“It’s quite moving because there, we see it”: the Vendée Globe public follows the skippers at the PC of Les Sables d’Olonne

39 of the 40 competitors Vendée Globe are still in the race this November 27, 17 days after the departure from Les Sables d’Olonne. The leaders, Charlie Dalin, Thomas Ruyant and Yoann Richomme, are heading at impressive speeds, helped by a crosswind and not too rough seas, towards the Cape of Good Hope. And the gaps are clearly widening between boats with foils, these kinds of wings which allow boats to lift above the water, and those with daggerboards. On land, the public is passionate about the race. Every lunchtime, he is invited to attend sessions with skippers on a big screen near the race PC Les Sables d’Olonne.

“We all follow Eric, we put a card in the refectory where we have lunch every lunchtime!”

This Tuesday, skipper Eric Bellion is joined live and tells:“I started the race with sailing problems at Cape Finisterre. I got dropped a little by the peloton and I’m very happy to have caught up again. It’s a very long race and you have to move forward at all costs “. Before leaving, Eric Bellion did a lot of shopping at Emmaüs to decorate the dressing room in which he received his partners. Many employees of the Emmaus center in Essarts in Vendée are present. “46 companions, all employees and all volunteers. We all follow Eric! one of them enthuses, we put a card in the refectory where we have lunch.” “It’s quite moving because we send him messages every day and there, we see him. I found him rather in great shape and confident in his boat.” adds another.

Every day, spectators and Internet users on the site Vendée Globe can also benefit fromweather explanations. “No swell, relatively flat sea state, around fifteen knots of wind and above all at the right angle with a crosswindexplains Etienne Saiz, meteorologist at the Vendée Globe management. “We talk a lot about the wind, but the state of the sea is also very important, I’m quite surprised, because the boats are holding up well.”

“It started accelerating hard, notes Martin Le Pape, young skipper and consultant for a day, with the speeds they manage to reach, the cursor is hard to place. We must continue to move quickly for the competitors and at the same time, we must preserve the boat. The gaps will widen further from here to the Cape of Good Hope.

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