Fans who have been following the wind conditions at Cape Horn for days with the help of the usual weather models were able to learn why the region is one of the most difficult in the world: the forecasts for the conditions for the passage of the last major landmark for Armel Le Cléac'h and Alex Thomson changed almost every six hours. At times it looked as if the leader would have to cross the cape against the wind, then it looked like half wind. The same applies to the pursuer on "Hugo Boss". At first it seemed to be a perfect half to even room-sheet course yesterday, then tonight Thomson completely parked up in the doldrums, only travelling at just under two knots and today is probably even sailing downwind towards the tip of South America. The many small, powerful lows are so unpredictable that both skippers will be glad to have the magic cape behind them. But today in the early afternoon the time had come: Armel Le Cléac'h passed the magic landmark after 47 days and 32 days.
But beyond that it continues to be tricky. Le Cléac'h is expecting a South Atlantic with lots of lulls, occasional headwinds and fast-moving lows. At the moment, it looks as if he could park up for a while after passing through a large lull - but the last few days have shown what such predictions are worth. Alex Thomson should definitely be grateful for such a stumbling block, by now his gap has grown to 735 nautical miles and will continue to grow until tomorrow. That's at least a full two days.
In the field behind, Jérémie Beyou ("Maitre Coq") is still just under 900 nautical miles behind Alex Thomson, but is unlikely to get much closer as he is heading for a high-pressure bridge that is likely to hold him up over the next few days. On the other hand, the Vendée is over for rookie Paul Meilhat, who sailed an excellent race with his "SMA", but had to turn northwards on Sunday due to a cracked hydraulic cylinder on the canting keel. Although the keel is locked in the centre position, the emergency device is not safe enough to pass Cape Horn. Meilhat wants to replace the cylinder somewhere in French Polynesia. His team receives a suitable replacement as a "Christmas present" from Jérémie Beyou's team, as the two Open 60s are sister ships. The team would have had to wait until at least mid-January for a newly manufactured hydraulic system.
Beyou is now sailing through the South Pacific on his own after almost two months of a thrilling duel with Meilhat. He need not fear the pursuers behind him; almost 500 miles separate him from Jean-Pierre Dick's "St. Michel-Virbac", closely followed by Yann Eliès ("Quéguiner Leucémie") and Jean Le Cam ("Finisterre Mer Vent"). All three are sailing into a weak wind zone which, unfortunately for them, seems to be following them. In the field behind them, two skippers are struggling with technical problems over Christmas: Fabrice Amedeo tore part of the mainsail of his "Newrest Matmut", which he has to mend. His compatriot Arnaud Bossier ("La Mie Caline") had to replace defective mast slides and turned northwards out of the strong winds south of Australia.
Stéphane Le Diraison is likely to spend a lonely and somewhat dreary Christmas. After breaking his mast, he has been limping towards Australia for days with an emergency rig and around three knots of speed. At his current speed, he is unlikely to arrive there before 27 December. With him and Paul Meilhat, 10 of the 29 participants are now out of the race, meaning that the Vendée is gradually approaching its "normal" cancellation rate of 40 to 50 percent.
Quietly and without much ado, three sailors sailed an excellent race in solitude. Frenchman Louis Burton sailed his "Bureau Vallée" unperturbed and without any major technical faults to 8th place - a huge success for the 31-year-old, who only took up sailing at the age of 18 and has since gradually fought his way up the ranks via Class 40s. His boat, Jérémie Beyou's ex-"Delta Dore", built in 2006, is not really a fast boat (Farr design), but it is reliable. This is his second Vendée Globe with the boat, and the long optimisation work is now clearly paying off.
Behind him, 62-year-old Hungarian Nandor Fa proves that he is one hell of a tough cookie. Despite knockdowns, technical problems with his keel and the many storms of recent weeks, he keeps his "Spirit of Hungary", which he designed and built himself, on course, even through the worst storms. The ex-Finn sailor gives nothing away and sails a boat that is still really wet and brutally thrashing through the sea. It does not yet have the comfortable, long deckhouses of the competition, nor the almost cosy spraycaps to the aft cockpit that are now almost standard. You have to take your hat off to the performance of the Hungarian.
A few hundred miles behind him is his young ex-co-sailor Conrad Colemann. They both competed in the Barcelona World Race on Fas boats two years ago. Colemann is fighting for every mile with a hopelessly outdated boat built by two Australians, which he only freed from its existence as a charter boat shortly before the race. However, his Open 60 is significantly slower than Nandor Fa's in the fast room sheet conditions.
Behind them begins the large field of participants, for whom being there and arriving is everything. They will spend Christmas south of Australia before starting the New Year in the Pacific.
Andreas Fritsch
Editor Travel
