The head of the fleet and the first group of fighters will experience a radical change in sailing conditions within a few hours. Under the Saint Helena anticyclone, a good westerly flow will propel them rapidly towards the Cape of Good Hope, which has never been so aptly named… Tomorrow, humid and windy atmosphere, heading for the Kerguelen Islands. the first should reach around December 5.

Soon freed from the area of ​​soft and erratic winds, the skippers will switch to attack mode, pushed by a good westerly flow for 25-30 knots. “In six hours of time, the sailors will completely change the sailing conditions by taking the front of a low at noon tomorrow,” explains Christian Dumard, weather forecaster for the Vendée Globe. Big slips to come, therefore, provided you stay in the front to be propelled at high speed to the islands of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, the Kerguelen! Sébastien Simon (ARKÉA PAPREC) licks his chops just to think about it: “As soon as we are in the south of the Saint Helena high, we will reach the southern depression, we will have good slides. The depression will take us far, no doubt to Kerguelen. You will have to stay focused so as not to miss it, otherwise you will miss the train. It will be a very important moment ”. Charlie Dalin, in pole position on APIVIA will therefore be the very first to enter the 40th: he will double latitude 40 ° South tonight after a last day of wrestling in the light air… Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée 2) and Sam Davies ( Initiatives-Cœur), 8th and 9th respectively, positioned more to the West, achieved their objective: to position themselves to take advantage of the westerly flow as quickly as possible.

Thomson and Ruyant : intact motivation!

“The BOSS is back! Alex Thomson trumpeted this morning as his pink and black IMOCA resumed double-digit speed. In 10th position, the Briton, who took 4 days to repair the major cracks in the structural parts of the front of his boat, is back in the game in the hunters’ group, between Initiatives-Cœur and ARKÉA PAPREC. Thomas Ruyant, on the other hand, is still digesting the damage to the port foil that occurred yesterday morning, but is showing unwavering determination to reduce the gap by more than 100 miles with Charlie Dalin. He knows statistically that the starboard foil is the most used in a Vendée Globe. The question of the day is: “Should we keep the damaged foil?” “. The response from Laurent Bourguès, its technical director: “Thomas has taken it in fully, but at certain speeds, on starboard and reaching, part of the foil is dragging in the water and is therefore subject to strong constraints, especially at high speed. In the event of rupture, collateral damage is to be feared, especially at the level of the overstrigger tie rod. If this risk seems too great to us, Thomas will have to cut the foil. “

Distribution of good points

The skipper of Time for Oceans has been riding hard over the past four days in unstable south-easterly trade winds. Stéphane Le Diraison has gleaned 160 miles on La Fabrique du Suisse Alan Roura. “I’m happy to see that I managed to pick up a bit of the front group that had steadily sapped me, I recovered about 100 miles in the lead group, it’s a good streak in the race for me! It motivates me, I absolutely want to stay in the same weather system as those in front, so we must not give up now, and seize all the opportunities. »He confided this morning on vacation. Isabelle Joschke (MACSF) has also managed, despite her important tinkering on her aft balcony, to stay on track with an average of over 16 knots over the past 4 hours. Armel Tripon, for his part, is racing along the Brazilian coast, his spatulated IMOCA giving all its quintessence in the south-eastern trade winds. Finally, there are only two IMOCAs left in the northern hemisphere: DMG Mori Global One and Charal, which is entering the Doldrums. We wish him mercy so that he can taste the joys of racing in this Vendée Globe.

Quotes

Armel Tripon, L’Occitane en Provence

I am in good shape. The wind picked up and picked up at the start of the night so it’s true that it accelerated well, but you have to find the right balance because the sea is well formed so it is beating hard, the boat is jumping. Coming out of the Doldrums, the wind refused, I found myself quite quickly downwind with current which brought me 70 miles off the coast of Brazil. There was an area with a little less wind, it was a bit disturbed, there it came back so I’m gradually moving away. The Doldrums went well for me, we didn’t stop a lot, behind they were less fortunate. The boat is doing well, I am taking care of it, there is a lot of work to do, it is a traveling companion, you have to be attentive. Every day there are things to do! A not too bad scenario is emerging for the next few days, we will see if this is confirmed, with a correct trajectory which makes it possible to make some progress but it is often the case. It is therefore a small depression with a North / North-West flow to recover and touch Saint Helena in a few days. My goal is to get to touch this flow.

Jérémie Beyou, Charal

I have had complicated conditions for two or three days, the wind is light and very unstable. So I am fighting to get out of this area so that I can progress in the Southern Hemisphere. Roll on the South Atlantic! For the Doldrums, I have the impression that there are hardly any squalls in front of me, I know that can change from 12 to 12. I should reach it before tomorrow. For the past two or three days, I have been doing a series of gybes with a not very consistent wind, the boat is going from 17 to 8 knots, it’s tiring. I avoid thinking too much about loneliness, it’s really not something I’m used to. Everyone is far away, there is no competition if it is not to keep the boat moving as well as possible, I hope I will have the opportunity to have a better South Atlantic than the North Atlantic. It would help me a lot!

Stéphane Le Diraison, Time for Oceans

The choice of my passage of the high pressure is almost imposed. It is so consistent that I will have to take the grand tour like everyone else. I know you have to be opportunistic, it’s a bit early, but if I can shorten it a bit by not going all the way around and getting closer to the windless zone, I’ll be a player. On a mental level, I divided the Vendée Globe into several geographical pieces: the first was to reach Salvador de Bahia, then it was to go to the Cape of Good Hope and it is true that this passage is quite long, it lasts several days with this guardian of the great South which is the Saint Helena high which blocks our passage. There is starting to be an impatience for the real fun to begin because that is all we come for. It will start when we are around 40 degrees South, it will come quickly!

Alexia Barrier, TSE-4myPlanet

There is no happier birthday than a birthday spent at sea. I had brought two bottles of champagne that I will not drink because I am not in the physical shape for it, but I watered it well. boat and the sea: it was a beautiful moment. I had plenty of presents to open, I’m going to have a good asparagus risotto and a chocolate cake with a candle. I was born in a transatlantic period so this happens a lot. I don’t have a teammate to celebrate it with me this year but I have received a lot of messages, it gives me the morale to feel supported like that! I’m happy to be in this group and to have passed the equator in front of boats that should be faster than me. It was very encouraging.

Rankings at 3pm french time

Photo Credit : Sam Davies

Tags on NauticNews : Vendée Globe, VG2020

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