Impossible at this stage of the race, hearing the messages left by our sailors embarked on this funny Vendée Globe adventure, not to think of this cult line from John Sturges' masterpiece: “It's like the The story of this guy who threw himself off a ten-story building. On every floor, people heard him say, “So far, so good. So far, so good. So far, so good.” »
After three weeks of racing, Denis Van Weynbergh (D'Ieteren Group, 37th) would almost be surprised: “So far, I haven't found it very difficult. We have always had mild conditions, never much wind, no big depression to pass, lots of sunshine, paces which were still progressing well, quite stable Until Monday-Tuesday, it will still be nice conditions, and then Wednesday-Thursday. We are going to get to the heart of the matter. We are entering the real Vendée Globe, the real adventure.Well-oiled triggersWith their comrades at the end of the fleet, it is indeed a nice, well-rolled depression which is approaching and should propel them vigorously towards the Cape of Good Hope, and the entrance to the famous Indian. The leaders of this package, starting with Jean Le Cam (Everything begins in Finistère – Armor-Lux, 20th) are also taking advantage of this greater pressure to regain their health, allowing them to almost come back on Isabelle Joschke (MACSF, 19th), over whom they were up to 400 miles behind… Clearly, we must always be wary of certain well-oiled triggers, they are never really out of reach!
In front of this peloton, nine boats continue their progression towards the South African tip, taking gybes one after the other thanks to the wind forces that accompany them. Romain Attanasio (Fortinet-Best Western, 15th), climbed well north during the night, hoping to be able to provoke a duel with Benjamin Dutreux (Guyot-Environnement, 14th) within a few hours.
Always a warhorse, the small pack formed by Boris Herrmann (Malizia – Seaexplorer, 12th), Clarisse Crémer (L'Occitane en Provence, 13th) and Justine Mettraux (Teamwork – Team SNEF, 11th) dreams of returning within shooting distance of Samantha Davies (Initiatives-Cœur, 10th), who should pass the Cap des Aiguilles during the day. Will the Indian allow him to escape?
Sheriff's beansFor lone wolf Paul Meilhat, this is clearly not the case! Over the past 24 hours, the skipper of Biotherm, still 9th, has suffered the transition zone head-on, finding himself almost at a standstill, with no escape. Enough to eat one's hat, especially as in front, even if the grains play the sheriff, it continues to run at a good rate.
For now, the bounty is going to the South. Once leader of the fleet, Yoann Richomme (Paprec-Arkea), was once again caught by Charlie Dalin (MACIF Santé Prévoyance) and Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil), closer than him to the ZEA (Exclusion Zone). Antarctic). This did not prevent the sailor from being satisfied with his positioning: “I am happy, the pack of three we are in an interesting situation, we will be a little ahead of the others, then there is this big storm which happens, with the small transition zone before, to see how it really goes. I cultivate the sweet hope of slipping between the two depressions to gain ground in the East before the arrival of the big one. Hope keeps us alive, pragmatism keeps us going. So the challenge before the arrival of this first big justice of the peace in the middle of the week is to take care of the horse and the man, especially as the temperatures are becoming more and more bitter. “I don't know if it will be much colder than that, in any case I'm in a big fleece sleeping bag and it feels good,” the skipper of Paprec-Arkea, who had planned, told us. a good inspection tour after a few more bombing sessions” even if for the moment he has “nothing to deplore” on the technical side. “I have never missed a maneuver or done things that could have caused damage, it seems to me to be under control. For the moment I am happy with the way I am sailing,” explained the skipper of Paprec-Arkea.
But everyone knows that they are heading into trouble, and some have taken advantage of the night to climb well north and avoid trouble, like Jérémie Beyou (Charal, 5th) and Nicolas Lunven (Holcim – PRB , 6th), who do not let go of one hoof. And Yoann Richomme comments on these major movements: “We're going to see how we're all going to deal with the storm, not necessarily in the same place. In any case, there's nothing simple about it and we don't really know where to start. in relation to this depression, so there may be quite a difference. There is still a challenge to progress towards the North-East and the Saint-Paul Islands and Amsterdam, that's the goal.
Who will be best placed when it comes time to make the talk? One thing is certain, we can trust them to stay on the lookout, and sole masters of their ride. “No, no one tells me to go where I don’t want to” is ultimately a bit of their mantra.
Find our daily weather analysis of the race with METEO CONSULT Marine in our special Vendée Globe report.
