Vendée Globe Day 7: The African King?
by Vendée Globe Media 16 Nov 09:19 PST
16 November 2024
At 65, Jean Le Cam is the oldest and most seasoned skipper among the 39 solo racers still in the Vendée Globe, which celebrates its tenth edition as it concludes its first week at sea tomorrow, Sunday.
The six-time Vendée Globe competitor appears to have gained an advantage by taking a radical easterly route, enabling him to head south more directly and rapidly than his competitors. Sailing the latest vessel in the fleet—a non-foiling David Raison design equipped with modern daggerboards instead of foils—Le Cam seized the lead last night. However, he finds himself caught in very light winds this evening, making less than five knots.
Extreme
The ‘Crazy Kiwi,’ Conrad Colman, is pushing his choices even further east and is currently only 170 miles off the coast of Africa’s Western Sahara. Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil) is leading the main central group, while many established favorites, such as Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa) in 34th place and Charlie Dalin (MACIF Santé Prévoyance) in 26th, are trailing as they adjust their positions towards the west, anticipating that a new breeze corridor will open and help them move south.
With six days of racing completed, covering 1,600 nautical miles (2,964 km), more than a third of the fleet is within a 150-mile radius. Large areas of light wind are hindering the lead boats’ progress, and although the western boats accelerated to 12-14 knots this morning, it turned out to be a brief uplift, and they are slow again today.
“We’ve been racing for six days; it’s a round-the-world race, and here we are all even, all more or less equal,” smiled Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil) during the French live broadcast this afternoon. “It feels almost like we’re starting anew.”
“The speeds are going to fluctuate,” explained the race’s weather consultant, Christian Dumard. “They will surge forward, then stall, then advance, and then stop. Expect a lot of pace changes and maneuvers; it’s going to be a very tense day.”
An Italian First…
Italy’s Giancarlo Pedote may have become the first Italian skipper ever to lead the Vendée Globe during a transient phase yesterday aboard his IMOCA Prysmian. “It was a pleasant surprise, but I’m really just trying to focus on my race and make the right decisions; this is a long journey,” he stated. When asked about the ‘Le Cam’ route, he replied, “It will be interesting to see if he manages to maintain it.”
He continued, “I was fortunate to find a wind corridor in the center that allowed me to catch up with others, but nothing is finalized yet; we don’t know if the westward option will be more advantageous.”
Chinese Comeback
The general slowdown has also benefited Jingkun Xu (Singchain Team Haikou). The Chinese skipper was once far behind, nearly 500 miles from the front. However, in recent days, he has regained nearly 200 miles on the leaders and is enjoying favorable conditions (15 knots of wind, with sea heights no more than 2 meters), now 290 miles behind the leaders. Further back, Szabolcs Weöres (New Europe) is gradually escaping the intense depression and heading towards the Canary Islands to attempt repairs on his sail setup.
If the race becomes a test of nerves, most of the sailors are doing their best to preserve their sense of humor; Pedote jokes.
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