Vendée Globe: Dalin leads, Herrmann fights, New Year off Cape Horn for a duo
Since the evening of 30 December, it is once again Charlie Dalin who has taken the lead ahead of Yoann Richomme in the hotly contested top duel of the Vendée Globe. Sailing south-west of the power duo, third-placed Sebastien Simon, who was 700 nautical miles behind the two dominators at Cape Horn six days ago, has now closed the gap to Dalin to 282 nautical miles, even with a broken starboard foil!
This means that 34-year-old Sébastien Simon will undoubtedly be one of the winners of the Vendée Globe so far at the end of the year with his 2021 Verdier design by Guillaume Verdier. He has steered the former Ocean Race winner "Mãlama" under her new name "Groupe Dubreuil" through the solo race around the world so far. After the premature end of his Vendée Globe premiere in 2020/2021 and the rollercoaster ride with Team Guyot through the Ocean Race 2023, Simon is currently shining.
Local hero on course for Vendée Globe podium
He does this to the delight of organisers and fans alike, as Sébastien Simon grew up in the home port of the Vendée Globe. He learnt to sail in Les Sables-d'Olonne and started his sailing career from there. On New Year's Eve morning, Seb Simon shared his assessments from aboard the "Groupe Dubreuil", built by CDK Technologies, in what are currently lighter winds for him.
Seb Simon reported: "I only have six knots of wind and have had between six and eight knots all day. So I'm just trying to keep the boat moving because when the wind stops it will be difficult. I expect to have this light wind for two days. I'm trying to focus on my own race and don't want to lose energy looking at the other two."
"Groupe Dubreuil" skipper Seb Simon was under no illusions about the slight losses he was about to suffer in his race to catch up with the leaders: "They will probably come out a day ahead of me, but we'll see. We are not in the same position. They are more easterly than me, which will be better for the future."
The first shower after a month
He himself wants to stay focussed and also looked behind him: "I'm watching Thomas Ruyant. He's on the upswing and I expect him to come back a bit. But I also expect to maintain my lead, because I'm 1000 miles ahead and I'm really happy."
This is a really good moment at this Vendée Globe." Sébastien Simon
Seb Simon also reported on his day-to-day life on board in the South Atlantic on course for the equator: "The weather is warmer, so I took a shower today. I've spent more than a month without a shower. So this is really great. I feel so good and I can go out on deck and watch the sky, the sunrise and the stars. The race is so intense, but the boat has been so fast throughout the Southern Ocean. It's also nice to slow down a bit now."
The forecast of the current third in the fleet: "We still have 15 or 16 days to sail before the race comes to an end. So it's okay at the moment, but in the North Atlantic, a few days before the finish line, the conditions will be really tough." "Vulnerable" skipper Thomas Ruyant was around 1100 nautical miles behind Seb Simon in fourth place at the end of the 51st day of racing since the Vendée Globe start on 10 November. Far behind him, the Jäger sextet with Boris Herrmann struggled to catch up in the Atlantic south.
Boris Herrmann technically challenged
"Biotherm" skipper Paul Meilhat was the furthest north on New Year's Eve morning. However, Nico Lunven ("Holcim - PRB") was better positioned relative to the rhumb line in fifth place. In eighth place, the British "Vulnerable" skipper Sam Goodchild was no longer ten nautical miles ahead of Boris Herrmann.
The "Malizia - Seaexplorer" skipper recently fought to come back to eighth place in around 15 knots of wind. Boris Herrmann said on New Year's Eve morning: "It could be a tough day." Overnight he had mastered a demanding technical challenge and readjusted his broken hydraulic system for the foil adjustment in manual mode in order to optimise his speed by changing the angle of the foils.
At the same time, Boris Herrmann's co-skipper Will Harris described the challenges ahead for the chasing pack in the top ten in the eighth episode of the Malizia Vendée Show: "The situation is very interesting. It can easily feel like 'Ah, now we've done the Southern Ocean'. It can easily feel like pleasant flat water sailing. Which it can be..."
Everything can change between now and the equator." Will Harris
On the other hand, Will Harris was under no illusions: "Realistically, it's one of the most tactically demanding phases of the race because there are so many different options. There are masses of different weather systems coming into play. It's really not clear what's going to happen. Everything can change between now and the equator." Will Harris expressed his respect for Seb Simon: "He's doing a really good job!"
Vendée Globe: 35 boats still in the water on New Year's Eve
The current status at the start of the eighth week of the Vendée Globe and at the same time at the end of the year: 35 skippers are still in the race. Five have dropped out. "Medallia" skipper Pip Hare has long since arrived safely in Melbourne after breaking her mast. Defending champion Yannick Bestaven, who had to retire yesterday, has also reached his protective harbour in Argentina's southernmost city of Ushuaia.
"L'Occitane en Provence" skipper Clarisse Crémer is doing well despite her computer problems. The Frenchwoman was in eleventh place on New Year's Eve morning, just ahead of Benjamin Dutreux ("Guyot Environnement"). Both should pass Cape Horn on New Year's Day. And who can say that they spent the first day of the year at sea at the most famous cape on the planet?
