Vendée Globe

The biggest news of the day is that Joé Seeten (Arcelor Dunkerque) has passed Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto). Since 1900 GMT yesterday evening the Dunkirk skipper has gained the advantage over the British skipper. Joé has stretched out his lead to 38.5 miles at the 1500 GMT ranking, but there is still everything to play for as the weather situation may well provide a very close finish. The other news of the day is the passage of the equator tonight for Anne Liardet (Roxy). By midday tomorrow there should only be two competitors left in the Southern hemisphere, backrunner Karen Leibovici unfortunately left with just 10 litres of diesel, 4314.2 miles from the finish.

What a fight! Joé Seeten (Arcelor Dunkerque) and Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto) are currently battling it out off the Iberian coast. Joé has the advantage for now since leaving the downwind expressway from the Azores high to position himself closer to the direct course. His 7.9 miles lead yesterday evening has extended to 38.5 miles at 1500 GMT today. There’s still everything to play for though as Joé has decided to cut the corner and flirt with the high pressure centre with slightly lighter winds than Conrad Humphreys. For Joé it’s a return to the rhumb line and, though he has made direct gains along the course, the wind is set to fill in to the East for the British skipper who may well get back in contact with Joé. All will depend on the speed with which Joé manages to shift over in front of Conrad. If Joé is stalled by capricious winds, Conrad may be able to get back in contact. For now though the Dunkirk skipper is sailing on flat waters while Conrad is getting shaken up quite severely off the coast of Portugal. At present he has 20/25 knots of wind with built-up Northerly seas which clearly isn’t the best scenario for a boat which has already covered 22000 miles! Both skippers now have less than 1000 miles to the finish. If all goes according to plan Benoît Parnaudeau (Max Havelaar/Best Western) should escape the Doldrums today, Anne Liardet (Roxy) set for a fairly active passage of the zone tomorrow. She will leave the Southern hemisphere late tonight, just two sailors left behind her weaving their way up the Brazilian coast. Raphaël Dinelli (Akena Vérandas) and Karen Leibovici (Benefic) have really been suffering, still subject to lines of squalls which lie virtually perpendicular to the Brazilian coast. Karen continues to be hit by some violent storms and squally gusts of wind, her only escape via the North. Both of them are currently situated SE of Salvador de Bahia, around 1000 miles from the equator. Unfortunately Karen has had to run her engine for two hours to produce some onboard energy. Given the fact that her ‘hydro generator’ and her solar panels are only effective at certain times she has had to delve into her low fuel reserves. Worryingly she has just 10 litres of diesel left today which translates as five one-hour sessions running her motor to charge up the batteries. KJ

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