The Vendée Globe sailors have been racing for over a month now. The fleet has now entered the Southern Ocean, and there have been numerous race incidents at all levels of the rankings. Charlie Dalin, still in the lead, has shown extreme audacity over the last few days, and has been rewarded for it. As for our three Swiss sailors, they are sailing cleanly and efficiently within their respective groups.
50 to 60 knots of wind and 8 to 10 meters of waves – that’s what Sébastien Simon and Charlie Dalin, leading the Vendée Globe, were certainly able to measure on their route at the end of last week. Albatross-like weather files did not intimidate the two leaders, while the rest of the favorites chose a more northerly route to avoid the worst of the depression. After almost five days of radio silence, Charlie Dalin finally communicated on December 8, welcoming the spring in the Southern Ocean. Although he doesn’t say much about what he and his boat have been through, there’s no doubt that the sailor from Concarneau has been through a major sea trial. A daring gamble, very daring, but one that enabled him to build up a 500-mile lead over third-placed Yoann Richomme. Since then, this gap has stabilized at around 300 miles, while runner-up Sébastien Simon is now handicapped by the breakage of one of his foils. The leaders are now racing in the south of Australia, preparing to tackle the biggest of oceans.
Second abandonment
Another highlight was the retirement of the MacGyver of the Vendée, Louis Burton. After repairing his boat, which had cracked in two in the middle of the Atlantic, the skipper of Bureau Vallée had to resign himself to retirement after a part broke on his J2 forestay. Entering the Southern Ocean with a forestay missing was not an option for Louis Burton, who had to resign himself to heading for Cape Town.
The Swiss in the mix
As she prepares to round Cape Leeuwin solo for the first time, Justine Mettraux (11th) continues to chart a remarkable course. Neck and neck with Clarisse Cremer, Boris Herrmann and Samantha Davies, the skipper of Teamwork doesn’t seem to be too handicapped in this part of the globe by the loss of her J1. 1,500 miles from his transom, Alan Roura is at the front of the biggest group in this Vendée Globe. He follows closely behind Isabelle Joschke and Jean Le Cam. This trio opted for a very northerly course after the passage of Good Hope. A good option, which enabled them to avoid violent lows accompanied by rough seas, and thus maintain good average speeds. Finally, Oliver Heer, at the back of the pack, has so far been able to discover the Indian Ocean with more clement weather than his compatriots. He is now in 32nd position, more than 100 miles ahead of his closest pursuer, Japan’s Kojiro Shiraishi. We just can’t get enough of this Vendée Globe cartography, and it’s likely to stay with us for a while yet!