Charlie Dalin led the fleet of the 10th Vendée Globe 166 times. You can get used to that. But since 23 December and the subsequent Cape Horn crown won so narrowly on Christmas Eve, long-term rival Yoann Richomme has been the leader. The "Paprec Arkéa" skipper Richomme and "Macif Santé Prévoyance" skipper Charlie Dalin characterise the race with their duel.
The Atlantic duel between Richomme and Dalin
After briefly catching their breath in the South Atlantic high, the giants of this edition, which are connected to each other as if by an invisible band, have reached fresh winds again. They are already chasing each other northwards at latitude 42 degrees south, almost in T-shirt weather. Yoann Richomme held a 13 nautical mile lead in the morning of 27 December.
The Vendée Globe organisers have now compared the power couple to a marriage "whose married life is anything but relaxing". The cheerful comparison: "In Yoann Richomme, Charlie Dalin has chosen a partner who seems to have only one obsession: sneaking out of the house! Or home, sooner and as quickly as possible..." Unfortunately, there is also the danger, it continues, that "a heart will be broken" at the end of this marriage. There is no doubt that these two skippers are vying for victory, but only one can have it if they continue to dominate their race.
Their closest rival Sébastien Simon, on the other hand, still has a lonely race on his hands. On Friday morning, just under 700 nautical miles separated the third-placed skipper from the frontrunners and around 645 nautical miles from his first pursuer Thomas Ruyant ("Vulnerable"). "Groupe Dubreuil" skipper Seb Simon opted for the west passage of the Falkland Islands and made good progress there recently.
Boris Herrmann in front of Cape Horn Passage
However, most observers' eyes are now focussed on Cape Horn again. The next boats are expected there shortly. Thomas Ruyant is expected to pass the third and final cape of the solo circumnavigation in fourth place. On Friday morning, the Frenchman still had around 250 nautical miles to go to the longitude of Cape Horn and was travelling at a speed of around 22 knots.
At the 7 a.m. position update on 27 December, Boris Herrmann still had a good 500 nautical miles to go to the milestone that symbolically ended the Southern Ocean Race for him. As the fastest vessel in the fleet, the "Malizia - Seaexplorer" made up ground in the morning with speeds in excess of 24 knots. It is expected to pass Cape Horn on Saturday.
Boris Herrmann has fought his way back to seventh place, which he briefly lost overnight to "Biotherm" skipper Paul Meilhat. Boris Herrmann was able to reduce the gap to his former Ocean Race navigator Nico Lunven to 60 nautical miles.
Vendée Globe ace: "Juju" Mettraux in the top ten
Justine "Juju" Mettraux has moved back into the top ten since Christmas Day. The Swiss skipper has now moved up to ninth place and continues to attack. A good 50 nautical miles behind Paul Meilhat, the current best skipper on "TeamWork - Team Snef" was faster than the Frenchman early on Friday morning.
Meanwhile, another "long-term pair" in the fleet has split up: at Point Nemo, the British skipper Samantha Davies, who is in 14th place, has decided in favour of a northerly course. The "Initiatives - Cœur" skipper had already reached the 46th parallel south on Friday morning. Her "companion" Clarisse Crémer, on the other hand, was twelfth in the fleet, sailing around 380 nautical miles south of Sam Davies below the 53rd parallel south.
Both skippers had motivated each other for a long time after missing the infamous front in mid-December and falling far behind their previously strong group with Boris Herrmann. Boris Herrmann now has a lead of more than 1200 nautical miles over Clarisse Crémer and around 1450 nautical miles over Sam Davies.
Good seamanship: Sam Davies dodges the storm
She explained why the British rider chose a northern course that deviated so much from her group with Clarisse Crémer and Benjamin Dutreux ("Guyot Environnement - Water Family") with safety concerns that cost her 13th place for the moment. Benjamin Dutreux took over this position. "We were happy that we were together with Clarisse, but now we no longer have the same strategy," stated Sam Davies.
The soloist explained on her fourth Vendée Globe: "I looked carefully and found that the conditions further south in this low are quite extreme with a wave height of over six metres and strong winds. I think it's a bit risky to sail straight ahead, so I've chosen the good seamanship option, which is a bit longer and avoids the zone with very strong winds and very difficult seas to the north. This is a decision to protect the material, the sails and the boat, because my goal is to be 100 per cent fit for the Atlantic crossing!"
The fact that Sam Davies has just passed the point where she lost the mast in a Jules Verne record attempt in 1998 may also have played a role in her decision. Because the Brit is slightly superstitious, she makes a chocolate offering to Neptune every time she passes it. This time, too, she reported.
Pip Hare sails towards Vendée Globe redemption
Meanwhile, her compatriot Pip Hare continues her slow journey to Melbourne. The "Medallia" skipper broke her mast ten days ago and is fighting her way towards the Australian coast under emergency rigging. After adapting her route to the sometimes strong winds so that she could save some of the dwindling diesel, the end of her ordeal is now in sight, even though she had to report the day before due to the diversions: "We have made no progress towards Melbourne. In fact, we are now 17 nautical miles further away." She still had around 150 nautical miles to go to Melbourne.
"Welcome aboard the slow boat to Melbourne!" - With good British humour and interesting explanations, "Medallia" skipper Pip Hare describes her extraordinary journey to Melbourne under emergency rigging:
