Forgotten the hide and seek with the wind and the squalls of madness of the Doldrums which forced the sailors to be patient in the second week. Once past the equator, the crossing of the South Atlantic turned into a frantic cavalcade on the back of a depression for a good fifteen competitors, allowing these lucky ones to head straight towards the Cape of Good Hope when the usual practice is to bypass the Saint Helena anticyclone.
This descent took place at breakneck speed, for five days without changing sides. Tuesday November 26 in the middle of the day, Sébastien Simon announced: “The wind will be strong but also very gusty, at 30 knots. We will have to move quickly in a sea that will deepen. It’s going to be pretty intense. » And indeed, the next day, the skipper of Dubreuil Group broke the distance traveled record by devouring 615.33 miles (1,139.6 km) in 24 hours. Before he (temporarily?) closed the debates, the record had already fallen five times in the same night to improve on the one established just three days earlier by Yoann Richomme.
Ride on the back of a depression
Those most determined to slide down the slope did not deprive themselves of “bombard”even if it means making life on board almost bearable. “We have strong winds and it’s not easy to sleepsummed up Charlie Dalin in the lead at the sound bar Macif Santé Prévoyance and chased all week by his rivals. The boat goes very fast with peaks of 60 km/h. So, it hits a lot. We will try to find the right compromise between going quickly and not breaking everything. »
All the fighters at the front know this music, always fearing the requiem. For now, false notes are limited. Jérémie Beyou on Charal had to work to resolve a rigging problem. Yannick Bestaven, winner four years ago, was forced to brake for two hours to block a slight leak on his Master CoQ.
Same DIY session for Yoann Richomme, forced to repair his cushioned seat without which navigation on his Paprec Arkéa is compromised. A bigger problem for Justine Mettraux, her front sail having torn again. Switzerland at the helm Teamwork-Team Snef will have to do without until the end. “We will adapt and try to cope with adversity as best we can”put the navigator into perspective. The motto of the Vendée Globe sailor.
Brawl also among the drift boats
“It was hard to live with, but it puts us back into a more normal racing time”could congratulate Yoann Richomme, one of the four musketeers to scrap ahead as they approached the Cape of Good Hope. Alex Thomson’s record in 2016, who raced down the Atlantic in 17 days and 22 hours, still stands, but with only around 48 hours late for the best, anything remains possible for the future.
Behind the first 15 grouped together for a long time, which on Friday evening stretched over 2,000 kilometers, the rest of the fleet in single file was not able to take advantage of the depression with the same intensity. As for the daggerboard boats, the fight, led by the dean Jean Le Cam, was just as severe, but with a much less sustained wind, even difficult to read. Stuck under a cloud on Thursday, November 28, Tanguy Le Turquais, becalmed for several hours, could get annoyed: “Offshore racing is hard, because it takes you a long time to gain a few miles, you put everything in place, but you can lose everything in one night. »
And yet you have to find the resources to start all over again, without ever getting discouraged. Like the Hungarian Szabolcs Weöres. Those in a hurry can launch an attack on the roaring forties, having just crossed the equator this Friday the 29th. The skipper of New Europeforced to repair his sails for two days while stationary in the Canaries, brings up the rear more than 6,000 km from the leaders. Valiant nonetheless.
