Vendée Globe

The Doldrums welcomed Foncia with a large number of small thundery squalls over the past twelve hours, but since this lunchtime, he has been sailing in an area, which is more organised and with larger squalls. Over a zone measuring 250 to 300 miles in width, some thundery squalls can stretch out for between 50 and 75 miles, or a quarter of the whole zone. It is far from simple getting across the ITCZ situated a long way south (between 2S and 3N). Veolia will experience the same system very soon, as the first squalls that affected Foncia are already close, although there is still a way to go to the Doldrums. The trade winds weakened by the distance to the St. Helena high are less favourable for Veolia and Brit-Air than they were over the previous days for the leader. The exit from the ridge of high pressure will continue to be tricky and will last a while longer for Brit-Air.
Further south, Safran and Roxy are crossing an area of thundery activity along the South American coast and their uneven performance is continuing as they encounter each transition zone between these systems.
Aviva, Pindar and Akena are in the process of leaving behind the SW’ly flow, which has enabled them to get away from the southern latitudes very quickly. They will soon be facing the same weather pattern as Roxy and Safran, which will limit their progress.
Toe in the Water is rounding Cape Horn with fairly strong westerly winds forecast over the next 48 hours. After passing the final Ice Gate, Great American III will be back in the disturbed system with fairly good speeds during the night. Further west, Nauticsport Kapsch and Fondation Ocean Vital are still sailing at the same speed as the ridge of high pressure ahead of them, which is stopping them from stepping up the pace.
Sylvain Mondon
Météo-France