Image: Photo sent from the boat Groupe Dubreuil during the Vendee Globe sailing race on December 07, 2024. (Photo by skipper Sébastien Simon)
Saturday review:
After the fleet encountered a slow descent of the north Atlantic, Charlie Dalin (MACIF Santé Prévoyance) now has the 10th edition of the Vendée Globe back close to record pace after his electrifying passage across the Indian Ocean, spurred on by his passage riding a malicious monster low pressure system.
This Saturday evening the well established race leader Dalin has just less than 800 nautical miles to the second of the solo round the world race’s second Great Cape and needs to cross that longitude by 08:14hrs UTC on the morning of Monday 9th December to break the 2016 record mark set by Armel Le Cléac'h who went on to set the 74d 3h 35 m course record. That requires an average of just around 19 knots which is possible but by no means certain given the number of gybes he may need to complete. Nonetheless from being well behind the eight year old schedule this race will be ahead or much closer!
Herculean Simon
All the way through the fleet the solo skippers are talking of setting their limits and sailing consistently rather than burning out and risking breaking anything in the Big South. The exception to a point is second placed Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil) who has had the most punishing regime forced upon him by the AEZ, the exclusion zone, to his south. Even by early this morning the skipper from Les Sables d’Olonne had linked together seven gybes one after the other, each representing 40 minutes of strength and stamina sapping effort in moderate conditions, but in 27-30kts and big seas, this has been a truly Herculean effort by Simon.
Good outlook
Now up to sixth and in closer contact with fifth place Jérémie Beyou (Charal) Briton Sam Goodchlld remains impressively consistent and self assured, enjoying some respite after the biggest, toughest few days he has ever had solo on his IMOCA. “So far I have been quite successful in the way I sail the boat and not looking at anyone else and saying ‘look, he is going fast, or look, he has gybed, so I am just sailing my own race. I have five weeks in the south, 11 weeks overall, it is a long race, and I feel like I just need to be in harmony and a bit in your comfort zone in how you push the boat, and so I am working on that, being in my comfort zone and not pushing myself further than I want to be, and sometimes I gain miles, sometimes I lose miles and that is part of the game really, I’ll see what happens with Nico and Jérémie, of we end up in front of them, then it is not going to change the way I sail as it won’t if I end up behind them.”
Lunven rues losses
To his north Nicolas Lunven, the skipper of Holcim – PRB is ruing having bet on a northerly course to avoid the worst of the huge, tough depression that swept his path in the middle of the week. He did not imagine at the time that he and Jérémie Beyou would end up paying such a price. "This northerly route was supposed to be better than that. We really didn’t get what we expected. We had some unforeseen areas of calm and spent a whole night in the storms but the highlight of the show was an anticyclone that swelled and ate us up", detailed Lunven who spent a large part of yesterday stuck in light airs with two key consequences. On the one hand Sam Goodchild (VULNERABLE) got past and Paul Meilhat (Biotherm) – Yannick Bestaven (Maître CoQ V) are ever close and on the other hand, the gap has widened ahead to the leading duo.
This northerly route was supposed to be better than this. We really didn’t get what we expected. We had some unforeseen areas of calm and spent a whole night in the storms but the highlight of the show was an anticyclone that swelled and ate us up",
Even after breaking three battens when exposed to the worst of the weather yesterday evening Tanguy Le Turquais (Lazare) leads the daggerboard, non foiling posse. But 350 miles to his north the wily 65 year old Jean Le Cam (Tout commence en Finistère-Armor lux) is on a direct, fast course and sailing at more than 20kts in conditions which are ideal for him to go fast.