Vendée Globe: High-rise waves, biting cold and slalom in the screaming fifties
The raging leader Charlie Dalin extended his lead over his first pursuer Sébastien Simon to almost 300 nautical miles on the night of 7 December. On St Nicholas' Day, the leaders had to contend with more than 40 knots of wind on the back of the low-pressure system that reached them, according to the forecasts; on Saturday morning it was still 35 knots. Seb Simon tacked the stormy winds with a smaller headsail and was somewhat more conservative overall than Charlie Dalin.
Vendée Globe: in the "screaming fifties"
Their environment remains extremely challenging: deep down in the Southern Ocean, the waves sometimes reach the size of skyscrapers. The weather is bitingly cold. This is particularly true for the two leaders and especially for "Groupe Dubreuil" skipper Simon, who was sailing in the Antarctic Exclusion Zone (AEZ) this Saturday morning and has now even entered the "screaming fifties". East of the Kerguelen Islands, where icebergs migrate directly from south to north, Simon sailed below the 50th parallel south.
The water temperatures here are close to freezing. "It's freezing cold," reported Sébastian Simon. The water in his racing area is no warmer than two degrees Celsius. The wind is freezing cold and aggressive. Cold and damp have been the most faithful companions for days. On board the "Groupe Dubreuil", every surface, from the slippery deck to the steamed-up windows, is dripping with this southern sea cold.
I understand why the latest Imocas have completely closed cockpits." Antoine Cornic
"You don't just feel this cold on your skin, it penetrates you, imprints itself and seems to want to become a part of you," explained Antoine Cornic, who was 31st at the back of the Vendée Globe fleet. Since entering the Southern Ocean, he too has been plagued by the constant cold and wet conditions.
Warmth from the Vendée Globe Advent calendar
"I understand why the latest Imocas have completely enclosed cockpits. I myself have an old-fashioned boat. To maintain myself, I have no choice but to live inside a lot. In the deep south, it must be bliss to sail hidden in a bubble and still be able to look at the sea," added the "Human Immobilier" skipper.
Hand warmers are very popular with many skippers, which they put in their gloves or boots. "Vulnerable" skipper Sam Goodchild explained: "I found a rechargeable kit in one of the little boxes in my advent calendar." He plans to use the mini hot water bottles when he has travelled further south. Goodchild recently got an extra portion of sleep because the wind in his racing area has become more stable again.
On Saturday morning, the Briton, who was around 430 nautical miles north of the Kerguelen Islands, was not yet one of those whose fingers were numb and whose every breath turned into a short-lived cloud. But he knew that the brutal cold would soon take hold of him. Sam Goodchild had recently moved back up to sixth place and was part of the group of five boats chasing the leading duo of Dalin and Simon and Yoann Richomme and Thomas Ruyant, who were also sailing almost in a duet behind them in third and fourth place.
Richomme and Ruyant have long since turned south, chasing the leaders at the ice edge, 520 and 620 nautical miles behind, who had piled up with their escape to the north ahead of the approaching depression. Both Richomme and Ruyant were travelling a few knots faster on Saturday morning than the frontman Charlie Dalin, who was sailing around 600 nautical miles south-east of Richomme.
Dalin dominates the Vendée Globe
Dalin's achievements with his Verdier design remain remarkable. According to the latest forecasts, he will soon have a lead equivalent to 24 racing hours over the third and fourth-placed skippers at current speeds. All indications are that Charlie Dalin will be able to set a new record for the Indian Ocean passage.
His pursuers are more than aware that the runner-up of the ninth Vendée Globe edition has created an excellent starting position for the rest of this tenth edition with his confident southerly course. Fourth-placed "Vulnerable" skipper Thomas Ruyant said: "The wind is easing behind us. Our aim is to be fast. But even that won't allow us to catch up with Charlie for the time being. Charlie is travelling well with his southerly option."
However, Ruyant does not consider Dalin's lead to be unassailable: "He will have a good lead, but measured by the standards of the Vendée Globe, it will still be a manageable lead. We will be the hunters. We'll dig deeper to stay ahead of what's behind us. If we can stay in the flow we have, we can sail fast even in rough seas. I also don't want the gap to the front to be too big. I want to stay at the front of the fleet in the game."
The conditions? Not easy!
Like Yoann Richomme, Thomas Ruyant admitted that he had been surprised by the fortunate course of Dalin and Simon's southward option, which had seemed risky just a few days ago. The previous dominator of the Vendée Globe had managed to move swiftly to the east on the shorter route off the centre of the depression in highly challenging conditions deep in the south. Thomas Roúyant said: "I didn't think the southerly option would go so well. Charlie has managed to go fast. I also want to make sure he doesn't sail too far ahead."
According to Ruyant, he has his own boat well under control. The 43-year-old explained: "If I set too much sail, the boat goes much faster and accelerates too much in the waves. If there is too little, the boat doesn't start fast enough. There are a few small crashes from time to time, but I'm really happy with the behaviour of the hull in these conditions, which are not easy."
Vendée Globe: Boris Herrman soon in the top ten?
The group around Boris Herrmann sailed behind the top nine on the morning of 7 December on course for Kerguelen. Around 1400 nautical miles behind Charlie Dalin, the "Malizia - Seaexplorer" skipper was in eleventh place. At the 11 o'clock update, he was only 30 nautical miles behind the group leader Justine Mettraux on "TeamWork - Team Snef". Boris Herrmann had thus halved his deficit from the previous day and could soon break into the top ten.
Meanwhile, skippers in the midfield and further back experienced unpleasant surprises. For Tanguy Le Turquais, for example, St Nicholas had a nasty surprise in store on Friday: three mainsail battens broke on "Lazare". Relieved and smiling again, the husband of "L'Occitane en Provence" skipper Clarisse Crémer was able to report the successful repair.
