Boris Herrmann had predicted it, now it's happened: Yoann Richomme has replaced Charlie Dalin at the head of the Vendée Globe fleet. The "Paprec Arkéa" skipper had already been strongly attacking Charlie Dalin, who has been in the lead since 1 December, over the past few days. Now Yoann Richomme is the new front man in the fleet of 36 soloists remaining after four tasks. This is the 19th time since the start of the race on 10 November that Richomme has been at the top of the rankings in one of the four-hour position updates.
Vendée Globe power play of the best
Unbelievable: after more than 13,500 nautical miles sailed, the two giants of this Vendée Globe were separated by just eight nautical miles on the 37th day of racing. Also almost unbelievable: "Groupe Dubreuil" skipper Sébastien Simon remains stubbornly in the lead even with a broken foil. On the morning of 17 December, Seb Simon was only 40 nautical miles away from the new runner-up Charlie Dalin!
And there is more movement in the top ten. Just as it should be Boris Herrmann in his Sunday blog had wished for. The "Malizia - Seaexplorer" skipper himself was able to work his way up to ninth place early Tuesday morning with three reefs in the mainsail and storm wardrobe! It was the Brit Sam Goodchild who dropped back to tenth place in the battle for the best attack positions in the group of chasers below New Zealand's Campbell Islands at latitude 54° south.
In strong to stormy winds, a power play of the best Vendée Globe contenders unfolds in the southern Pacific. The latest regroupings promise an extremely exciting second half of the race. There were only 14 nautical miles between Nico Lunven ("Holcim-PRB"), Thomas Ruyant ("Vulnerable") and Jérémie Beyou (Charal) in sixth place on the morning of 17 December.
Herrmann catches up like Richomme
Behind them, within 80 nautical miles of each other, the last Vendée Globe winner Yannick Bestaven ("Maître CoQ V"), "Biotherm" skipper Paul Meilhat, Boris Herrmann and Sam Goodchild are struggling to catch up with the sailors in front of them. Boris Herrmann in particular was able to continue his race to catch up. It is hardly inferior to that of Yoann Richomme, while Herrmann's group is also making the most of the powerful winds.
It's a bit like riding a wolf." Boris Herrmann
"Small sails today. Reef 3. You don't see that often," Boris Herrmann reported in a short video on Tuesday morning. Visibly in good spirits, the 43-year-old said: "We're so lucky to be 50 to 100 miles ahead of the worst, where Justine is. It's a bit of a wolf ride, but all good on board. The only place you have to be is in the bunk."
Southern Ocean sailing past and present
Herrmann's cross-reference to the Swiss Justine Mettraux had good reason: the "TeamWork - Team Snef" skipper had her hands full, sailing in winds of around 40 knots. She was recently travelling at speeds of around 22 knots, battling her way eastwards in the storm.
Smiling in his closed cockpit, Boris Herrmann said: "I'm happy in here. Think back to the old days when sailors worked outside in these conditions. That sounds crazy from the perspective of today's comfort. We can do almost everything from inside. I've just done a quick check on deck. In the conditions of the last 24 hours, it's good to check everything through. All good so far. We are reaching average speeds of 22, 23 knots. With over 31 knots of wind, reef three is okay."
For others, however, their dream of completing the Vendée Globe has been shattered. On black 16 December, both "Medallia" skipper Pip Hare and "New Europe" skipper Szabi Weöres made their retirement official with heavy hearts. Around 600 nautical miles separated Pip Hare, who was making slow progress under emergency rigging, from Tasmania and the Australian mainland. Meanwhile, Szabolcs Weöres was approaching Cape Town with rig damage.
The dream of the Vendée Globe
Of the remaining 36 soloists - 31 men and five women - others have only managed to keep their dream of completing a solo circumnavigation alive in the past few days with a great deal of effort. Among them is Antoine Cornic ("Human Immobilier"), who is sailing in 33rd place. He carried out a mainsail repair in the shelter of the remote island of Saint-Paul. A few hundred metres from lichen-covered basalt cliffs, he climbed into the mast to repair the track.
Tired but happy, I kiss the sea." Antoine Cornic
He resumed the race on Monday afternoon. Cornic reported: "It was very hard up there, my body is sore. I'm aching all over, but I'm moving on. We made it through the night under three reefs and J3. It was 40 knots. All right, it wasn't very, very serious... Then this morning I took out a reef and set the J2. It's still 33, 34 knots. The repair is holding. That's very good news for the moment. I'm pretty happy. Tired but happy, I kiss the sea!"
"What helps me not to give up is to tell myself that I'm incredibly lucky to be here!" Violette Dorange
At 23, the youngest sailor in the fleet continues to impress with her consistency, craftsmanship and fighting spirit. She recently managed the seven-hour repair of the grinder column. She said: "There are times when my arms hurt all over, I'm very stiff, but it doesn't matter, everything is fine. There are little difficult moments, but that's nothing compared to the fact that I feel so good on my boat. I feel free, I feel in tune with my boat because I'm starting to understand it better and better. It's a pure joy to be here!"
Ocean change at the Vendée Globe
Violette Dorange is also looking forward to the approaching ocean change: "I am so happy to soon reach the end of this Indian Ocean, which really wasn't easy for our pack because we had low after low. Now it's going to calm down a bit over the next few days and then we'll be heading to the Pacific, I can't wait."
The young Frenchwoman gets her motivation from messages from home: "I have all these little messages from my loved ones. When things aren't going well, I look at them and read their words. And otherwise, it helps me not to give up when I tell myself that I'm incredibly lucky to be here. Plus a big thought for Pip, who had to stop when she hadn't even completed half of her Vendée Globe. When I found out, I was so sad for her! I tell myself that even though there are difficult moments, I would be so unhappy if my Vendée Globe ended like that, from one day to the next."
Violette Dorange was in 25th place on the morning of 17 December and was pleased with her good race management: "Over the last ten days I have managed to stay safe, put the boat through the competition and keep it in good condition. My boat is running well now."
Vendée Globe hardness tests for Violette Dorange
Violette Dorange continued: "I had a few small repairs to do. On Saturday, I repaired my grinder column in seven hours. I'm proud of myself because it was hard. When the going gets tough, I sometimes have to shout or cry a bit to get rid of the pressure. But most of the time I feel safe in my boat. I'm very lucky to be sailing on this boat, which is very, very safe."
