The pack of Frenchmen trying to wrest the lead from the Englishman quickly closed to almost 50 miles after his starboard foil broke. But with a gap of around 85 nautical miles, "Hugo Boss" skipper Thomson was able to sail the boat fast enough without foils to keep Sébastien Josse ("Edmond de Rothschild") and Armel Le Cléac'h at a distance of 90 miles.
And now this tough battle for the lead could pay off: The field of leading boats is slowly being overtaken by a warm front, bringing with it a light wind. The last chasers, sixth-placed Jérémie Beyou ("Maitre Coc"), Paul Meilhat ("SMA"), Vincent Riou ("PRB") and Morgan Lagravière ("Safran") had already slowed down this morning. Their speed is now only 12 to 15 knots, well below the 20-knot average that the leading trio is still travelling at. However, they too will soon be overtaken by the weak wind channel, probably in the course of the day. However, Alex Thomson is sailing further south than the chasing pack and was around 90 miles ahead of them in the morning. With a bit of luck, he will be able to benefit from the sustained strong wind of over 30 knots for longer.
It is also quite possible that the chasers will then catch the wind of the new low that is already approaching from the west and make up miles on him. But the Brit is planning for the long term. Due to his extremely southerly course, he is gradually approaching the ice limit set by the race organisers and will have to jibe anyway - and then he will be travelling on the other bow with his foil intact and may be able to defend or even extend his lead. However, the Briton wants to take advantage of the light wind that will soon reach him and cut off the destroyed foil in the calmer swell, the remains of which are apparently still sticking out into the water and slowing down the "Hugo Boss". It remains to be seen whether he will turn for this or whether it will be enough just to slow down and sail in a light swell.
Sébastien Josse, who has surged into second place and has already taken 13 miles off Armel Le Cléac'h, said more or less openly in interviews from on board that he thinks Thomson's lead is the result of a breakneck pace. The boats would have to last a very long time and it was completely unnecessary to go faster than 20 knots. The material should rather be loaded with a sense of proportion. It remains to be seen whether it really is the case that Alex Thomson is sailing his "Hugo Boss" at the absolute limit and risking breakage or whether it is simply the faster boat.
Thomson's compatriot Brian Thompson, one of the most successful maxi multihull sailors and fifth in the 2008 Vendée Globe, put the somewhat unusual criticism of a fellow skipper into perspective during a live broadcast yesterday: "The French didn't really have Alex on their radar. Nobody believed he could put in a performance like that." They were a little nervous. It is a moderate outrage for many French people that a Brit has been leading "their" beloved ocean classic since the Equator. Since Thomson's lead, verbal jibes have been made from time to time, whether it's when the Brit is called a "beefsteak rocket", his boat is "only fast in a very narrow range" according to his competitors, or when it is claimed through the grapevine that he is only ahead because he is sailing irresponsibly at breakneck speed.
It will be interesting to see how this "international match" develops ...
Video summary of the 15th race day from Vendée Globe TV
Andreas Fritsch
Editor Travel
