Wednesday review
The incredible three-sided battle, halfway across the frozen southern Pacific, midway between Tasmania and Cape Horn, continues at high speeds. Yoann Richomme (PAPREC ARKÉA) took the lead yesterday, Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil) stole it early this morning and then after resolving a sail problem Charlie Dalin (MACIF Santé Prévoyance), regained it this afternoon. There is still just 5.3 miles separating the top trio. Dalin and Richomme have been sailing within sight of each other filming each other and exchanging playful banter during this, the ultimate Pacific Ocean IMOCA speed test.
Six hundred miles behind, their pursuers are pushing hard and fast in pursuit. Witness the remarkable Swiss skipper Justine Mettraux (TeamWork-Team Snef, 11th) who has just posted a 524 miles 24 hour days. In the middle of the Indian Ocean, Tanguy Le Turquais (Lazare, 22nd) had to deal with a technical problem and Manuel Cousin (Coup de Pouce, 34th) celebrated a birthday for someone very close to his heart.
Dalin slows down, Simon 'le bon'
"We decided to do a sprint in the middle of the Pacific to see who is the fastest!" grins Yoann Richomme who is wearing a big chapka, gloves and warm socks. "It's very cold"
Nothing can stop his big smile. "We have a nice speed course on a relatively smooth rough sea, 20 knot winds on average, peaks at 35 knots. It's cool and it's going fast", he smiles. The skipper of PAPREC ARKÉA admitted he shouted with joy in the boat knowing he had just taken the lead yesterday.
But Richomme’s lead was short lived. Sébastien Simon took over the lead earlier today benefiting from being on starboard gybe and so fully able to press his Groupe Dubreuil IMOCA to maximum speed on his good port foil. And then long time leader Dalin moved back into the lead at the end of the morning and was maintaining a slight lead this afternoon.
"Their performances are similar on this tack but again we have to wait to see how things will go when Sébastien Simon will move back again to the other tack, port tack", explains Basile Rochut, Vendée Globe weather consultant. In this constant test the three skippers spy on each other, sometimes film each other, and banter with each other too.
Enjoying the gamesmanship Dalin sent a video admitting to having "a problem with his sail". But he fixed it… "It was a bit complicated to work in the sail locker with the boat moving at 30 knots. It took me 36 hours to repair but that's it, I'm happy to announce that MACIF Santé Prévoyance is at 100% of its potential! "
Restructuring in progress.
Far behind the leading trio, the gap with the pursuers seems fixed for the moment. But for this group, now led by Nicolas Lunven (Holcim-PRB, 4th), are getting the chance to press the accelerator after several days slowed in light winds. They are getting caught now by a front that Justine Mettraux (Teamwork-Team Snef) has been riding very efficiently to the point that covered 524 miles in 24 hours (with an average of 21.83 knots).
Now in tenth, having been recently overtaken by Boris Herrmann (Malizia Seaexplorer), Briton Sam Goodchild has been trying to come to terms with losing a few places to faster, newer boats, wrestling with his fundamental principals of not over pressing his 2019 generation boat, which finished sixth on the last race, to try and match them but in so doing adding too much risk when he is mid Pacific.
“Sam has a constant monologue to decide when to push and when to sail his own race. When to put more sail up and when to stay in his own rhythm. He is well, no issues and knows it is a long race still to go. The passing of the dateline and halfway point was a bigger milestone then he realised it would be, psychologically. But ticking down west longitudes is a positive feeling.” Reported Dee Caffari who spoke with Goodchild on today’s Vendée Globe LIVE! English show.
Behind, Clarisse Crémer (L'Occitane en Provence, 12th) and Sam Davies (Initiatives Cœur, 13th) are now in another system. They have light winds and periods of upwind sailing.
"Sailing close-hauled in the Southern Ocean is not really one of the things you want to do the most", says Davies, who remains optimistic: "We mustn't give up, we're only halfway there".
Problems, problems….
The group led by Sébastien Marsset (FOUSSIER, 23rd) is once again preparing to be caught by a front. On the menu? Around thirty knots on average and gusts of 50 knots! Behind, Guirec Soudée (Freelance.com, 29th) is also making progress in strong winds and must above all deal with a rough sea and 6-metre waves as do Japan’s Kojiro Shiraishi (DMG MORI Global One, 30th) and Swiss skipper Oliver Heer (Tut gut., 31st).
“One problem a day or more” as double Vendée Globe winner Michel Desjoyeaux used to say, Tanguy Le Turquais (Lazare, 22nd) admitted to having to deal with a partly detached longitudinal frame (a structural reinforcement that supports the forces on the hull like a chassis). He was able to repair but it was a long, tough job which left him exhausted.
But he is still race, unlike the unfortunate Szabolcs Weöres (New Europe) who docked in Cape Town, two days after his retirement. Although the disappointment he remains positive and strong "I was depressed then but I want to stay positive. I came from nowhere in ocean racing," he asserted. "I managed to become a solo skipper, to be comfortable in IMOCA, to take the start of the Vendée Globe. I can be proud of myself and my team".
A declaration of love
Away from the tough sailing and the relentless, unending challenge there springs heart warming human emotions.
“The Vendée Globe is an emotional rollercoaster,” smiles second time Vendée Globe skipper Manuel Cousin (Coup de Pouce, 34th) who recently experienced 24 really difficult hours in a storm cell. Cousin held out and today shared a special wedding anniversary, His voice is laden with emotion, his words are simple, a beautiful declaration of love from the heart of the Indian Ocean:
“It’s a big day for me because we are celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary. Happy anniversary Sandrine! It’s incredible to celebrate this sailing south of Australia. She is my wife but she is much more than that to me. She is the one who manages the team, she is the one who carries such a lot of weight on her shoulders. It is never easy to manage the distance, the problems we encounter and all the hard times we endure whilst being at home, powerless. You have to be strong in your head to embark on this kind of adventure together. And having her by my side, all the time, is very important to me. I know that all the other skippers will empathise with my words, in the recognition we have for those who support us, surround us and sustain us on a daily basis.”
Image: À bord de GUYOT environnement – Water Family (Benjamin Dutreux) © Benjamin Dutreux