Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa) took the lead in the 10th Vendée Globe during the night from Friday to Saturday. But at the start of the crossing of the Indian Ocean, he was only 6 nautical miles ahead of Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil) and 11 over Charlie Dalin (Macif Prévoyance Santé) at the 7 o’clock time. Thomas Ruyant (Vulnerable) was also in the same pocket, 39 miles from the first.
Charlie Dalin – who had led the fleet since November 22 – and Thomas Ruyant – again 2nd on Saturday evening – negotiated the passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean, between the Cape of Good Hope and the Agulhas, much less well than their two direct adversaries.
“Charlie and Thomas took almost exactly twice as long as the other two to cover the distance (editor’s note: the 80 miles between the Cape of Good Hope and the Cape of Agulhas, which marks the passage from the Atlantic to the Indian): 6h30 for the slowest compared to 3h47 for the fastest. Everyone crossed the longitude of Cap des Aiguilles in the space of just 37 minutes, between 11:14 p.m. and 11:56 p.m.,” commented race director Hubert Lemonnier.
A small gap of around a hundred miles separated the leading quartet in 5th, Jérémie Beyou (Charal), in the early morning, 132 miles from Richomme. For this leading group there is now a long edge along the Arctic Exclusion Zone (AEZ).
“The section that arrives is a section conducive to speed. We will have to find the right angle, the right sail and the right positioning,” explained Ruyant, emphasizing the intensity and difficulty, both strategic and physical, of the moment.
On the Swiss side, Justine Mettraux (Teamwork – Team Snef) is 12th, 1062 miles from Dalin. The Geneva native, neck and neck with Frenchwoman Clarisse Crémer (11th less than 8 miles away), devoted her day on Friday “to tinkering and checking the boat”, she said on her Instagram account, adding: “Everything that needed to be repaired, sewn, taken up, has been seen, and everything is in place to attack the southern seas in the best conditions.”
Geneva’s Alan Roura (Hublot) is in 23rd place (1922 miles from the leader) and Zurich’s Oliver Heer (Tut Gut) falls to 36th place (2234 miles).
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