There it is, our Vendée Globe upside down just the way we like it. Have fun in front of your toast comparing the Top 5 that we shared with you twenty-four hours ago and the one from this Saturday morning. And yes, there is simply not a name in common, as the leading skippers head towards Cape Verde. Second Friday morning, the amazing Nicolas Lunven, for example, fell to 15th place, more than 100 miles from the new leader. And what a leader, in the person of the dean of the race Jean Le Cam.
- The « masterclass » by strategist Jean Le Cam
What if the night of November 15 to 16 had marked a turning point in this 2024 Vendée Globe? In any case, Jean Le Cam (It all starts in Finistère – Armor-Lux), still 10th in the race on Friday at 7 p.m., jumped to the lead of the race during the scoring this Saturday at 7 a.m. A reassembled memorable for the dean of the event, launched in his sixth consecutive Vendée Globe at the age of 65, which can be explained by a highly profitable strategic choice after passing the island of Madeira.
Namely heading much further east than the rest of the fleet, like all the geniuses of this world (you will understand later), including the New Zealander Conrad Colman (11th). Sheltered from the depressing flat calm suffered by a pack of favorites, our Jean Le Cam attacks the weekend with panache with a 28.30 mile lead over the Italian Giancarlo Pedote (Prysmian), previous leader of this 10th Vendée Globe.
- The ranking this Saturday morning
1. Jean Le Cam (It all starts in Finistère – Armor-Lux) 22,663.54 miles from the finish
2. Giancarlo Pedote (Prysmian) 28.30 miles from the leader
3. Benjamin Ferré (Monnoyeur – Duo for a job) 38.47 miles from the leader
4. Alain Roura (Hublot) 40.82 miles from the leader
5. Damien Seguin (Apicil Group) at 48.14 miles
- Ruyant, Dalin, Beyou and co trapped, Weöres in trouble
Suddenly, the trap closed on many of the favorites. Like a wild finale from Vincent Delerm, a good old Wong Kar-wai or a France-Israel from the League of Nations capable of reconnecting us with football in 2024, the dead calm destroyed a large part of the race near the Canaries, during the night from Friday to Saturday. Among the thirty skippers concentrated on less than 100 nautical miles and having to face extremely weak winds, we find Charlie Dalin (25th), Jérémie Beyou (26th), Louis Burton (27th) and Thomas Ruyant (29th), at places where we didn’t imagine them at all.
“I’m stuck between 0 and 5 knots in the soft water,” complains Charlie Dalin. I want to get out of this horrible zone. » Currently dropped around 140 miles from the leader Jean Le Cam, he, like the other favorites, fortunately has more than 22,600 miles left to get back on his feet. Note that the Hungarian Szabolcs Weöres (39th and therefore last, 466 miles from the leader) is still struggling much more. He is currently diverting towards the Canary Islands to try to repair his mainsail.
- Bad advice from Philippe Katerine
Nice sequence last night on the Vendée Globe with Paul Meilhat (Biotherm), just recovered from his emotions after being alerted when he crossed paths with a drift net on the water. Currently 32nd, the 42-year-old skipper, like so many (too many) people, has chosen a westward trajectory. All while revealing on board his boat the identity of his advisor, a certain Philippe Katerine.
Paul Meilhat actually got excited in the middle of the night on the title Total to the west of the fanciful artist. But who knows, it could turn on the sound again this Saturday, since better winds are expected on this trajectory.
- This is the stroke of genius of « Marina Foils »
Behind the competition, Marina Foilsthe boat of 20 Minutes on Virtual Regatta, decided to go for (almost) everything just before falling into the Doldrums. Namely to go around to the east along the African coast, while the vast majority of the fleet tries to go to the west.
Our file on the Vendée Globe
In twenty-four hours, the boat has doubled… more than 100,000 boats to reach around 94,000th place. King Jean Le Cam and Conrad Colman were therefore in the right school in following in the wake of Marina “Pep” Foils, let it be said.
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