Can we have peace of mind during the Vendée Globe? Not all the time, but the night from Tuesday to Wednesday was rather uneventful for the 40 skippers in the round-the-world race. The descent of the North Atlantic was done downwind, with the trade winds pushing the boats hard. As expected, the latecomers were able to catch up with the leading group.
The “Vulnerable” hand over, Richomme in the lead
Since leaving Sables-d'Olonne, the two Vulnerable of Sam Goodchild and Thomas Ruyant monopolized the podium, the Englishman even spending Tuesday at the head of the fleet. But the descent of the Portuguese coast reshuffled the cards and Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa), which took a completely different trajectory from the rest of the fleet, much further west, took the lead in the race.
Behind him, Charlie Dalin (Macif Santé prévoyance) is less than 6 miles away, while Sam Goodchild is 15 miles from the leader. The descent of the North Atlantic allowed other favorites, like Jérémie Beyou (Charal) and Louis Burton (Valley Office) to catch up with the leading peloton.
The ranking
1. Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa) 23,377.32 nautical miles from the finish
2. Charlie DallinMacif Santé Prévoyance) 5.91 miles from the first
3. Sam Goodchild (Vulnerable) at 15.34 miles
4. Jérémie Beyou (Charal) at 38.80 miles
5. Louis Burton (Valley Office) at 56.93 miles
Nicolas Lunven’s crazy (paid) option
We wondered, on Tuesday, while looking at the race maps, if Nicolas Lunven (Holcim-PRB) had not made a mistake in the event and did not think he would compete in a transatlantic race as his boat was heading west. But no, not at all. “I chose a slightly different option for the passage around Cape Finisterre, overall I think it will cause me to lose a little,” he explained. It's a bit stupid, but I really didn't want to take the risk! I made a wiser option but a bit of a loser! »
But ultimately, this choice of trajectory almost paid off, since it allowed him to get back into the top 5 of the race (with a 7th place, 4 miles from Louis Burton). Still alone in the west, Lunven will even gain a little time by not needing to go around the Canaries. A tactical choice worthy of Pep Guardiola's finest era.
Breakage on board
At the start of the fourth day of racing, there was already some damage on board some Imocas. Isabelle Joschke (MACSF) thus saw his sail tear and had to carry out a perilous securing operation. Other skippers have experienced mishaps, such as Guirec Soudée, with a spinnaker in the water, Fabrice Amédeo, electronic problems, or Denis Van Weynbergh who had rope problems. Among the favorites, first problems for Thomas Ruyant, with a small leak at the front of his sailboat.
There were also small physical problems with Maxime Sorel, who injured his ankle. “It is slightly swollen under the malleolus, I will monitor that,” explains the skipper of V and B – Monbana – Mayenne, who goes through the hassles. I'm on standby a bit waiting to see how it goes. »
The “20 Minutes” boat flies
The descent of the North Atlantic was quiet for Marina Foilsthe boat from your favorite media on “Virtual Regatta”. The third night on board allowed you to blend in with the rest of the fleet (almost 600,000 players). The rest of the race will be a little more technical with the Canaries in sight. We will lose a little time to avoid the area, which promises to be windless in the coming days, to go offshore. But everything is going wonderfully for the moment, with a nice 81,000th place.
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