The Crozet Islands in the south of the leading group of the Vendée Globe have been passed. At the start of the fifth week at sea, "Apivia" skipper Charlie Dalin defended his lead over second-placed Thomas Ruyant ("LinkedOut"), but had to make up some ground. Ruyant made up some ground despite his defensive tactics and reduced his deficit even with a broken wing. Third-placed Louis Burton, on the other hand, dropped back at a slower pace. Boris Herrmann also lost miles overnight, got the front spin later, but is now sailing in more consistent conditions again. Current mileage information was not possible on Monday morning, as the tracker update was delayed for the first time, and even at 10 a.m. German time only had the positions from 5 a.m. to offer.
Charlie Dalin had recently reached average speeds of 18 to 21 knots. His chaser Ruyant summarised the current sailing feeling at the end of the 29th day at sea as follows: "It's very sporty this morning. You have to be able to live with these speeds." Boris Herrmann reported that his night had been "safe, but not fast" because other boats had got the gybe cleaner than - a little later - the "Seaexplorer - Yacht Club de Monaco", which had to deal with unusually shifty conditions.
Shown in fast motion: Boris Herrmann's work in the cockpit
While almost all the boats in the front group are sailing on a more northerly course in order to benefit from the better conditions and avoid the centre of the storm with winds of over 40 knots, it is Louis Burton ("Bureau Vallée 2") who has once again sailed south towards the Kerguelen Islands and seems to be seeking his fortune there, while the current low is slowly moving eastwards like a north-south band.
Thomas Ruyant explains: "This low-pressure area has been building up along the front for several days. I try to find the safest possible route and adapt my speed to the direction I want to go. If possible, I want to avoid the high waves and strong winds in its centre. It's not easy to find the best route, but the conditions will improve from tomorrow. We all have roughly the same idea: to move north of the centre of this system. The sea will be pretty rough. I will look for the best possible place to protect my boat and myself."
Hamburg solo sailor Jörg Riechers, who himself recently announced a Vendée Globe campaign for 2024, regularly comments on the ongoing race on social media. In his latest post, he writes under the headline "When the Going Gets tough, the Tough get Going":
"Billy Ocean's eighties hit is the scenario of the moment in the fourth week of the Vendée Globe. It creates nice surprises and reveals new players in the game. Who in their right mind would have thought that Louis Buton would be in third place - nobody! Another nice surprise is the fact that the old boats can still be in the game if they are sailed with a host mentality. It's a pleasure to watch Jean Le Cam, Benjamin Dutreux and Damien Seguin keeping up with the group of chasers. None of the three have a big budget, but they sail a hell of a race."
In the midfield, Romain Attanasio ("Pure - Best Western Hotels and Resorts") and Clarisse Crémer finally enjoyed better conditions. In winds of 15 to 20 knots, the skippers in twelfth and thirteenth place were able to complete almost 390 nautical miles. The quartet, which crossed the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope on Sunday and was passed to the south by the passing "Sodebo Ultim 3" in its Jules Verne record attempt, continues to struggle through light winds, although the ice limit set by the race organisers at around 44 degrees south has already been reached. This applies to the Swiss Alan Roura ("La Fabrique") and the French Armel Tripon ("L'Occitane en Provence"), Stéphane Le Diraison ("Time for Oceans") and Arnaud Boissières ("La Mie Câline - Artisans Artipôle"). "The fact that we have so many problems with this high pressure area is unbelievable," sighed Stéphane Le Diraison in a radio interview. At the same time, the quartet has an area of low pressure moving southwards from Port Elizabeth. Le Diraison said: "I don't like it at all: the forecasts include well over 50 knots of wind and waves more than six metres high."
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
