For weeks, "Apivia" skipper Charlie Dalin led the Vendée Globe fleet before foil damage threw him off his rhythm for a short time and forced him to make repairs. Since then, the yacht designer from Normandy has long since got back on track and is chasing leader Yannick Bestaven on "Maître Coq IV" in second place overall. Overnight, however, Dalin's gap grew by 55 nautical miles to 115 - around 212 kilometres separated Bestaven and Dalin at 9 a.m. German time on the 4th of Advent. Dalin mused that the current conditions south of New Zealand around the 55th parallel south near the ice edge are anything but normal. This and the entire course of the race so far have contributed to the fact that the leading boats are travelling much slower compared to the 2016/17 Vendée Globe edition instead of faster - as hoped and expected with the modern foiling boats. In fact, they are sailing a full six days behind the time of Armel Le Cléac'h, who circumnavigated the world in 2016/17 in a record time of 74 days, 3 hours, 35 minutes and 46 seconds.
"If I look at Armel's course four years ago, he's way ahead of us. So we're not travelling fast, are we? I'd prefer it to be a bit more 'sporty' and a little less leisurely." But the infamous "Wild Fifties" are not showing their teeth. On Saturday, Dalin sailed eastwards under blue skies in 15 degree temperatures and sunshine. The jibe slalom along the ice edge - up into the lighter winds to the north and back down to the ice edge - is tiring. There are hardly any strategic options at the moment. "Yes, I'm knitting a bit. With pure New Zealand wool," Dalin joked about his zigzag course in the tame, sometimes almost a little boring conditions, while the futuristic America's Cup prototypes also lacked the wind to hold their Christmas race in the area around 2000 kilometres away off Auckland. The Prada Christmas Race could not be sailed any further after an unfinished unequal duel between the dominant Kiwis and the wingless Brits in winds that were too light.
Louis Burton still has some work to do on his drone flying skills, but the Frenchman did manage to capture some aerial images of Boris Herrmann on his "Seaexplorer - Yacht Club de Monaco" in the Pacific
Meanwhile, Boris Herrmann is leading the Vendée Globe peloton in the South Pacific behind the top trio. The "Seaexplorer - Yacht Club de Monaco" skipper enjoyed better winds than the boats in front, but now has to contend with similar conditions. He was around 200 nautical miles behind third-placed Thomas Ruyant on Sunday morning. Herrmann has a lead of around 50 nautical miles on Jean Le Cam, who is in fifth place behind him.
Almost unnoticed in the meantime, Jérémie Beyou rolled up the field from behind. The pre-start favourite, who had to turn back to the start and finish port of Les Sables-d'Olonne after breaking, had sailed nine (!) days behind the fleet that had been left behind after successful repairs. In the meantime, he has already overtaken six boats, most recently the Japanese "DMG Mori Global One" skipper Kojiro Shiraishi, who was also severely tested early in the race with his mainsail damage. Almost 250 nautical miles behind Manuel Cousin on "Groupe Sétin" in 20th place, "Charal" skipper Beyou stepped on the gas in the Indian Ocean on Sunday morning. His boat speed of 21 knots: outstanding in his current environment! The furious Frenchman still has a lot to gain in this race, even if he can hardly catch up with the boats in front. His chance of achieving the fastest overall time remains intact even without the prospect of victory.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
