Vendée Globe Race Update for Saturday: Will it be G’day Leeuwin by Monday morning?
by Vendée Globe media, December 7, 2024, 08:50 PST
Sébastien Simon on Groupe Dubreuil – 2024 Vendée Globe © Sébastien Simon
After the fleet experienced a slow descent in the North Atlantic, Charlie Dalin (MACIF Santé Prévoyance) has managed to return the 10th edition of the Vendée Globe to near-record pace, following his thrilling journey across the Indian Ocean, where he rode a menacing low-pressure system.
As of Saturday evening, race leader Dalin has just under 800 nautical miles remaining to reach the second Great Cape of the solo round-the-world race. He must cross that longitude by 08:14 UTC on the morning of December 9th to break the record set in 2016 by Armel Le Cléac’h, who went on to achieve a course record of 74 days, 3 hours, and 35 minutes. This will require him to maintain an average speed of around 19 knots, which is feasible but not guaranteed given the number of gybes he may need to execute. Nonetheless, after being far behind the eight-year-old schedule, this race will either finish ahead or be much closer!
Herculean Effort by Simon
Throughout the fleet, solo skippers are discussing setting boundaries and sailing consistently to avoid burnout, as well as the risk of damaging their vessels in the challenging Southern Ocean. The exception is second-placed Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil), who is facing the most extreme conditions imposed by the AEZ, the exclusion zone south of him. As of early this morning, the skipper from Les Sables d’Olonne had executed seven consecutive gybes, each demanding 40 minutes of strength and endurance, which in 27-30 knots and heavy seas represents a truly Herculean effort by Simon.
Good Outlook
Now up to sixth place and in closer contact with fifth-placed Jérémie Beyou (Charal), British sailor Sam Goodchild remains impressively consistent and self-assured. He is enjoying a break after the hardest few days of solo sailing on his IMOCA. “So far, I’ve been quite successful in how I sail the boat, focusing on my own performance rather than comparing myself to others. I realize that this is a lengthy race with five weeks in the south and eleven weeks overall. I need to stay in harmony and find my comfort zone while pushing the boat, so I’m working on maintaining that balance,” he explained. “Sometimes I gain miles, sometimes I lose miles, which is part of the game. I’ll see what happens with Nico and Jérémie; if I end up ahead or behind them, it won’t change my sailing approach.”
Lunven Regrets Mistakes
To the north, Nicolas Lunven, skipper of Holcim – PRB, is lamenting his decision to take a northern route to avoid the worst of the intense depression that crossed his path earlier in the week. At the time, he didn’t expect to face such severe consequences alongside Jérémie Beyou. “This northerly route was supposed to yield better results. We did not get what we anticipated. We encountered unforeseen areas of calm and spent an entire night battling storms, but the worst part was an anticyclone that developed and trapped us,” Lunven explained. He spent significant time stuck in light winds yesterday, resulting in two key consequences: Sam Goodchild (VULNERABLE) passing him and Paul Meilhat (Biotherm) – Yannick Bestaven (Maître CoQ V) getting increasingly close, while the gap widened ahead of the leading duo.
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