François Gabart or Armel Le Cléac'h? The duel between the leading fleet Benjamin and newcomer on the one side and the experienced runner-up from the last Vendée Globe edition on the other makes for exciting chase scenes on the Atlantic. The two Frenchmen were separated by just 110 nautical miles on Friday afternoon. The remaining 2500 nautical miles to the finish line off Les Sables d'Olonne promise sizzling excitement with current advantages for Gabart, who was able to slightly extend his lead again over the weekend in slightly better north-easterly winds. Will the ever closer Azores high bring a preliminary decision? Preparations for the arrival of the high seas heroes are already underway in the start and finish harbours, as they will arrive a little faster than expected and could feel solid ground under their feet again in just over a week.
"I'm feeling pretty good, especially with regard to the weather forecasts," reported François Gabart from on board, "finally the weather forecasts are all saying the same thing. That's great. I hope not to have any nasty surprises. I'm extremely focussed at the moment. That's why it's sometimes difficult to get in touch with the outside world. I know that this race will be tough right to the end. Armel is not far away. I've delivered a good race so far. I'm happy with that. Nobody can take that away from me. If I were to win now, it would be the icing on the cake."
While Alessandro di Benedetto has only just passed Cape Horn and is following the leaders at a respectful distance of 4,300 nautical miles, the gap between fourth-placed Alex Thomson and Jean-Pierre Dick in third place has melted back to around 200 nautical miles. With an average speed of 8.7 knots, the 38-year-old Brit was recently travelling faster than the Frenchman. Thomson, who once quit his factory job to make a career as a professional sailor, still has hopes of a podium place and theoretically even still has a chance of winning. "My goal is to finish this race, take third place and reach Les Sables d'Olonne in under 80 days." Thomson has already had to abandon the race twice after breaking his mast and equipment. Thomson is also expected to beat the British Vendée Globe record of his compatriot Mike Golding if he can reach the finish line in around two weeks' time.
In the midfield duel between Jean Le Cam and Mike Golding, it was once again the Briton who was able to take a few miles off his rival. With an average speed of just 5.1 knots over 24 hours from Thursday to Friday, Le Cam was the slowest skipper in the field of twelve remaining Open 60 yachts. 500 nautical miles to the east, Golding still managed 10.1 knots over the same period.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
