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Golding passes Le Cam, Thomson Enjoys “Easiest Doldrums Ever”
Fleet News:
Gabart: “It’s absolutely not over”
Wavre closes on Sansó
Flying maintenance at the back
Top Story:
A second podium finish may be a distant dream for Mike Golding (Gamesa) now, but he has unfinished business in his battle with Jean Le Cam. Golding passed Le Cam, moving into fifth by the narrowest of margins – 0.8 miles – at the 1600hrs UTC ranking. They have been duelling for most of the 70 days of this race after doing so for much of the 2004-05 race, when Le Cam beat Golding into third place.
Their different strategies have taken them to different sides of the South Atlantic, as with all of the middle five boats, the weather has been exceptionally unfortunate for them. Le Cam said it was the worst South Atlantic passage he had ever endured. “I have never seen the South Atlantic Ocean like that,” Le Cam said. “It’s been going on for three days so I’m waiting for the situation to change. I’ve been very unlucky since New Zealand, I’m the World Champion of bad weather conditions. I’m currently in a pinball machine where my boat is the ball.” Golding averaged 9.1 knots in the four hours since the last ranking and Le Cam 7.5 knots after he tacked east away from the Brazilian coast.
If Le Cam is having his worst experience, fourth-placed Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) is having his best.
“I had my easiest doldrums crossing ever yesterday with only 2 big black clouds and a slight slow down,” Thomson wrote on Saturday. “I was lucky that as I was crossing the area the doldrums were moving south and I was quickly into the north easterly trade winds. Feels great to have ticked off the doldrums and now the last hurdle should be the high pressure system before I get into the westerly’s for the final stretch to the finish.
“The weather files I get for as far forward as 10 days and this morning’s route has me 400 miles from the finish after 10 days, its going to be great to see the route finish before the end. the weather files have consistently shown the same route through the high pressure system which gives me some confidence and it does not look too bad. Its still 5 days away so it could all change.”
Thomson’s routing suggests a January 29 finish, which would be consistent with an 80-day finish. He has conceded 26 miles to the leader Francois Gabart (MACIF) so far on Saturday, averaging only 12.6 knots in the four hours since the last ranking. More significantly he has conceded the same number to Third-placed Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec 3), whose average of 15.4 knots was only 0.1 knots less than Gabart. Thomson is still far to the west of the rest and consequently his VMG is the least direct to the finish but he may be the first to pickup the westerly tradewinds that will eventually replace the northeasterly ones.
Fleet News:
At the front, 766 miles ahead of Thomson, Gabart has made only minor gains on Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) – just 1.2 miles in the last four hours – to lead by 141 miles. “I’m slightly ahead of Armel right now, but the weather is going to change and Armel will come back a little, so it’s absolutely not over,” Gabart said. The more experienced Le Cléac’h will be able to draw on the experiences of winning close finishes. “It’s not over until we cross the finish line,” Le Cléac’h said. “I’m still fighting hard, I won the Figaro race by 13 seconds, you know?” The current routing suggests January 26 night-time finish.
Wavre close
Seventh-placed Javier Sansó (Acciona 100% EcoPowered), like Golding, is also involved in a close east-west battle. Dominique Wavre (Mirabaud) closed to within three miles of him after averaging 9.5 knots over the last four hours, almost three more than Sansó. Arnaud Boissières (Akena Verandas) has climbed out of one hole, but just 100 miles from Rio, he may be dropping into another one.
Maintenance at the back
The three at the rear are enjoying far more ideal weather but it is not plain sailing. Tanguy de Lamotte (Initiatives cœur) said his collision with a large branch had left its mark on his rudder. Bertrand de Broc (Your Name Around the World with Projects EDM) is engaged in repairs on his headsails while Alessandro Di Benedetto (Team Plastique) will climb the mast to fix his failing halyards. To be a Vendée skipper you have the patience of Job, the agility of the monkey, the nimble fingers of the seamstress, the insight of a sorcerer, the weather resistance of the buffalo. Versatility is without doubt, the best quality.
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