If all roads lead to Les Sables d'Olonnes in the Vendée Globe, they do not have the same wind power. And the skippers of this 10th edition are currently experimenting with different choices between the east, the west and the center. At the start of the second week, it is the road to the west which seems to have been paid after that to the center, with Sam Goodchild who has regained the lead of the race thanks to this choice. We take stock.
- Sam Goodchild takes the lead and extends his lead
The skipper of Vulnerable took the lead in the Vendée Globe on Sunday evening thanks to his choice of the West route, before taking a good lead over his pursuer, the Frenchman Sébastien Simon, who is more than 43 miles behind this Monday morning. .
“The (weather) files didn't necessarily correspond to reality and Sam (Goodchild) handled that very well. He knew how to exploit wind shifts at the right time rather than waiting for a longer-term wind shift. Several of us waited for a change in the wind which took a long time to come. I’ve only started to have some since last night,” commented Justine Mettraux (Teamwork-Team SNEF) for the organizers.
The former leader, Jean Le Cam, was finally trapped by his choice to take the road to the east which had allowed him to take the lead on Sunday morning. With an average of 5 knots over the last 24 hours, it is difficult to maintain the pace, but he is not the only one.
- Monday morning's ranking:
1. Sam Goodchild (Vulnerable) 22,315.40 nautical miles from the finish
2. Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil) 42.79 miles from the leader
3. Thomas Rettant (Vulnerable) at 61.00 miles
4. Jean Le Cam (It all begins in Finistère – Armor-Lux) at 106.52 miles
- Louis Burton close to giving up?
“Why does it do that? It's not possible. » Skipper Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée) expressed despondency on Sunday after the structural damage suffered by his monohull.
Cracks have appeared on his IMOCA, extending from the deck to the hull and risking affecting the structural integrity of his boat, but the sailor remains in the race in the Vendée Globe for the moment.
“It’s not possible, there was a crash […]five minutes later there were two more cracks […] it’s broken up to 40 centimeters,” he laments in a video published on Sunday by the race management.
On the video transmitted from his IMOCA, we observe a dent on the exterior cockpit deck, suggesting a significant internal crack. We can also see a crack which extends to the outer hull in contact with the sea. Water has seeped inside the boat.
“Why does it do that? It's not possible. It was going well,” said, frustrated and on the verge of tears, the sailor who finished 3rd in this solo round-the-world race without assistance in 2021.
- Things are going well for “Marina Foils”
What a lovely surprise to wake up this Monday morning to see Marina Foils, the 20 Minutes boat on Virtual Regatta, going at the supersonic speed of 0.5 knots. The tactical choice of going east and following the African coast is perilous and the lack of wind was predicted. But to struggle so much… We hesitate to take out two nice oars to go a little faster or call Léon Marchand to tow our boat.
But, rest assured, the wind should return in the coming hours (days?), and Marina Foils will be able to catch up (107,000th out of more than 660,000 players). Knowing that as the crow flies, we took the shortest route… Unfortunately, we preferred to take the sea rather than the air.
