Vendée Globe

Opinion, it would seem, is divided. Or at least the swing-o-meter is shifting rapidly, when it comes to the debate of east versus south among the front-runners.

Current leader Sébastien Josse (BT) is currently straight-lining it east, Yann Elies in third (Generali) has turned hard left, as has Mike Golding (GBR), 25 miles to the south and around 100 miles to the west.

Second placed Loick Peyron (Gitana Eighty), by contrast, looks to have had an activity-packed afternoon, but is now sailing on a heading of 144 degrees, and Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec Virbac 2) in seventh is also on that course. That the breeze is better in the south is clear — Yann Elies and Jean Pierre Dick are the furthest south of the front group, and both have picked up speed to top 15-knot averages in the last hour.
Slightly north of the leaders, Vincent Riou and Armel Le Cleac’h are neck and neck, the pair just a couple miles apart in fourth and fifth. Above them all, Jean Le Cam’s easterly gamble on VM Matériaux seems to be hurting — he has now dropped a place to Golding, who moves up to eighth. Threatening them all is Marc Guillemot, who has crept around the outside to fall neatly to the south, and Michel Desjoyeaux, who has claimed two scalps today and is now breathing down the neck of Dominque Wavre on Temenos (SUI), just 20 miles in front.
British skippers Sam Davies (Roxy, 14th) and Dee Caffari (Aviva, 15th) seem to be suffering the effects of the high pressure zone with average boat speeds dropping to sub-10 knots. Behind them, Bernard Stamm (SUI) is gradually gaining on Jonny Malbon (Artemis, GBR) in 18th place, but Malbon is in turn advancing on Steve White (Toe in the Water, GBR), the hunters taking 30 and 40 miles respectively out of their prey over the past 24 hours.
The next position change looks set to be at the rear of the fleet, where Jean-Baptiste Dejeanty (Groupe Maisonneuve) has closed to just 10 miles from Derek Hatfield (CAN).


 

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