“We're not going to be able to last two months like this”… The skippers put to the test by the speed of the last few days

A depression propels the leading boats at a high speed, difficult to manage, towards the Cape of Good Hope.

A speed that puts a strain on the boats, but also on the skippers. While they are advancing at an average of more than 21 knots (around 39 km/h) over the last 24 hours, the sailors at the head of the fleet, who are heading towards the Cape of Good Hope, almost wish that the depression which pushes them calms down. At the 7 a.m. check-in, Tuesday, November 26, Charlie Dalin (Macif) still leads the race ahead of Thomas Ruyant (Vulnerable) and Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa), but is no longer increasing his lead.

To keep up with skipper Macif, who experienced a peak of 23 knots during the night, his competitors must work hard. “There, it's really a speed race, the sea isn't too rough but the boat still jumps in all directions, it goes very quickly, it's super unpleasant! I don't really like this group who bombs any way, I'm one of them eh, but I think we won't be able to last two months like this!”breathes Yoann Richomme, on the official website of the race. The skipper still plans two more days at this speed, before another depression affects the front of the fleet as it approaches the Cape of Good Hope.

In these conditions, life on board “isn’t always simple”comments Benjamin Dutreux (Guyot Environnement – Water Family), 14th Tuesday morning. “At the beginning, when it starts to accelerate, we say to ourselves 'it's not going to be possible to live like this for several days', and in the end, you get used to it! I had trouble sleeping, now I can sleep well. I had difficulty moving around in the boat, now I'm doing it very well… So here I am, resuming life which was a bit on standby while I acclimatize to these conditions!”he describes. The other skippers will have to take inspiration from this because it is unlikely that Charlie Dalin will slow down at the front of the race.