SAILING: Alex Thomson resumed the chase on Armel Le Cléac’h, the current leader in the Vendée Globe …
Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) resumed the chase on Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire)! Throughout the night again the Welshman ate into the lead of the Breton, Armel Le Cléac’h and is currently the fastest in the fleet. The match continues between the two skippers, leading the Vendée Globe for a while now. This 50th day also marks the arrival of a capricious weather for the two leaders of the race. For its part, Beyou advance towards Cape Horn he should cross round it on Tuesday.
At the end of the 50th Vendée Globe race day since leaving Les Sables d’Olonne, the glorious uncertainty of sport is racing head-up: Alex Thomson ( Hugo Boss ) has closed half the gap behind Armel Le Cléac’h ( Banque Populaire ) to return 350 miles this afternoon. Simply put, it is the equivalent in time of a sea day for Alex Thomson, as he went to Cape Horn with two days behind Armel Le Cléac’h. This gives a good idea of the fragility of discrepancies and illustrates the purpose of the leader when he repeated that “nothing is decided”. Breton supporters are reassured by rightly points out that after all it has almost the same margin over runner than a week ago. Welsh fans prefer to zoom in on the last 48 hours that were very favorable.
What is certain is that both sides of the Falklands (Le Cléac’h 130 miles in the North East of the archipelago / Thomson 230 miles in the Southwest) there is match between the two great leaders of the race. Especially as the coming weather situation is (very) complex. If today and tomorrow gaps are likely to make the yo-yo – with Le Cléac’h in northern depression and Thomson in the south of the same phenomenon – the days seem very complicated because there is very little wind in front of their bows in the ascent of the South Atlantic. There is not much either along the coast of South America and be sure to look for in the east … but not too much as it must also respect the Antarctic Exclusion Zone.
Beyou ( Maître Coq ), he has yet to ask that kind of question. He drove towards Cape Horn that will double tomorrow at midday with little over two days late on Alex Thomson and four on Armel Le Cléach, but still a relatively comfortable lead over Jean-Pierre Dick ( Saint-Michel -Virbac ). If it goes very quickly this morning – 22 knots tips – he still 840 miles behind Maître CoQ. Jean-Pierre Dick has also taken the margin on Yann Elies ( Quéguiner-Leukemia Hope ) and Jean Le Cam ( Finistère Sea Wind ) which are now about 250 miles in her wake. From 7th to 9th, so good for Louis Burton ( La Mie Caline ), which continued its remarkable run at 15 knots in a North flows ensconced along the ZEA; then for the Hungarian Nandor Fa ( Spirit of Hungary , 8th) in a Southwest regime. The New Zealander Conrad Colman ( Foresight Natural Energy ), he should not drag on the road to stay as much as possible before the big expected storm south of New Zealand, but it is on track to be it indeed the case.
