© Alexis Courcoux
A lot has happened over the past few days in the double-handed transatlantic race between Concarneau and Saint Barth, in which a number of Vendée Globe sailors are competing. The most spectacular development has been that the fleet scattered after passing through the gate off La Palma in the Canaries. In short, a low-pressure area without any wind was blocking their route and disturbing the trade winds, which we usually find here. Nine boats chose a radical route due south after passing this gate. They were moving away from the direct route and extending their voyage in the hope of picking up some stronger downwind conditions. The other five made the opposite choice by heading off on a northerly route attempting to make their way westwards remaining closer to the direct route and therefore not having to sail too many extra miles.
Two radically different options
There has been a huge scattering of the fleet (with a third of the boats in the north and the other two thirds in the south). This is based on two opposing ideas, when we see that the boat the furthest south is 600 miles (1100km) away from the most northerly boat. What that means is that the die has been cast with 2000 miles to go to the finish. If the northerly option proves to be the right one, it will be difficult for any of the Southerners to do better than finish in sixth place; on the other hand, if the southern option pays off, it will be a good result for any of the Northerners if they make it into the top ten.
Sailing on the northern route with two days of upwind sailing left, in the lead we find the two times winner of the Vendée Globe Michel Desjoyeaux, alongside the young sailor, Corentin Horeau. The two men were in fact behind the leaders off La Palma (which may well have influenced their choice), but today they are out in front. This leadership is however rather fragile, as they are under threat from three other boats in the north and big names too: Jean Le Cam and Kito de Pavant are ready to pounce - Jean with Gildas Mahé on Interface Concept, Kito with Gwen Gbick on Made in Midi – and Gedimat sailed by Thierry Chabagny and Erwan Tabarly is also chasing after them. They are all sailing close to the wind awaiting a shift to downwind sailing. This group has a lead of around 200 miles in the rankings over those in the south… but this is far from being a guarantee, as the Southerners are sailing along smoothly downwind twice as fast today (Thursday).
So in the south some candidates for the next Vendée Globe are beginning to reap the benefits of their investment. Under spinnaker, they are sailing today at around eleven knots, while the Northerners are barely reaching six knots. Among those in the south, Nicolas Lunven and Eric Péron (Generali) are currently the highest in the rankings. They are ahead of Fabien Delahaye and Yoann Richomme (Skipper Macif, 7th) among others including the fourth big name from the Vendée Globe, Roland Jourdain, who is sailing with Martin Le Pape on the Figaro La Cornouaille. “Bilou” and his co-skipper are currently ninth more than 260 miles from the duo formed by Desjoyeaux/Horeau in terms of distance to the finish. But they are not at the same latitude. Far from it. Michel Desjoyeaux is sailing at 28 degrees north, while Roland Jourdain is 8 degrees further south. One is sailing upwind, the other downwind, one under genoa and the other under spinnaker. One is closer to the finish, but sailing at half the speed of the other… but they are all heading for the sunshine in Saint Barth.
The rankings at 1600hrs CET (1400hrs UTC) on Thursday 17th April
1.Corentin Horeau/Michel Desjoyeaux – Bretagne Crédit Mutuel 2063 miles from the finish
2. Jean Le Cam / Gildas Mahé - Interface Concept – 4.2 miles from the leader
3. Gwenael Gbick / Kito de Pavant - Made in Midi - 7.2 miles from the leader
4. Thierry Chabagny / Erwan Tabarly – Gedimat – 7.4 miles from the leader
5. Mathieu Forbin/Arthur Prat – Guadeloupe Grand Large 1 – 153 miles from the leader
6. Nicolas Lunven / Eric Péron – Generali, 215 miles from the leader
7. Fabien Delahaye / Yoann Richomme - Skipper Macif - 256 miles from the leader
8. Gwenolé Gahinet / Paul Meilhat – Safran Guy Cotten – 257 miles from the leader
9. Roland Jourdain / Martin Le Pape – La Cornouaille – 263 miles from the leader
10. Gérald Véniard / Jeanne Grégoire – Scutum – 271 miles from the leader
11. Alexia Barrier / Laurent Pellecuer - 30 Corsaires - 293 miles from the leader
12. Simon Troel / Ronan Treussart – Entreprendre en Cornouaille – 299 miles from the leader
13. Yannig Livory/Guillaume Farsy – Lorientreprendre – 312 miles from the leader
14. Nicolas Thomas/François Guilbourdin - Guadeloupe Grand Large 2 383 miles from the leader
ABD Gildas Morvan / Charlie Dalin – Cercle Vert
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