It was another tough night, especially for leader Charlie Dalin, who was overrun for the second time with his "Apivia" by a front that brought more than 40 knots of wind. "The wind is a bit weaker after the storm, but I need a bit of time to recover from the strain. It was a very tiring 24 hours. It's getting better now, but this episode has left its mark. It will take me a while to recover from it," says Dalin.
Boris Herrmann live from aboard
"Before the start, I was a bit worried that I wouldn't get enough sleep. I come from the Figaro class, where you only get a minimum amount of sleep. Fortunately, I found a way to get enough rest. I have a rhythm. I tend to neglect myself a bit to make the boat go fast. But I feel like I've discovered a pattern to keep it stable and fast at the same time."
Nevertheless, Thomas Ruyant and Louis Burton were able to make up miles on the leader, who was travelling very slowly last night in the storm. Ruyant's "LinkedOut" is now 200 nautical miles behind, Louis Burton's "Bureau Vallée 2" is still 300.
Boris Herrmann also appeared more relaxed yesterday afternoon on the Vendée Globe Live programme and seemed to be in good spirits. He reported:
"My mood is better today, the night went well. I had a 44-knot gust with the jib top up and had to jump out because the boat started to heave uncontrollably. It's funny to compare this here in the Southern Ocean with our training in Lorient. There we sail two or three days on 90 to 94 per cent of our polar data over 24 hours, here I'm struggling to reach 80 per cent."
In two days, the German will then try to repair his damaged J2 sail, the absence of which means a performance hole in his sailing wardrobe. The two sails above and below it are so much smaller and larger respectively that he is either clearly overpowered or underpowered. "I'm looking forward to the repair, it's always nice to get a job done. It's a boost for morale. I had a few days when I was a bit down, but I'm fine now."
Herrmann is well placed in the five-man chasing pack, which is sailing behind the three leaders Charlie Dalin, Thomas Ruyant and Louis Burton.
Armel Le Tripon has also been putting in a remarkable performance for days now, sailing his "L'Occitane" behind the field after a defect shortly after the start and now in 14th place. His radical Open 60 with scow bug has been ploughing through the field for days like a knife through hot butter, making the competition look really old. Today he says that if things continue like this, he hopes to catch up with the second chasing group behind Isabelle Joschke in five or six days. Impressive proof that the new and radical Sam Manuard design is really fast. "It's still a long way to Les Sables. Let's see what else is possible!" he said today during the live broadcast of the Vendée.
The peloton is now slowly setting its sights on Cape Leeuwin, which is just under 1000 miles away.
Andreas Fritsch
Editor Travel
