Vendée Globe: Boris Herrmann passes Point Nemo, who will win the Cape Horn duel?

Many Vendée Globe eyes are currently focussed on the two frontrunners Charlie Dalin and Yoann Richomme. The two giants of this edition are sailing towards Cape Horn in a league of their own and are expected to pass the dark rock in the early hours of Christmas Eve. But who will be in the lead?

Vendée Globe: Who is first at Cape Horn?

It looks increasingly likely that "Macif Santé Prévoyance" skipper Charlie Dalin and his challenger Yoann Richomme ("Paprec Arkéa") will pass the most famous of the three capes that line and characterise the solo around the world in very quick succession, almost in parallel, before turning left into the Atlantic soon afterwards. Both sailed at speeds of more than 23 knots early in the morning on 23 December. By the end of race day 43 on Monday morning, Dalin had again taken the narrow lead.

Charlie Dalin said the day before Christmas Eve: "I can feel the excitement of the imminent passage of Cape Horn. I haven't seen land for a while. It will be nice to see Cape Horn in daylight." Dalin reported on highly challenging strategic decisions for the upcoming passage. He expects winds gusting up to 35 knots off Cape Horn. "The swell should be okay," said Dalin. Last time he passed Cape Horn on New Year's Eve: "This time it will be Christmas. I'm very excited to pass Cape Horn for the second time."

Yoann is a very good friend - and a fierce competitor." Charlie Dalin

Charlie Dalin described his great rival Yoann Richomme as his "number one rival". Dalin said: "I think we'll see a bit more of each other in the Atlantic. I like Yoann. We first sailed against each other in 2005, I think. That was almost 20 years ago. So I'm both: happy that we're sailing bow to bow with each other here. But also not so happy, because I know he's a tough competitor."

Boris Herrmann reaches for sixth place

The two dominators recently sailed towards the important milestone of the solo around the world with a gap of around 40 nautical miles between them from north to south. They continue to enjoy better winds than their pursuers, who are falling further and further behind, but are also involved in thrilling duels in their group in the top ten.

Click here for the race tracker and the intermediate results.

Boris Herrmann is contesting one of these duels with Yannick Bestaven. "The match race with Yannick is fun," said the "Malizia - Seaexplorer" skipper the day before. In the meantime, Herrmann has built up a lead of 22 nautical miles over the French defending champion on the morning of 23 December. What's more: on the day before Christmas Eve, Herrmann was suddenly separated from his former Ocean Race navigator Nico Lunven on "Holcim - PRB" by only around 64 nautical miles.

However, it was a long way to the top for Herrmann and the other top ten contenders in the uneven wind conditions. The "Malizia - Seaexplorer" was separated from Charlie Dalin by a good 1550 nautical miles after the Point Nemo passage shortly before 8 a.m. on 23 December. After more than 15,000 nautical miles, Boris Herrmann still had just under 8850 nautical miles left to catch up before his seventh Cape Horn passage.

Vendée Globe: mental milestones for the final spurt

"In addition to the Cape Horn milestone, there are many other mental milestones that I have set myself: To get to the next corner of the ice gate, to the next time zone, then in the Atlantic to the equator, to get into the warmth and the trade winds," said Boris Herrmann at the end of the seventh week of racing since the start on 10 November, drawing his picture of the upcoming last Vendée Globe month at sea.

For Christmas Eve, Boris Herrmann is planning a video call with his wife Birte Lorenzen-Herrmann and daughter Marie-Louise, saying: "I'm going to see what the family is doing, be there for a bit and unwrap the presents I have on board myself." Her picture in a snow globe, which Herrmann shakes enthusiastically, reminds him of his little dog Lilli. Inside his boat, with the air temperature at six degrees and the water at four degrees, he has glued stars to the ceiling above his bunk - his heavenly kingdom in one of the most inhospitable places in the world. There will even be a Christmas tree in it for Christmas.

Not Christmas-pleasant conditions

However, the conditions remained unpleasant for the chasing boats, with Sébastien Simon now 455 nautical miles behind Charlie Dalin. Nevertheless, the "Groupe Dubreuil" skipper continued to defend a solid lead of around 640 nautical miles over fourth-placed Thomas Ruyant on the day before Christmas Eve. He commented on the rough and unstable conditions in a similar way to Boris Herrmann, who even capsized in these conditions but was able to right his boat and sail on.

It's like the Doldrums of the Southern Ocean." Thomas Ruyant

"Vulnerable skipper Thomas Ruyant said: "It's not easy! These gusts come through, the Big South Squalls. They are impressive, reaching 15 to 40 knots. It's not easy to deal with these strong gusts. But these are the conditions we have at the moment. And the low is very active with all these gusts."

Ruyant also reminded that the road up the Atlantic to the start and finish harbour of Les Sables-d'Olonne will still be a long and eventful one: "You should bear in mind that the climb up the Atlantic for the second peloton - come what may - will remain tight. Even now, weeks before the finish, we can expect a series of tight finishes on the Les Sables d'Olonne course."

The highlights of Vendée Globe week six: