Thomas Ruyant (‘Vulnerable’) has taken over the leadership of the Vendée Globe this morning after taking advantage of his position to the west of his rivals, among whom is his teammate, the British Sam Goodchild (‘Vulnerable’), which occupies the second position with Charlie Dalin (‘Macif Santé Prévoyance’) very close. Ruyant was first out of the doldrums and, after a period sailing at more than twice the speed of his pursuer, is around 13 miles ahead this afternoon.
The tenth edition of the Vendée Globe, the solo, non-stop round-the-world race, is living up to expectations, with a very compact and competitive leading peloton as they are about to cross the equator.
This is the first time that Ruyant has led his third Vendée Globe. Four years ago, he was chasing Britain’s Alex Thomson as he crossed the equator about 80 miles away. Both took advantage of a low pressure in the South Atlantic, a scenario very similar to this year and 2016-2017, when Thomson and Armel Le Cléac’h escaped from the peloton.
The western option has also benefited Pip Hare (‘Medallia’), which in recent days has risen to thirteenth place, reducing its deficit from 250 nautical miles yesterday morning to around 80 miles over the leading duo this afternoon. Crucially, the Brit could have the opportunity to snag the first low pressure in the South Atlantic along with the main pack, although the time window to catch this system is not very clear.
After Ruyant, Goodchild and Dalin, they are Sebastien Simon (‘Groupe Dubreuil’) and Nicolas Lunven (‘Holcim – PRB’), less than 50 miles from the leader.
Another record falls
In sixth position and also very close gear Yoann Richomme (‘PAPREC ARKÉA’), after beating yesterday morning the 24-hour distance record for a solo monohull. «It seems that we have already left the doldrums – the famous equatorial calms that slow down ships on the way down the Atlantic. It seems like everything is stabilizing. We were in there for 24 hours. For 12 or 15 hours, we were a little stuck, but we have all seen much worse scenarios than this,” Richomme said this morning.
Yoann Richomme, after breaking the 24-hour record.
Yesterday morning, Richomme surpassed the record set a week earlier by Nico Lunven by five miles, by covering 551.84 miles (1,022 kilometers) in 24 hours. “It was unexpected, I wasn’t even looking to beat the record because I thought I was sailing at a pace below 500 miles, but it was enough to beat Nico Lunven, which is one of the greatest pleasures in life,” he joked. the French, aware that its record has an expiration date taking into account the spectacular performance of the IMOCA foilers.
The equator, in sight
At the front of the fleet, Ruyant’s advantage could stabilize. After crossing the equator tonight, it will be a full-speed race across the South Atlanticwith the trade winds from the southeast, with their sights set on a depression that they could take advantage of north of Rio de Janeiro. The low pressure would be ideal to accelerate and set off at full speed towards the south of the African continent. If this scenario plays out, it would be similar to the system that propelled Alex Thomson and Armel Le Cléac’h to the Kerguelen Islands in the 2016-2017 edition. «It’s a good perspective. It will be an opportunity for a group of people, but it will cause a real rupture with the group behind,” Richomme analyzed.
Meanwhile, the entire fleet, except for Oliver Heer (Tut Gut), Denis Van Weynbergh (D’Ieteren Group), Jingkun Xu (Singchain Team Haikou) and Szabolcs Weöres (New Europe), who burned his hand yesterday heating water , will remain trapped in the equatorial calms for at least the next 24 hours.
#lead #Vulnerables #cross #equator
