The scenario that emerged yesterday continued during the night. With slightly more wind than the leaders, Boris Herrmann was able to close the gap further and was only just under 50 nautical miles behind leader Yannick Bestaven and "Maître Coq IV" at one point.
Early in the morning, however, the race to catch up was over. The boats in the lead got a little more wind, one to two knots more than Herrmann, and widened the gap again with a similar difference in boat speed. At 5.00 a.m. UTC, Herrmann was around 64 nautical miles behind Bestaven.
But these distances mean nothing. An easterly wind with ten to 13 knots and a patchy pitch awaits. This could play into Herrmann's hands. On paper, he has the most suitable boat for these conditions.
Charlie Dalin ("Apivia", 2nd place) and Thomas Ruyant ("LinkedOut", 4th place) are both unable to use their port foil after breaking, but they are sailing on this bow. The boats of Yannick Bestaven and Louis Burton ("Bureau Vallée 2", 3rd place) are equipped with second-generation foils, which are significantly smaller than those on Herrmann's "Seaexplorer". Damien Seguin ("Groupe Apicil", 5th place) has no foils at all.
Thomas Ruyant also sees himself in a slightly worse starting position: "There is nothing to compensate for the loss of a foil," he said. "I will have to constantly adjust the pace, find a slightly different way of doing things. But that won't make up the difference when a boat comes on its foil."
Nevertheless, he predicts excitement right to the finish: "It's funny to see all these boats sticking together after two months of racing. It's incredible, crazy. It will be a breathtaking race to the end, many things will happen, we will all arrive on the same day."
Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
