Sam Goodchild (Vulnerable) regained the lead of the 10th edition of the Vendée Globe on Wednesday and sailed nearly 27 miles ahead of his first pursuer Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil), before tackling the dreaded Doldrums, and its weather unpredictable.
Vendée Globe: Justine Mettraux ready for this journey
The Geneva sailor presents the boat with which she is competing in this round-the-world regatta. This is the first participation in the Vendée Globe for the 38-year-old Swiss woman.
12.11.2024
In the early morning, Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa) completes the leading trio 34 miles from the Briton, just ahead of Charlie Dalin (Macif Santé Prévoyance).
Still leader on Monday, Jean Le Cam (Everything begins in Finistère – Armor-Lux), passed between Cape Verde and the African coasts but who has now headed west, has fallen in the ranking since he is now in 13th position, nearly 150 miles from Goodchild.
On the Swiss side, Justine Mettraux (Teamwork-Team Snef) maintains her course and is still in 11th place, around 100 miles from the leader. “I should be at the entrance to this famous doldrums within 24 hours. It looks quite large, and what reassures me is that we all seem to have the same idea in mind for the place through which we will have to enter it. He seems to be quite active, it’s not going to be easy I think,” explained the Genevan on Tuesday on Instagram.
Before tackling the Doldrums and its capricious weather on Wednesday afternoon, the majority of the first twelve competitors took advantage of ideal conditions with a wind between 18 and 20 knots on flat seas, which allowed them to exceed 20 average knots.
Alan Roura: “I no longer dare look at the rankings”
After two days of difficulty due to a lack of wind, Alan Roura (Hublot) for his part regained some color. “The speedo which once again displays double-digit speeds must be good for morale!”, wrote his team on Instagram on Tuesday.
The Genevan is ranked 33rd this Wednesday morning, more than 450 miles from Goodchild. “Blindfolded, I no longer dare look at the rankings. (…) On paper, it should have gone much better, but in reality… There you go,” explained the 31-year-old skipper.
The last Swiss in the running, Zurich’s Oliver Heer (Tut Gut.) is still 36th, almost 500 miles from the head of the race.
The top 10 of the Vendée Globe (scoring Wednesday at 7:00 a.m.)
- Sam Goodchild (Vulnerable) 21,658.02 nautical miles from the finish
- Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil) at 26.48 miles
- Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa) at 34.76 miles
- Charlie Dalin (Macif Santé Prévoyance) at 35.15 miles
- Nicolas Lunven (Holcim-PRB) at 40.11 miles
- Thomas Ruyant (Vulnerable) at 58.20 miles
- Jérémie Beyou (Charal) at 69.10 miles
- Yannick Bestaven (Maître Coq V) at 71.20 miles
- Samantha Davies (Initiatives-Coeur) at 91.81 miles
- Clarisse Cremer (L’Occitane en Provence) at 95.22 miles
