Unprecedented solo monohull speeds continue to be sustained by the leading five boats on the Vendée Globe as they head towards the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope. Les Sables d’Olonne’s Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil) has shown speeds more worthy of his airline sponsor than a solo round the world yacht race, pushing the 24-hour solo monohull record higher and higher on successive skeds today, reaching a new best ever mark of 614.25 nautical miles over the 24 hours to 1330hrs UTC today.
After a frenetic night Simon, sailing the Verdier designed boat which won The Ocean Race as 11th Hour, had raised the bar to 596.23 miles to 0830hrs this morning and then, in the perfect conditions, he kept upping the ante. And there is every chance the record might keep going up on this low pressure which is proving to be the ‘gift that keeps on giving’ for the elite leading pack. Six boats have now gone over 560 nms in the last 24 hours, Macif Santé Prévoyance, HOLCIM -PRB, VULNERABLE and Charal, the latter next fastest peaking so far at 615,33 miles.
We have lift off
It is almost sure now that the leaders will make it all the way from their entry point on to the low, just north of Rio, to the Cape of Good Hope on one single, super fast gybe.
Simon reported this morning, “The boat is doing really well, there's only one metre of sea, a reasonable wind between 24 and 26 knots of wind. I have two reefs in the mainsail, under FRO, in a relatively safe configuration for the boat. It's an incredible distance, I would never have imagined doing that. In my opinion it's not over because the scenario is improving for us. And since I'm staying in the front group, I'm on this depression all the way to Bonne Espérance instead of dropping off it this evening so I'm going to continue to go at this speed for almost another full day, so there's a chance that the record will be beaten again, I hope by me.” And how right his prediction proved to be.
Rocket ship
“When you have the boat set up right like that she just rips, she loves these conditions, max power, max righting moment she is a rocket ship” remarked Jack Bouttell who was on the winning 11th Hour Racing team, “It is just amazing to think the old record fully crewed was 618 miles on a 100 footer and Seb is doing it on his own. It is great to see the ‘old girl’ being put through her paces and going so well after all the blood, sweat and tears we put into that boat. But when these boats get beyond 22-23kts it feels like the world is going to end at any minute, there are all kinds of noises coming from the rig and noises from the foils, alarms are going off.”
The big question, one which Yoann Richomme (PAPREC ARKÉA)seemed to pose rhetorically one week ago when he set the new mark at 551 miles, is whether the crewed 640 nautical miles record on an IMOCA can be surpassed during this amazing speed session.
Basile Rochut, weather consultant for the race highlighted this morning, "This group of the first six will stay in a very powerful flow - 30 knots - until tomorrow morning. They will therefore be able to continue to push hard".
"The idea is not to go and break records but rather to try to maintain a correct average. In short: it's about trying to have a good rhythm but to hold on to your distance," cautioned Jérémie Beyou (Charal) who injured his knee in the SE’ly trades, "I just have to not fall on it again, we are still on the TGV (French express railway) and it's great. However, the scenery is changing a little. The depression is getting closer. The sky is overcast and the water temperature is dropping quite sharply,” noted Beyou who bundled up, adding a few layers of clothing last night. Beyou like leader Charlie Dalin (MACIF Santé Prévoyance), second placed Thomas Ruyant (VULNERABLE), Simon, Richomme and Nicolas Lunven (Holcim – PRB) have achieved the holy grail of staying on the same depression since its passage off the coast of Brazil. But two options are coming up, take a direct route in a narrow wind corridor to then also deal with the Agulhas Current or dive south to skirt the Arctic Exclusion Zone (AEZ), which seems a bit simpler on paper. “For the moment, I am trying to stay on this port gybe as long as possible. It is the wind that will decide a bit what we are going to do. Everything is subject to what happens with this front. We mustn't get too carried away with a strategy too far in advance," said Jérémie Beyou, who, like the others will cross the Greenwich meridian this evening, his longitude moving through 0 to become East tonight, a nice little mental milestone.
Envious spectators?
For those left behind, there is the realisation that the gap to this lead group is growing exponentially. Germany’s Boris Herrmann (Malizia Seaexplorer) in 11th at 492 miles behind Dalin reflected this morning, “We are trailing along here with this front and we seemed to be pretty much on the edge of it, but therefore the conditions are unstable a bit and between 13 and 20kts of wind, average about 15kts, not easy to be fast all the time. We do what we can. We had a good night, no sail changes, and all is well on board. The distance with the leaders will change dramatically, they will gain a lot. Also I had AIS contact with Clarisse which was nice to have a direct companion, I heard her speaking on the VHF but I could not see her now. I am alone again. It is still sunny and really quite nice conditions. The breeze went up to 27kts for a while and so I put in a reef, but took it out again soon as it was only a short moment. The sea is a little bit short and stubby, no so much to report. The front pack? Amazing, big respect, amazing run they are in a lucky spot now thanks to their own efforts and it is really great to see. I am a bit jealous obviously but the race is still long. Let’s see what happens. I expect the distance to them to nearly double to six or seven hundred miles to the pack. So I hope I get opportunities in the Indian or Pacific Oceans to reduce that distance again otherwise the race would be decided here. But I don’t think it is the end of the day yet.”
Justine Mettraux's Sail Down
And the challenge of Swiss skipper Justine Mettraux, close to Herrmann, is now slightly compromised after her J0 headsail was terminally damaged today, tearing in an incident unrelated to the repairs carried out yesterday. Mettraux was able to bring the sail, halyard and sheets back on board, without any additional damage to the structure or the appendages of her boat TeamWork-Team Snef.
