The leaders of the tenth edition of the Vendée Globe fly in the South Atlantic in perfect conditions. On the seventeenth day of the regatta since the start on November 10 in Les Sables d’Olonne, the ‘Macif Santé Prévoyance’ by Charlie Dalin He leads the fleet of 39 boats – there has only been one abandonment to date, that of Maxime Sorel on the fifth day of sailing due to an ankle injury and damage to his mainsail. The award-winning French skipper has a advantage of about 50 nautical miles on his main pursuers, Thomas Ruyant (‘Vulnerable’) and Sébastien Simon (‘Groupe Dubreuil’). Three more are still behind: Yoann Richomme is 82 miles behind Dalin, Jéremie Beyou 18 further back, and Nicolas Lunven is almost in the wake of his predecessor.
This afternoon Charlie Dalin is about 900 nautical miles from the Cape of Good Hopeafter enjoying ideal conditions that allow the leading group to navigate rapids from Brazil to the southern tip of Africa. The winds and the state of the sea have been so ideal, with low pressure that has driven them from the north of Rio de Janeiro at frenetic speeds, that In the last few hours the record for distance traveled in 24 miles for a solo monohull has been successively broken.
615 miles
Since the start of this tenth Vendée, the first to surpass the previous mark was Nico Lunvenwith 546.6 nautical miles in the North Atlantic. A week later, Yoann Richomme He beat that figure by five miles, traveling 551.84 nautical miles in 24 hours.
Already in the third week of sailing, the descent across the Atlantic towards the Cape of Good Hope has been one of the fastest in memory, and Sebastien Simon aboard his ‘Groupe Dubreuil’ has surpassed successive speed records to leave it (perhaps only momentarily) at a impressive 615.33 nautical miles traveled in 24 hours. The record for a crewed IMOCA is recorded at 640 miles… Many wonder if this figure can be broken during this fascinating solo round-the-world trip without stops or assistance.
Charlie Dalin is the current leader.
“The boat is going very well, there is only one meter of sea and a reasonable wind of between 24 and 26 knots,” he explained. simon-. I’m going with two reefs on the mainsail, in a relatively safe configuration for the boat. It is an incredible distance, I would never have imagined being able to run that far. In my opinion, it is not over because the scenario is getting better for us. “I’m going to keep going at this speed for almost another full day, so there’s a chance the record could be broken again.”
Although the conditions are ideal for sailing fast, they are not comfortable. «When these boats exceed 22-23 knots, it seems that the world is going to end at any moment, all kinds of noises are heard in the rig and foils, and alarms can go off.», warned ocean sailor Jack Bouttell.
“The idea is not to go and break records, but rather to try to maintain a correct average,” admitted Jérémie Beyou (‘Charal’), who is sailing with a knee injury. «I just have to avoid falling again, we’re still on the TGV [ferrocarril exprés francés] and it’s great. However, the landscape is changing a little and the water temperature is dropping quite a bit,” added Beyou, who last night had to start bundling up with several layers of clothing.
Just over the Greenwich Meridianthe leading group tries to stay in the depression that pushes them from the coast of Brazil. For later, we will have to consider whether to continue on a direct route or dive south to skirt the Arctic Exclusion Zone, established to avoid floating ice.
Envy from behind
For those left behind, there is an awareness that The gap with this leading group is and will continue to grow exponentially. “We do what we can,” accepted the German Boris Herrmann aboard his ‘Malizia Seaexplorer’. The leading group? Incredible, a lot of respect, they are doing an incredible regatta, they are in a fortunate position. I’m a little jealous, obviously, but the race is still long. Let’s see what happens in the Indian Ocean or the Pacific.
#Frantic #descent #South #Atlantic
