Vendée Globe

Third place in this Vendée Globe could still go either way. While yesterday the balance looked to have tipped back in favour of the La Trinité skipper Marc Guillemot on Safran, the contrary winds have slowed him in his severely compromised boat, trying to complete the last of around 1000 miles with no keel and a reefed mainsail.

With 132 miles to in just less than 23 hours (from 0330hrs GMT positions) his average VMG now needs to be closer to 5.8 knots. Yesterday it was 5.3 knots and this morning he had averaged 4.3 but even then his boat speed was down to 3.7 knots.  With no significant changes in the wind strengths and pattern predicted over today, perhaps time is slipping away on Guillemot’s chances of third. 

He has been sailing on waters he knows well, his Open 60 training grounds in effect. At one point he was just 5.5 miles off the coast at Penmarch point.   

Brian Thompson, GBR, (Bahrain Team Pindar) will keep his loose cover on Dee Caffari, GBR (Aviva) on this final beat to the finish line. She is just 24 miles behind him in terms of distance to finish and has been a little quicker, but she still needs to head NE up to follow close to his line and so the theoretical figures are slightly skewed because they are beating and Caffari is closer to the direct course which does not take account of the wind direction. So Thompson still has the upper hand and his biggest worry would be any kind of park up tonight. Yesterday afternoon he was enjoying the challenge of having a race on his hands and will stick to first principles of staying between her and the finish line.

Caffari has been 1 knot quicker.

Arnaud Boissières’ exact position was not computed into the rankings this morning but he is still tracked fine. He has lost some miles and time due to his preference to stay east of the high pressure but he was 115 miles west of the Azores this morning and looking to feel the effects of some stronger SW’lies.

Steve White, GBR, (Toe in the Water) is quickest in the fleet this morning, doing 12.8 knots and is making good time to the west of the high, gaining from his more direct course. He is still 550 miles behind Akena Verandas but looks like he might get a quicker passage north before they reach the influence of this blocking high pressure protecting Biscay which looks unlikely to move for some time. White’s current ambition is to be in for next weekend.

Rich Wilson, USA, (Great American III) is at his steady 10-11 knots, eating up the northwards miles to get across the Equator which is 183 miles ahead of him. He made 260 miles over a productive 24 hours in the trade winds for him.

Raphael Dinelli (Fondation Océan Vital) is 350 miles east of Rio and is consistently between eight and nine knots. Norbert Sedlacek faces the tough challenge of going up his mast when he gets flatter seas as his second headsail halyard has gone and he is presently sailing under mainsail only.

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