Charlie Dalin and Thomas Ruyant crossed the last strong gale of the Indian Ocean and are heading for the second of the three great capes of this round the world trip, in front of a horde of pursuers worn out by the aggressive sailing conditions of the Deep South .

Thunderclap on the Vendée Globe fleet: Alex Thomson faces major structural problems on his HUGO BOSS. The Briton, yesterday in 2nd position, 40 miles in the transom of Thomas Ruyant, decelerated considerably, letting his opponents slip away to repair a longitudinal beam at the front of the boat, and is already 200 miles behind.

“It is urgent to wait”, this oxymoron formulated today by Jacques Caraës, the Clerk of the Course of the Vendée Globe, is struggling to extinguish the excitement that has gripped the public and the teams in the face of the incredible scenario of this end of a solo round the world trip, without stopovers and without assistance.

At the head of the fleet, two strategies stand out for making the most of a flow from the South-West. One to the West (Louis Burton – Charlie Dalin – Boris Herrmann), the other to the North in the wake of Yannick Bestaven and Damien Seguin.