Vendée Globe: A crossover in the lead, Justine Mettraux in the mix

Frenchman Yoann Richomme took back control of the Vendée Globe during the night from Wednesday to Thursday.

The skipper of Paprec Arkéa is ahead of Charlie Dalin, who briefly got back in front on Wednesday, and leads a leading group which has passed Madeira and is now sailing off the Canary Islands.

The group of twelve sailors, including Genevan Justine Mettraux (9th), who leads the race at 7:00 a.m. on Thursday, is less than 100 nautical miles away. There are even six of them in the lead within 26 miles, with Sam Goodchild (Vulnerable) falling to sixth place.

“Last night I found myself going three knots slower than Charlie Dalin and I contented myself with that, telling myself that it was not the time to take risks,” explained the Briton. “But I think I did a good job of sailing my own race, trying to set my own pace and my own limits and not looking too much at the boats around me.”

Alan Roura and Oliver Heer lagging behind

During the night in the North Atlantic, Samantha Davies (Initiatives-Cœur, 17th) warned the race management: if she was no longer moving forward, it was not because of damage, but because there was no wind.

It’s also complicated for Geneva’s Alan Roura (Hublot) and Zurich’s Oliver Heer (Tut Gut.), who are respectively in 26th (192.5 miles from first) and 34th (281 miles) out of the 40 sailors. who set off from Les Sables d’Olonne on Sunday.