, you have lots of different emotions! For two days there’s been a level of anxiety on the boat, three days ago I decided to hoist the spinnaker and I'm still on the edge of its range, it's okay but there shouldn't be much more. The first night, I didn't sleep, paralyzed with anxiety in the cockpit, ready to dump it. At the same time, there was the really exhilarating side because it allowed me to widen the gap with my competitors, and I think we pulled off a great move two days ago by winning in the South, I managed to make up for my loss from the Doldrums and regain the lead I had before the Doldrums, so I was pretty happy with that! From a racing point of view, it was pretty exhilarating, and what's funny, where it paralyzed me two days ago, at the time now it's exactly the same conditions, there are 18 knots, it's gray, I'm under spinnaker, and life is much better! We get used to everything!
He concludes. “ After that I took advantage of the last rays of sunshine today, it's getting cloudy, it's starting to get cold, and suddenly, the morale and the atmosphere go a little with the weather, I'm a little more melancholic, and all the more so because there's a little extra anxiety which is still a little apprehension of the Southern Ocean but especially of the two big depressions that await us! The first one which is already going to be a hell of a challenge, and then the second from Friday noon, where there's no real escape, and I don't really know yet how I'm going to negotiate that! It adds a bit of uncertainty and anxiety on the boat, because all of this is still very new! I'm changing from a pure race mode against those round me to a Southern Ocean mode, surviving, being safe. I'm trying to get into that mood!”
For two days there’s been a level of anxiety on the boat, three days ago I decided to hoist the spinnaker and I'm still on the edge of its range, it's okay but there shouldn't be much more. The first night, I didn't sleep, paralyzed with anxiety in the cockpit, ready to dump it. At the same time, there was the really exhilarating side because it allowed me to widen the gap with my competitors, and I think we pulled off a great move two days ago by winning in the South, I managed to make up for my loss from the Doldrums and regain the lead I had before the Doldrums, so I was pretty happy with that! From a racing point of view, it was pretty exhilarating, and what's funny, where it paralyzed me two days ago, at the time now it's exactly the same conditions, there are 18 knots, it's gray, I'm under spinnaker, and life is much better! We get used to everything!
The last 48 hours have been great, I made the right sail choices. Apart from the indomitable Finistérien, Father Jean who got in just in front and is checking me, I had shifted a little South last night and during the night I saw that he had shifted back in front of me. It's quite funny to race with everyone! There's a great battle with all these daggerboard boats, we crossed paths with Violette, we had a good chat on the VHF, this race within the race is really great! We're having a lot of fun!
Cape of Good Hope Passage Time
Charlie Dalin (MACIF Santé Prévoyance): 19d 03h 43min 02s - 11/29/2024 15:45:02 UTC
Thomas Ruyant (VULNERABLE): 19d 05h 53min 21s - 11/29/2024 17:55:21 UTC
Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil): 19d 06h 40min 10s - 11/29/2024 18:42:10 UTC
Yoann Richomme (PAPREC ARKÉA): 19d 07h 01min 02s - 11/29/2024 19:03:02 UTC
Jérémie Beyou ( Charal): 19d 12h 17min 56s - 11/30/2024 00:19:56 UTC
Nicolas Lunven (HOLCIM - PRB): 19d 13h 14min 01s - 11/30/2024 01:16:01 UTC
Sam Goodchild (VULNERABLE): 19d 17h 20min 01s - 11/30/2024 05:22:01 UTC
Yannick Bestaven (Maître CoQ V): 20d 00h 21min 18s - 11/30/2024 12:23:18 UTC
Paul Meilhat (Biotherm): 20d 05h 18min 34s - 11/30/2024 17:20:34 UTC
Samantha Davies (Initiatives-Cœur) : 21d 21h 24min 01s - 12/02/2024 09:26:01 UTC
Justine Mettraux (Teamwork - Team Snef) : 22d 02h 14min 17s - 12/02/2024 14:16:17 UTC
Boris Herrmann (Malizia - Seaexplorer) : 22d 02h 31min 00s - 12/02/2024 14:33:00 UTC
Clarisse Crémer (L'Occitane en Provence) : 22d 05h 14min 56s - 12/02/2024 17:16:56 UTC
Benjamin Dutreux (GUYOT environnement - Water Family) : 22d 17h 54min 32s - 12/03/2024 05:56:32 UTC
Romain Attanasio (Fortinet - Best Western) : 22d 18h 56min 02s - 12/03/2024 06:58:02 UTC
Encounter with the Marine birdlife of the Vendée Globe
The skippers in the Vendée Globe are not only sailing with the winds and currents, but also in the company of some fascinating marine birdlife. The entry into the Southern Ocean was marked by the aerial dance of seabirds, captured by the skippers.
Image: © Pauline Salvatico The southern fulmar
The southern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialoides), a pelagic seabird, is often seen in the cold waters of the Southern Ocean, near the Crozet and Kerguelen Islands. With its silvery plumage and fast, acrobatic flight, it primarily feeds on fish, squid, and krill. Capable of covering great distances, the fulmar is also known to follow ships, often attracted by discarded food.