Vendée Globe: Bad luck, mishaps - and why Charlie Dalin is currently sailing with blinkers on

The tracker's animated wind data had not boded well for days. And in the gust or swell view, it still looks as if the two leaders are in danger of being swallowed up by the monster low.

However, the poker game has actually ended in their favour, at least so far. In a video interview with Vendée Live presenter Andi Robertson this lunchtime, Charlie Dalin reminded us that it's not over yet. "I still don't know if it was a good decision. We'll find out in 24 hours," said the favourite for overall victory.

Despite the pixelated transmission, his exhaustion was clear to see. His eyes were deep-set, his expression pale, and with every second sentence the boat bucked as if it wanted to throw him out of his seat. That was - mind you! - when he had the worst behind him and was already logging a good 22 knots again.

I'm pretty tired. I need to rest soon. But apart from that: all good!" Charlie Dalin

He had managed to stay ahead of his routing," said the skipper of the "Macif Santé Prévoyence". That was the key to his otherwise potentially high-risk tactics: trying to ride the front of the storm front for as long as possible in still manageable seas. And that also applies to the rest of the race to Australia. "Every metre gained to the east is worth its weight in gold. It means that the back will hit us later, with less wind and waves."

Charlie admitted that he would have had the option of heading north, as Yoann Richomme, Thomas Ruyant, Jéremie Beyou and Nico Lunven had already done two days ago. "But that would have been more expensive for me than for the others."

Before deciding to stay in the south, he "probably spent ten hours in front of the computer and played through hundreds of routings". Once he had made up his mind, however, he no longer wanted to keep watching the approaching front. "I tried not to look at Adrena too much because it would be too scary to see the big red arrows for 60 knots of wind. I'm like a horse with blinkers on."

But the even more remarkable statement by Dalin was this:

It was fun to sail against this monster." Charlie Dalin

That is the amazing thing about this generation of Imocas: "They allow us to do new things tactically - things that we could previously only do with multihulls".

The leader, who was already number one in the Imoca rankings before the Vendée Globe, may have been helped in his decision by the fact that he had already survived more than 50 knots of wind four years ago - also in the Indian Ocean. At that time, he was only travelling with the small jib at times, had the foils retracted to the maximum and could really only leave the boat to itself and the autopilot.

Seb Simon has no such experience. But he also held his course bravely - and so far has done remarkably well in the choppy seas that don't really suit his Verdier design. He had already demonstrated his determination and ability in the South Atlantic with several 24-hour solo records. The fact that he was the only one to stay on Charlie Dalin's heels makes him more than ever THE surprise of this Vendée Globe.

Yesterday he demonstrated how tough the conditions are in a video worth watching. He briefly left the protection of his encapsulated cockpit to insert the lashing for the third reef in the main on the luff. Foam streaks lay across the imposing waves, spray almost washed him off the cabin superstructure as he climbed back into the cockpit. And that was just the beginning of the stormiest phase yet...

Further back in the field, things were also pretty tough. Sam Goodchild, who was following the low at a respectful distance, first had to replace a bushing on the starboard rudder that had broken. This cost him a few miles - and a lot of energy. After a one-hour break, he then focussed again on finding the right balance between sufficient speed and drilling into the waves ahead. "The boat wants to do 30 knots," explained the likeable Brit, who is travelling on a 2019 boat. "But you can't do that in this swell."

Boris also has to tinker again

You can find out what else was going on in our constantly updated Vendée ticker. Boris Herrmann, for example, had to repair his J2-Lasching. He has now moved up to eleventh place, but will continue to lose miles at the current pace of the front runners. He is currently sailing around 1360 nautical miles astern.

He remains remarkably relaxed and this afternoon enjoyed the view out of the windows while lying in the net of the wooden foil-covered aft cabin, had the route from his location to his little house in Hamburg displayed to him - to no avail - and chatted with friends who sail the ARC. A masterclass in mental strength.

Behind him, Clarisse Crémer had to let go a little. The shaft of her foil adjuster had also broken, similar to Boris' the day before, albeit on the other bow. She spent the night sawing plastic wedges to fix the upper end of the starboard wing in the foil box. Afterwards, she could barely stay awake enough to record a short video.

Louis Burton was hit much harder yesterday lunchtime when his J2 forestay broke. It is not yet known exactly what collapsed. But the consequence is bitter: during the night he announced that he was dropping out of the race and would be heading for Cape Town. After suffering damage to his hull and deck in the Atlantic, which he painstakingly laminated over, it was now game over for him. It is only the second task of this Vendée Globe. Hopefully there won't be many more!

Marcus Hutchinson, former team manager of Thomas Ruyant and currently working for the Swiss Ollie Heer, said that he takes his hat off to the skippers in view of the recent storm fronts. Hutchinson knows how hairy such racing phases are, how little it takes to derail a project. "I don't sleep very well when they do these things".