This Christmas holiday season would not be the same without a viewing of the classic The Great Escape, and while Michel Desjoyeaux may consider himself presently reprising the Steve McQueen role Roland Jourdain meantime is playing to a different script: determined Robert Redford sticking through thick and thin with McQueen in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
The plots are well known, as the leaders reap the benefit of riding a different weather system which the pursuers can’t stay with, but it is one which was predicted on Sunday by Jean Le Cam.
Michel Desjoyeaux and Roland Jourdain are taking advantage of a different weather system from their rivals to extend their lead. During the night they were averaging 4 to 7 knots more than the next three. In two days Le Cam has lost 150 miles and is now 337 miles from the leader, and the situation is worse still for Vincent Riou (PRB) and Armel Le Cléac'h (Brit Air), who have conceded more than 100 miles overnight and 240 and 300 miles in 48 hours
These gaps are likely to increase still further during the day. Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement), the fastest of the 16 boat fleet this morning was averaging 19.1 knots, some 7 knots faster than Le Cam. And overnight Jourdain – 50 miles to the south of Foncia’s track - has not just lived with Desjoyeaux, but in fact has taken about 10 miles out of the leader, making 439 miles over the last 24h.
In sixth place, Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac 2) must be pleased to have gybed during the night, as this should allow him to take another look at his starboard rudder. Dick is putting a brave face on it, but admits his repaired rudder system requires consistent love and care. He is still content to be in the race, but the Nicois skipper - who won the Barcelona World Race and worked tirelessly to maximize the reliability of his Farr design which was built in
Sam Davies, GBR, has remained much the same distance behind Paprec-Virbac overnight, after having replaced the ‘fuse’ in her rudder yesterday evening after Roxy hit ‘something small but solid’. Brian Thompson, GBR, (Bahrain Team Pindar), Arnaud Boissières (Akena Verandas) and Dee Caffari, GBR, (Aviva) all crossed back into the western hemisphere last night, whilst Steve White, GBR, (Toe in the Water) is relishing some more settled weather conditions, preparing to his two big jobs on board – stabilizing his broken gooseneck, and re-securing his generator.
Jonny Malbon, GBR, (Artemis II) and Rich Wilson, USA, (Great American III) may have felt they were due the respite they expected, but they have been forced to work extremely hard with very inconsistent winds, rapidly changing between 20 and 45 knots.
5000 miles behind the leader, Norbert Sedlacek AUT, (Nauticsport Kapsch) and Raphaël Dinelli (Fondation Océan Vital) are about to cross the longitude of Cape Leeuwin, exactly two weeks after Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia).
