The crossover continues at the top of the Vendée Globe. This Tuesday, at the 7 p.m. check-in, it’s the Briton Sam Goodchild (Vulnerable) who is in charge.
British sailor Sam Goodchild (Vulnerable) took over the lead of the 10th edition of the Vendée Globe from Jean Le Cam (Everything begins in Finistère – Armor-Lux) on Tuesday evening as the fleet advanced towards the unpredictable Doldrums. At 7:00 p.m. (GMT+1), Goodchild is nearly 50 miles ahead of his first pursuer, Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil), and 64 miles ahead of third place Thomas Ruyant (Vulnerable).
Supporting the eastern strategy, Le Cam passed between Cape Verde and the African coast a few days ago. Taking advantage of slightly stronger winds, he had managed to temporarily gain a short lead over the bulk of the fleet, which had gone west. But the western leaders all picked up the pace on Tuesday afternoon, reaching peak speeds of more than 25 knots.
“It’s accelerating little by little. We are leaving the trade wind break zone and we are going to have wind all the way to the entrance to the Doldrums. Even if the last few days have been quite peaceful and therefore rather pleasant, it’s true that it’s nice to find some pressure again”summarized Clarisse Crémer (L’Occitane) to the organizers on Tuesday, 11th, 110 miles from Goodchild.
Doldrums approaching
When approaching the Doldrums, where boats can get stuck in the calm, the skippers passing to the west are happy to approach the area from its narrowest portion. “We know that the further west you 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.appreciated Nicolas Lunven (Holcim-PRB).
According to the organizers, the leaders should begin crossing the Doldrums on Wednesday. “Concretely, the first should enter Wednesday in the middle of the day and leave 24 hours later. As it stands, we can expect the leaders to deal with more activity (squalls, rain, etc.) than their pursuers”advanced with a certain caution Basile Rochut, weather consultant for the race.
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 281 miles from the lead), according to the organization. Szabolcs Weöres (New Europe), dead last at 952 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 of the 10th edition of the Vendée Globe Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. (GMT+1) :
1. Sam Goodchild (Vulnerable) 21898.62 nautical miles from the finish
2. Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil) 43.50 miles from the first
3. Thomas Rettant (Vulnerable) at 64.30 miles
4. Charlie Dalin (Macif Santé Prévoyance) at 65.32 miles
5. Jean Le Cam (It all begins in Finistère – Armor-Lux) at 82.79 miles
6. Nicolas Lunven (Holcim – PRB) at 82.79 miles
7. Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa) at 93.10 miles
8. Yannick Bestaven (Maître Coq V) at 98.14 miles
9. Samantha Davies (Initiatives-Coeur) at 99.27 miles
10. Jérémie Beyou (Charal) at 107.06 miles
…
25. Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée) at 281 miles
39. Szabolcs Weöres (New Europe) à 952 milles
Abandon: Maxime Sorel (V and B-Monbana-Mayenne)
