Yannick Bestaven must be sweating profusely by now, and it's not just because of the rising temperatures: his lead has shrunk from over 430 miles to just 66 this morning. While he got stuck in a wind hole off the coast of Brazil yesterday, Charlie Dalin and his "Apivia" were often able to sail almost three times as fast as Bestaven in the best half-wind conditions.
And this despite the fact that Dalin sails on the port bow, the damaged foil side of his boat. So far, he has never revealed whether the broken and makeshift patched centreboard box is holding up so well that he can still use the foil at least partially. But it almost looks that way, because while Thomas Ruyant, also hampered on the bow by his broken, sawn-off foil, is sailing much more slowly, Dalin is slowly but surely pulling away from him. Presumably "Apivia" is still foiling quite well.
The question for the rest of the race is how well Bestaven can fend off Dalin's battered foiler downwind. On paper, his boat should be significantly faster, but almost the entire route to the equator is sailed on the port bow. And: Bestaven is already sailing downwind in the conditions that extend to the equator, Dalin still has to get out of the edge of the high pressure, and according to weather models he could also get stuck there in the calm zone of the rapidly expanding St Helena High. Then "Maître Coq" could break away again. If Dalin just reaches the north-easterly winds in which Bestaven is sailing, he will be in the same weather system, perhaps the door will slam shut behind him and Thomas Ruyant and the other chasers will get stuck there for the time being.
Boris Herrmann in an interview with NDR
Charlie Dalin still has to keep in mind that he not only has to beat Yannick Bestaven at the finish, but also with a lead of more than 10 hours and 15 minutes - Bestaven still receives a time credit of this amount for participating in the rescue mission for Kevin Escoffier.
Boris Herrmann is now in seventh place in the chasing pack, having overtaken his long-term rival Jean Le Cam yesterday. "Seaexplorer" is travelling at a super speed and has been consistently faster than him, Giancarlo Pedote ("Prysmian Group") and Benjamin Deutreux ("Omia Water Family") for days. As announced before the Cape Horn passage, Herrmann is finally able to really utilise the advantage of his foils. At the 9 o'clock update, he was travelling at almost 20 knots, around four knots faster than Benjamin Dutreux, who is only eleven miles ahead of him. "On paper, I have the fastest boat in the chasing pack here. With a bit of luck with the weather, I can get to the front of the pack," said Herrmann yesterday. Catching up with Damien Seguin and Louis Burton would be much more difficult.
The German was relieved that he was finally sailing in better conditions again: "This is what I've been dreaming of: heat. Medium downwind conditions. No pounding, beating, screeching. No fear of the boat or sails breaking. No problem. We've had conditions like this since the afternoon. This morning I was still sailing at 27 knots, but now I have the conditions I've been dreaming of. From here to the Azores is pleasant and doable. In 12 hours, my clothing changed from two layers to a T-shirt."
As Herrmann revealed on the Vendée Globe lunchtime programme at the weekend, he is still speculating on fifth place. This is where the enormously strong Louis Burton is sailing, he is currently still around 130 miles ahead. Feasible, but the next few days will be complicated: The field is sailing in a patchy wind that is blowing in a changeable, narrow band off the coast of Brazil. Anyone who misses the band by even a few miles is parked. The pursuers see this, sail a little further west and march through. Tricky.
On the Vendée Live programme yesterday, Jean-Piere Dick, who has already competed in the race three times, said that at least the first five boats are still in contention for the win because the weather is so complicated. At the moment, it looks as if the winner will need at least until 29 January.
Andreas Fritsch
Editor Travel
