Vendee Globe Ocean Sailing, Armel the Jackal Takes the Lead

They call him The Jackal because of his relentless hunting exploits in French sailing races and Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) is showing why in this Vendée Globe. After eating away at the lead Francois Gabart (Macif) took from him on December 11, Le Cléac’h had the final bite as they crossed the East Australia gate.

It may seem illogical or that it does not matter with more than half the globe still to sail, but try telling that to either man. They have been almost match-racing each other around the world and they and their teams will care a lot.

For Le Cléac’h, the senior of the duo by six years and in his second Vendée after finishing second in the last edition in 2008-09, it is about reasserting his authority.

The pattern of their approaches so far continued at this gate with Gabart ceding the lead as he took a longer, more northerly route. The two had indentical speeds – 17.3 knots - through the northern hemisphere night but their day but Gabart will have to sail more miles now as they turn south of New Zealand (800 miles east) and into the Pacific. At the 0400hrs ranking Gabart had sailed 14,248.56 miles compared to Le Cléac’h’s 13,868.16 miles. Nearly always Le Cléac’h has looked for the more direct route. Gabart is banking on picking up the forecast wind shift from west to north first. So, expect more match-racing today.