Vendée Globe: The Southern Ocean is calling - front men on the verge of jumping off
Tatjana Pokorny
· 29.11.2024
The first had almost reached the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope on the morning of 29 November. The last had just sailed across the equator the previous evening. The leading "Macif Santé Prévoyance" skipper Charlie Dalin had already mastered 6326 nautical miles by early Friday morning, more than a quarter of the Vendée Globe course.
Vendée Globe: "Formidable Four" close together
Szabolcs Weöres, on the other hand, brought up the rear this morning after his initial knock-down, the repairs and the race to catch up, having travelled 3,045 nautical miles so far. After the tough tests for the Hungarian, that was less than the 3,282 nautical miles that separated him from Charlie Dalin on this 19th day at sea.
As far as the field of this tenth Vendée Globe fleet was spread out on Friday morning, the four-way battle between Dalin, "Vulnerable" skipper Thomas Ruyant, Yoann Richomme on "Paprec Arkéa" and 24-hour record-breaking sailor Sebastien Simon ("Groupe Dubreuil") was just as close: The "formidable four" were separated by just 36 nautical miles!
Boris Herrmann sailed towards the 35th parallel south in eleventh place, 783 nautical miles behind Charlie Dalin. His gap to Samantha Davies ("Initiatives-Cœur"), who was ahead of him, had grown again overnight to around 100 nautical miles, while he and the other chasers in the leading group made their way through the unstable winds.
"Quarter King" of the 10th Vendée Globe
Meanwhile, the top four have recently been travelling on a north-easterly course. The leading skippers want to position themselves in the best possible way for the transition to the next low. Charlie Dalin continues to set the tone in the leading group, although Ruyant, Richomme and Simon are not letting up.
This morning, Dalin was listed first in one of the position reports, which are updated every four hours, for the 51st time (!) since the start on 10 November. This makes the 40-year-old second in the 9th Vendée Globe 2020/2021 "King of the first quarter" of this edition.
You have to keep an eye on your goals." Sebastien Simon
When he and the others will point their bow south was one of the exciting questions in the early morning of 29 November. At the same time, an intact boat remains the most important prerequisite for a successful solo around the world for all participants. 24-hour record holder Seb Simon said: "Now that everyone is doing their own race, the hard law of mechanical sport naturally applies. The goal is to make it all the way."
Seb Simon formulated his goal as follows: "I want to arrive at Cape Horn with a boat in good condition. Then we'll see what we can do on the way across the Atlantic, but not before! It's going to be a very, very long month of racing. You have to keep your goals in mind. Apart from that, everything is fine. I hope it continues like this."
Sebastien Simon recently wondered whether his nearest rivals might have to put up with minor damage that would affect them: "I suspect that the first three had real technical problems because I found them really slow for once. And knowing them, I know they're capable of a lot more. So I wouldn't be surprised if they really had problems. Otherwise it wouldn't have been possible to catch up with them so much."
The risks of wear and tear on the Vendée Globe
According to Sebastien Simon, "there are inevitably some wear points, ropes and the anchor points for the sails on deck, which are a little damaged". On the condition of his own boat, Sebastien Simon said: "On the whole, it's fine. I try to do my laps regularly, almost every day. And I think this boat is really well prepared. That's what allows us to push the machine a little bit."
I have to move my boat forward the way I feel it."
Simon, who set a fabulous record of 615.33 nautical miles over 24 hours, also spoke about the temptations of record racing and the rush of the fast pace at the front of the Vendée Globe fleet: "The hardest thing is not to get carried away by the first three, to keep my own pace, not to look too much at the others, to take my own trajectory, to keep checking the equipment."
The "Groupe Dubreuil" skipper also referred to comments made by the other skippers: "Yoann (ed.: Richomme) said that you can't keep up this pace for two months and that it wasn't very sensible. What am I supposed to think? It makes me laugh that Yoann is the one who says that, because he's still the most brutal of us and has been since Le Figaro. That's what he's known for!"
According to Sebastien Simon, he himself is "not too scared of the machine": "In truth, they are boats that have been well tested. I have confidence in my machine. I know when I can push and when I can't. For example, I wasn't one of those who pushed so hard when passing Cape Finisterre because the sea was rough."
Ideal record conditions: little swell, constant wind
As an electronics expert and Imoca sailor with his own Vendée Globe plans for the eleventh edition in 2028/2029, Andreas Baden from Kiel advises Sebastien Simon and has meticulously prepared his participation with him. A 90-page electronics manual for Seb Simon on board the "Groupe Dubreuil" was also written by Andreas Baden.
The graduate agar and environmental scientist explains why the record conditions of the past few days have not put as much strain on the boats as they might have done under different conditions. Andreas Baden says: "The titles in the media sometimes sound more dramatic than it actually seems, at least to me in direct communication and knowing the conditions on board. To be more specific: the boats at the top had little swell and constant wind."
Andreas Baden draws parallels with his own experience: "We had similar conditions during our last 48-hour training session (editor's note: before the Vendée Globe start), when we "only" tracked just over 160 miles in the first eight hours. Those were very relaxed hours, during which one person slept a bit, another read something and the third worked on board with the instrument settings and data."
Stable flight conditions, no major impacts
Andreas Baden's message: "With so few waves, you get stable flying conditions - without major impacts and braking. If the technique works, the sailing itself is relaxed. Now, of course, there are two additional factors: Seb is competing and has to stay at the front. That means we have to invest time and energy in good routing and optimum settings."
The other way round: "It's much more exhausting when you have wind fluctuations and have to change sails or when there are more waves and the boat is constantly crashing into the waves and may slow down sharply. Or when there is major maintenance work or repairs on board. For example, Justine had damage to the large J0 headsail and a fishing net around the keel. Dealing with this is much more energy-intensive for the sailors."
"It's self-explanatory", says Andreas Baden, "but it's logical that you should nevertheless be very attentive at boat speed and keep an eye on the numbers and loads on board." As a result, you might have "fewer power naps" and "naturally feel more exhausted". According to Baden, the situation at the top is also mentally demanding. The hard rule out there in the South Atlantic: "If you slip out of the front, you will quickly lose many miles to the top."
Vendée Globe Imocas with a strong structure
No question for Andreas Baden: "In terms of the load on the material, it's better to have a constant load than constant load peaks when you slow down by ten to twenty knots in a wave. So if the boat is well adjusted and balanced, it's fine." In addition, "comparing the boats is also very interesting". Andreas Baden says: "The favourite boats in the fleet and Seb's boat are 0.5 to one tonne heavier than the average. Which may have been invested in the structure."
Andreas Baden also explains what other advantages "his" skipper Sebastien Simon has on his side with the fast "Groupe Debreuil": "Seb's boat has already been extensively tested by the previous owner 11th Hour Racing up to and including participation in the Ocean Race and its limits have been explored. And we have worked intensively on developing the boat even further and making it reliable."
