Vendée Globe: What the leading Simon fears, extra workout for Boris Herrmann

If we in Germany now speak of "overnight", this no longer applies to the Vendée Globe pacemakers. For the leading group, Sébastien Simon taking the lead on the Point Nemo course was the event of the day. Between the southern latitudes of the "Roaring Forties" and the "Screaming Fifties", the "Groupe Dubreuil" skipper had taken the lead even without his broken starboard foil on Tuesday evening.

Click here for the race tracker and the intermediate results.

His successful sprint meant that he was still just ahead of Charlie Dalin ("Macif Santé Prévoyance") and Yoann Richomme ("Paprec Arkéa") on the morning of 18 December. The two power players fought a duel about 60 nautical miles south of Simon at latitude 56° south that could not have been more intense. At the 7 o'clock position update, Dalin and Richomme were tied after 13,984.1 miles sailed!

Vendée Globe lead for Seb Simon

Both had now reduced their mathematical gap to Sébastien Simon back to two nautical miles and set about catching their compatriot again. However, Sébastien Simon celebrated his lead at first, saying: "It's nice to wake up and realise that you're in the lead, first through Whatsapp messages and then by updating the leaderboard! It's definitely good for morale. It's also good that I can use my foil (editor: the still intact port foil) and therefore my boat 100 per cent. I'm really enjoying it! The sea has calmed down, the conditions have improved and the wind has just died down," said Seb Simon.

But the soloist from Les Sables-d'Olonne knows that his game will be a tough one: "I'm afraid of the moment when the chasers catch up with me, which could be very difficult mentally." He is not referring to Richomme and Dalin, who were almost level at the end of race day 38 anyway, but the chasers in the group around "Vulnerable" skipper Thomas Ruyant, who has now moved up to fourth place, "Holim-PRB" skipper Nico Lunven and Jérémie Beyou ("Charal").

On Wednesday morning, the trio was still just under 600 nautical miles behind the new leader and less than 20 nautical miles apart, but Seb Simon knows that without a starboard foil he is "lame" on a bow that will be in demand again. Seb Simon said: "At the moment there is still an area of high pressure between us. I will try to enjoy the moment. It's incredible to be back at the top of the Vendée Globe and it's fun!"

Today has confirmed that I have my place in this Vendée Globe!" Sébastien Simon

The man who enjoys triathleting in his spare time is currently exceeding the expectations of many observers - as well as his own, saying: "I had come to finish the Vendée Globe, but today I have completely different ambitions! Breaking a foil makes it much more complicated, but I still have hope and want to believe in it completely."

Co-favourite Ruyant advances

For the time being, Simon can continue to dream, as his closest pursuers Ruyant, Lunven and Beyou are being slowed down by the high pressure area in front of them. With a 24-hour average speed of more than 23 knots, Ruyant struggled to make progress, but was already travelling much slower in the lighter winds on Wednesday morning.

Boris Herrmann's 24-hour average had also dropped to just under 19 knots overnight in lighter winds. As a result, the "Malizia - Seaexplorer" skipper lost a few miles in his race to catch up. Six days before Christmas Eve, 893 nautical miles separated him from the new frontman in strong north-north-westerly winds of around 30 knots.

Special shift for Boris Herrmann

In the morning, Boris Herrman also had to complete a two-hour special mission while crossing the international dateline. With the wind becoming lighter, he had to change the entire configuration of his boat: From the storm jib, three reefs, a forward ballast configuration and only half extended foils, he switched to two reefs, the J3 and his large space sheet sail (jib top) as well as fully extended foils. He then stowed all the equipment in the stern again. "That was a great two-hour workout," reported Boris Herrmann with a smile.

A little further back, Clarisse Crémer ("L'Occitane en Provence") and Samantha Davies ("Initiatives-Cœur") in twelfth and thirteenth place were also looking for solutions. The two fellow sufferers, who had missed the latest Southern Ocean train, are sailing below New Zealand in a north-easterly direction and are hoping - now more than 1500 nautical miles behind the leaders - to catch a new fast train.

Pip Hare on course for Australia

Meanwhile, the "Medallia" skipper Pip Hare, who is sailing with emergency rigging after breaking her mast, is fighting her way forward on course for Australia, where she could reach Melbourne in an estimated ten to fourteen days. "Macsf" skipper Isabelle Joschke held a narrow lead over Jean Le Cam ("Tout Commence en Finistère - Armor-Lux") as the 38th day of racing drew to a close in seventeenth place. A little further south, Tanguy Le Turquais ("Lazare") slowed down again in 21st place after a strong chase to catch up. There is a less than pleasant explanation for this: damage to a front bulkhead forced the Frenchman to slow down and unpack the repair kit.

Breathtaking! After more than 13,500 nautical miles, Yoann Richomme and Charlie Dalin duel bow to bow in the Antarctic Exclusion Zone: