It took him 24 hours to take the lead. Charlie Dalin (Macif), favorite of this 10th edition of the Vendée Globe, took the lead in the provisional ranking at dawn, Monday November 11, and retained it at 7 p.m. The skipper, runner-up to Yannick Bestaven (Maître Coq) four years ago, maneuvered well to get ahead of his competitors, who were however hot on his heels. The day after departure, they are all still in a pocket handkerchief.
At the forefront, behind Charlie Dalin, Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil) and Sam Goodchild (Vulnerable) are respectively in second (+21.01 nm) and third place (+22.29 nm), or around forty kilometers from the leader. “We are very close to each other, there were some super hot encounters during the night,” confirmed Samantha Davies (Initiatives-Coeur), currently 25th (+85.51 nm). Paul Meilhat (Biotherm), who started the Vendée Globe in the lead, fell back to 11th place (+57.72 nm).
The good operation of the day goes to Jérémie Beyou (Charal), one of the skippers who could create a surprise in this edition, who made a good comeback by grabbing fourth place (+ 31.71 nm). The skipper actually experienced a delay at the start, finishing in 29th position on Sunday, before getting back behind the leading trio.
In the middle of the fleet, two skippers have already reported damage on board. Announced as one of the favorites, the German Boris Herrmann (Malizia), 5th in the last edition, reported a cylinder problem. For his part, the New Zealander Conrad Colman, 17th, mentioned a “electric blackout” after an already eventful start the day before due to a piece stuck in the engine propeller which occurred only a few minutes before the start.
Tonight, the solo sailors will get to the heart of the matter as they pass Cape Finisterre (north-west tip of Spain). “This is the first sporting area of the race, underlines Basile Rochut, weather consultant for the Vendée Globe. When it passes, the wind will be strong with 30 knots and gusts to 40 knots.
Understand: the night will come for the fleet. The objective will therefore be for them to pass without incident in order to continue the descent of the Atlantic without damage. “The winds will be strong but this should only last a relatively short time, explained Briton Sam Goodchild on Monday morning. We don't have to do anything stupid here to make sure we stay in the race.”
