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(15 Nov 2020; Day 8) – As he leads the Vendée Globe on the trade winds highway along the Atlantic, between the Canary Islands and Cape Verdes, British skipper Alex Thomson is expected to increase his lead at the head of the fleet as he his foiled Hugo Boss takes his step.
Accelerating throughout the day, he shrugged off veteran Jean Le Cam and his 2007 Farr project, averaging two knots faster, and is the only racing skipper to have sailed more than 380 nautical miles in the last 24 hours.
NEE’ly Trade winds of 20-22 knots should blow for Thomson and the leading group in the next few days. A week into the race has given many skippers in the top group time to take care of themselves, to wash themselves, to prepare a meal or drink, to switch to fresh clothes while preparing for what will still be challenging, active period, even if it is a drag race at boat speed on a harbor jibe for several days.
“You can’t forget that the trade winds are not as stable as you might think, the direction changes again from ten to fifteen degrees and the wind will go up and down, there are still gusts and so you have to be careful and there will be a lot of refinements to be done”, he Seb Josse, who is one of the Vendée Globe weather advisors, warned.
The skippers today have expressed their admiration for Thomson’s race so far.
“Alex will be taking the fast train south and that can quickly turn into a big advantage,” observes Thomas Ruyant from third place on LinkedOut over 130 miles behind Thomson. “And Alex is hungry for it, but so am I.”
As one of the pre-race favorites, Charlie Dalin is in sixth place 187 miles away from HUGO BOSS, thanks to his conservative tactic. “My decision to move west (of T / S Theta) was because the storm was too early to take any risks and I did the math of what I could afford to lose and try to recover. Alex has moved on into the Theta Depression and that can give him a big edge. ”
HUGO BOSS is expected tomorrow at the latitude of the Cape Verde islands and is expected to overcome stasis on November 17th. According to Christian Dumardm, meteorologist at the Vendée Globe, the leaders could be treated for a relatively easy crossing in the southern hemisphere.
At the Port Olona jetty in Les Sables d’Olonne, the technical team of experts worked 24 hours a day aboard Charal, Jérémie Beyou’s damaged IMOCA, with the aim of having her ready for Beyou’s return en route . A press conference is scheduled for tomorrow at 17:00 CET to announce the decision.
Japanese skipper Koji Shiraishi managed to lower the damaged mainsail on his DMG MORI and is evaluating options to repair the tear. Shiraishi ripped off the wing yesterday during a jibe when his autopilot malfunctioned.
Thomas Ruyant (LinkedOut): “The good thing is that we are on a direct course towards stasis, there won’t be many maneuvers to do. The sequence of systems at the start of the race tired me but despite everything last night I slept well.
“The temperatures are starting to warm up and it’s perfect. These are real moments of pure surfing here and it is much more enjoyable than what we have had so far.
“I had a couple of things to work out, but then I guess we all have the conditions we met. I have a little bit of adjustment to do, I have to find the right conditions to get up on the tree because I had a small problem with the weather vane. I’m on my second weather vane now. I would like to have the boat in good condition before going south. I also had a problem with the hook, but it doesn’t stop me from being able to use my full set of sails.
“I’m glad I didn’t take too many risks and I’m glad I handled the boat as I did despite the minor problems I had, particularly having dropped the sail twice in the water due to my hook problem. I had some minor collateral damage, which I repaired.
“It’s nice to be at this point with the boat in the state it is in now. I am happy with my position and the start of the race. Now I need to find some time to recover my energy levels. The conditions that are coming will be favorable for it, so it’s perfect.
“Alex (Thomson) and Jean (Le Cam) put on a good show, they went into the storm, but I didn’t make that choice. We knew they would come out with a good lead. If there were two sailors doing it, it was them! Alex is on his 5th Vendée, he has a big boat, he is ready and then he is hungry, but so am I! I want to stay focused on my boat, on my trajectory and try to go fast.
“Alex has a good lead at this stage of the race. I will work hard to get back on track. I have between 16 and 19 knots of north-easterly wind. It is the trade winds, the weather is beautiful, there are few clouds and the temperatures are rising. These are the conditions that we and the boats like. ”
Standings – 21:00 (GMT)
2. Alex THOMSON, HUGO BOSS – 22345.1 nm DTF
2. Jean LE CAM, Yes, Cam! – 59.62 nm DTL
3. Thomas RUYANT, LinkedOut – 132.62 nm DTL
4. Kevin ESCOFFIER, PRB – 170.66 nm DTL
5. Benjamin DUTREUX, OMY – WATER FAMILY – 184.63 nm DTL
DTF – Distance from the finish line; DTF – Distance from progress
Race details – Boat types – Tracker – Ranking – YouTube
The Vendée Globe is the only round-the-world sailing regatta that is solo, non-stop and unassisted, and all systems went for the ninth edition on November 8th. As of 1989 with 13 entries, the starting line in 2020 had 33 skippers taking off from Les Sables d’Olonne, France.
The development of the IMOCA Class towards foiling will see these boats launch around the world, staggering on carbon skates through inhospitable regions, chasing the 2016-17 record set by Armel le Cléac’h of 74: 03: 35: 46.
History of participation:
1989-90: 13 boats at the start
1992-93: 15 boats
1996-97: 15 boats
2000-01: 24 boats
2004-05: 20 boats
2008-2009: 30 boats
2012-2013: 20 boats
2016-2017: 29 boats
2020-2021: 33 boats
2020-21 Entries
Fabrice AMEDEO: NEWREST – ART & WINDOWS
Romain ATTANASIO: PURE – BEST WESTERN
Alexia BARRIERA: TSE – 4MYPLANET
Yannick BESTAVEN: MASTER COQ IV
Jérémie BEYOU: CHARAL
Arnaud BOISSIÈRES: MY CÂLINE – ARTISANS ARTIPÔLE
Louis BURTON: VALLEY OFFICE 2
Didac COSTA: A PLANET, AN OCEAN
Manuel CUGINO: SÉTIN GROUP
Clarisse CREMER: BANQUE POPULAIRE X
Charlie DALIN: APIVIA
Samantha DAVIES: INITIATIVES-CŒUR
Sébastien DESTREMAU: THANK YOU
Benjamin DUTREUX: OMY – FAMILY OF WATER
Kevin ESCOFFIER: PRB
Clément GIRAUD: COMPAGNIE DU LIT / JILITI
Pip HARE: MEDALLIA
Boris HERRMANN: SEA EXPLORER – YACHT CLUB DE MONACO
Ari HUUSELA: STARK
Isabelle JOSCHKE: MACSF
Jean LE CAM: YES WE CAM!
Stéphane LE DIRAISON: TIME FOR OCEANS
Miranda MERRON: CAMPAIGN OF FRANCE
Giancarlo PEDOTE: PRYSMIAN GROUP
Alan ROURA: THE FACTORY
Thomas RUYANT: LINKEDOUT
Damien SEGUIN: APICIL GROUP
Kojiro SHIRAISHI: DMG MORI
Sébastien SIMON: ARKEA – PAPREC
Maxime SOREL: V and B – MAYENNE
Alex THOMSON: HUGO BOSS
Armel TRIPON: L’OCCITANE IN PROVENCE
Nicolas TROUSSEL: CORUM SAVINGS
Source: Vendée Globe
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