The 65-year-old Breton took the lead in the race this Monday off the African coast.
Jean Le Cam (Everything begins in Finistère – Armor-Lux), returned to the lead of the 10th edition of the Vendée Globe the day before, widened a small gap during the night by covering in 24 hours double the distance covered by his opponents.
At the time of 07:00 (GMT+1), the oldest of the race (65 years old) is nearly 48 miles ahead of his first pursuer, Sam Goodchild (Vulnerable), and 80 over the third, Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil) .
Following the eastern strategy, Le Cam passed between Cape Verde and the African coasts, and took advantage of slightly stronger winds than almost the entire fleet which passed to the west of the archipelago. It thus maintained an average speed of 13.1 knots over 24 hours when its competitors struggled to reach 10 knots. But now, he has also headed west, maintaining for the moment a speed significantly higher than the others (14.65 knots at 7:00 a.m.).
Capricious conditions
“Now, the whole game for him is to win in the west completely to try to find his crossing point in the Doldrums (the famous intertropical convergence zone where the winds drop, Editor's note). It's done downwind, with gybes, which isn't the fastest, but Jean is very clever. It’s clearly not old monkeys who are taught to make faces!”commented for the organizers Nicolas Lunven (Holcim – PRB), 7th 107 miles from Le Cam.
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In capricious wind conditions since the start of the race, the skippers have gotten into the habit of relying more on their observations than on the routings. “We look outside a lot to avoid the clouds or, on the contrary, take advantage of them when possible. Overall, we're having a bit of patience, even if it's pretty nice to be there.”confirmed Lunven. As they approach the Doldrums, where the boats get stuck in the calm, the skippers who have passed well to the west are happy to approach the area through its narrowest portion.
“We know that the further west we pass the Doldrums, the narrower it is and therefore easier to cross in principle. It turns out that the strategy of recent days has led us to make a lot of gains on this side which, in a certain way, simplifies things for us today.welcomed Lunven. According to the organizers, the leaders should begin crossing the Doldrums on Wednesday.
At the back of the race, Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée) managed to seal the cracks that suddenly appeared on the bridge and resumed his march in less stressful conditions (25th at 214 miles from the lead), according to the organization. Szabolcs Weöres (New Europe), dead last at 774.79 miles, was also finally able to resume the race after having sewn up his mainsail in the shelter of the Canary archipelago which he left on Monday around 6:30 p.m. (GMT+ 1).
Ranking for the 10th edition of the Vendée Globe Tuesday at 7:00 a.m. (GMT+1):
1. Jean Le Cam (It all starts in Finistère – Armor-Lux) 22,108.02 nautical miles from the finish
2. Sam Goodchild (Vulnerable) 47.84 miles from the leader
3. Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil) at 80.46 miles
4. Thomas Ruyant (Vulnerable) at 91.75 miles
5. Charlie Dalin (Macif Santé Prévoyance) at 102.22 miles
6. Samantha Davies (Initiatives-Coeur) at 104.40 miles
7. Nicolas Lunven (Holcim-PRB) at 107.28 miles
8. Yannick Bestaven (Maître Coq V) at 109.05 miles
9. Clarisse Cremer (L’Occitane en Provence) at 111.34 miles
10. Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa) at 113.64 miles
…
25. Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée) at 214.30 miles
39. Szabolcs Weöres (New Europe) à 774.79 milles
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