Vendée Globe title contender Jérémie Beyou has revealed he is racing 'blind' after the satellite system he uses to get weather information broke.

The fifth-placed French sailor was today powering east at more than 20 knots, riding on a fast-moving depression 500 nautical miles south of South Africa and 700nm behind the leading pair of Alex Thomson and Armel Le Cléac'h.

Without the capability to look at what weather systems lie down the track for his Maître CoQ IMOCA 60 yacht, Beyou said he was having to glean whatever he could from safety reports from the Vendée Globe Race Management.

But he is effectively just having to deal with whatever the wind gods throw at him while trying to stay in touch with fourth-placed Paul Meilhat, whose SMA is just two miles ahead.

Thankfully Beyou has plenty of experience of ocean racing without weather information – he is a three-time winner of the Solitaire du Figaro, a solo race where any weather info is banned.

“Right now I'm simply operating on a day to day basis,” the 40-year-old from Morbihan in Brittany said. “I can't really follow what's going on ahead as I'm still lacking weather information due to a broken fleet satellite.
I am getting some information in the safety reports sent out by Race Management and I'm able to download the odd weather file with the Sat C.

Essentially, it's difficult to form a real game plan for more than 24 or 36 hours down the track so I'm making headway by observing the conditions around me and correcting my course accordingly.

It's not great but it reminds of a Solitaire du Figaro, where you're not allowed weather information.

I'm spending a lot of time at the chart table but, needless to say, it's not super efficient because just recently I was expecting 20 knots and ended up in gusts of 30 knots. It's a handicap to say the least.”

The battle for first place took yet another twist today when Armel Le Cléac'h moved ahead of Alex Thomson for the second time in two days.

The pair have been split by just a handful of miles since passing the Cape of Good Hope in record time two days ago.

At the 1400 UTC position report the pair were neck and neck, but Le Cléac'h's Banque Populaire had the tiniest of advantages over Thomson's Hugo Boss.

Dutch skipper Pieter Heerema has broken from the large group of boats languishing in the mid South Atlantic in the clutches of the St Helena High.

The No Way Back skipper is aiming to skirt round the bottom of the high pressure, a move that has already rewarded him with better breeze but uncomfortable conditions for racing.

“I should be more or less into the high pressure, but the wind is surprisingly strong,” the 65-year-old reported today. “It's been around 18 knots and it just went up to 20 knots.

The waves are huge and I've been bashing into them for more than 24 hours. It's not pleasant, but I think in the long term it'll be better to go along the sides of the high instead of the middle of it.”

Initiatives Coeur skipper Tanguy De Lamotte, who turned back to Les Sables d'Olonne with mast damage 10 days into the race, is due to reach the Vendée Globe home port tomorrow, but not before he gets one last thrashing from the elements in his home waters of the Bay of Biscay.
“I'm leapfrogging off the waves in Biscay, while the others are making headway in the Southern Ocean,” he said.
We're heeled right over, slamming through the waves so I will be happy to get to my destination, even though I'll have to resign myself to officially retiring from the race just before my team climbs aboard. I'll be the first to make it back to Les Sables, but without going around the world alas.”

French skipper Armel Le Cléac'h today reclaimed the Vendée Globe pole position from Alex Thomson – only for the British skipper to instantly steal it back.

At the 0800 UTC position update Le Cléac'h moved into first place for the first time since losing the lead to Thomson two weeks ago.

The change in frontrunner came almost three weeks into the solo round the world race as the top two skippers tried to navigate through a tricky patch of light winds on their way to the Southern Ocean's big breeze.

With Thomson gybing north Le Cléac'h chose to continue east, and when the rankings came through the French sailor's Banque Populaire VIII was eight nautical miles ahead.

However, three hours later it was all change again, this time Le Cléac'h opting to head north while Thomson went east.

By 1100 UTC Thomson was back in the driving seat with a 16nm buffer - a spot he has commanded for all but today's three-hour blip since November 12 – but both he and Le Cléac'h were only making 12 knots of speed in similar wind.

Le Cléac'h said the most important thing was not his ranking but that he had caught Thomson up. “It's not easy trying to make headway as we're in a light patch between two lows,” he said. “We're trying to pick our way through in the shifty conditions, but it feels good to have caught up with Alex. I've repositioned myself to the north now because things were stalling and my main focus is staying in some breeze.”

Three hundred miles adrift of the leading pair, third placed Sebastien Josse was today struggling in light winds but speeds will pick up when his Edmond de Rothschild is scooped up by the depression currently being ridden by Paul Meilhat in fourth and Jeremie Beyou in fifth.

“We have a light wind with more high pressure than the others, but it's set to pick up in 24 hours and then we can sail quite fast and straight to Australia,” Josse said. “Three weeks in and my boat's in great shape as we haven't had much bad weather since the start so we've been quick, as shown my Alex's records. It's amazing how fast the boats are but we haven't had the real Vendée Globe yet.”

Nearly 2,000nm behind the leaders the tussle between Jean-Pierre Dick, Thomas Ruyant and Jean Le Cam entered a new phase, the latter losing out after the weather front the trio was hooked onto passed over his yacht Finistère Mer Vent.

The 57-year-old, competing in his fourth Vendée Globe, revealed that he lost further miles when he slept through his alarm.

“Last night I was constantly making sail changes, the wind going from 35 to 15 knots in the blink of an eye,” he said. “I finally settled with two reefs in the main and a storm sail up, watched it for a while longer and then got some shut-eye. Unfortunately, I then slept through my alarm and woke up five hours later in very calm conditions, still under two reefs and storm sail… the whole works!”

While Le Cam must now dive south in search of better breeze, Ruyant and Dick are set to extend their lead as they profit from the leading edge of the low pressure.

Further misery awaits the biggest group of boats from Louis Burton's Bureau Vallée in 11th to Enda O'Coineen's Kilcullen Voyager – Team Ireland in 23rd as another high moves into their path.

The only sailor in that back pack still smiling is Alan Roura from Switzerland – the La Fabrique skipper could soon find himself jumping up the leaderboard if he is able to skirt the bottom of the high pressure.

Morgan Lagravière, forced out of racing two days ago with rudder damage, arrived safely in Cape Town at 0830 UTC on Safran. Vincent Riou, also heading to the South African port, was due to make land late this evening.

Meanwhile the international jury decided to hand Jeremie Beyou a two-hour penalty for accidentally breaking the seal on his engine when he fell on it.

Yesterday evening Enda O'Coineen reached the first major milestone in the Vendee Globe by crossing the equator. This is the first of many milestones in the solo non-stop round the world sailing race considered the Everest of the Seas. The boat is in fantastic shape and as you'll see from the video Enda is in 'exceptional' form as he settles into this 100 day solo challenge.

“I'm doing very well – I've got a very stable weather pattern. I'm looking forward to crossing the Equator and getting back in the fleet. I went very far east when I should have followed the old rule of staying west. I thought I could get back but it didn't work.

“But I'm on great form, my daughter delivered my granddaughter, my first granddaughter, yesterday, so that's very good news. I'm not ready to be a parent yet let alone a grandparent so I shudder at the thought! Maybe this will make me a better parent when I get back. I've got very tolerant and understanding children. It was a difficult pregnancy for Roisin, she was long overdue and it was quite a reasonable concern.

“I think the emotion is more amplified. You think an awful lot more and it's more intense because of the isolation. You think through life and all the details 24/7, and that's combined with the physical and mental activities. It is more moving – on land you've lots of other things going on so the brain doesn't have the same ability to focus. The emotional part is much deeper.

“Whether it's driving me harder or not I don't know - in fact, I'm being more careful to tell you the truth. Every time you get up and walk on deck you're putting yourself at risk. These boats are machines and you've got to keep them turning over. Fortunately the boat is in good shape and so am I. My shoulder is still a bit sore, it's taken me two weeks to recover, but I'm in better shape now than when I started. I'm really looking forward to getting into the Southern Ocean, just for a day! The idea of being there for a month.... the cold will get into you. It's easy to say that sitting here on the Equator in warm conditions.

“15 days in and like everyone else you wonder how I ever talked myself into this one, but it's a long road ahead and there are some very high moments and some very low moments. At the moment it's good, it's all very solid, just trotting along at about 10 knots at an angle of about 80 degrees. The wind is freeing slightly so that's great.

“We'll have a little bottle of champagne and a big fat cigar [at the Equator], and I've made special arrangements to have an appointment arranged with King Neptune himself. He's going to come and visit and I'm going to ask him to bless my new granddaughter. We'll have a chat and share some secrets, and I'm sure King Neptune will look after us all. I think that's very important, so I'm looking forward to that appointment. It's the equivalent to the appointment at the Pearly Gates at Heaven – or Hell! - but I think it's going to be Heaven this time. I'll probably cross the Equator later on this afternoon or tonight. It might be more like tonight. We're making 10 knots so it will be some time later today.

“I wouldn't say my spirits are high but I'm in good solid form. You have to manage yourself emotionally through the ups and downs but with this extreme sailing in lovely warm tradewinds I'm happy on my boat. I can't complain!”

Vendee Globe leader Alex Thomson came within a whisker of setting a new world record for the furthest distance sailed solo in 24 hours before a collision in the South Atlantic put paid to his chances. Data revealed today from Vendee Globe HQ shows that Thomson, the sole Briton in the singlehanded round the world race, had sailed 535.34 nautical miles when the starboard foil of Hugo Boss was ripped off by a submerged object yesterday.

The distance sailed by Thomson is actually greater than that set by reigning Vendee Globe champion and current record holder François Gabart, who notched up 534.48 nautical miles in the 2012/13 edition of the race. However the official rules of the record state it must be broken by one whole mile in order to be recognised - and Thomson's distance falls short of that by just 259 metres.

The narrow miss is symbolic of Thomson's luck over the past 24 hours. He was pulling away at the head of the 29-strong fleet when Hugo Boss was wounded in the collision at 1035 UTC.

Where a foil once exited the boat only a stump now remains, something Thomson will have to deal with for the remainder of the race. The ailment has already started to have an effect on the rankings. Thomson has been forced to take his foot off the gas and his healthy 125nm lead has since been whittled down to under 90 nm. Josse, who has moved into second, and Le Cleac'h, in third, have been trying without success to hunt down Thomson since he snatched the lead eight days ago, but they have now started to move in tentatively.

* Bertrand de Broc forced to retire

Following on from the collision that his boat experienced early in the race off Portugal, and after sailing to the island of Fernando de Noronha and diving twice to inspect what was happening under his hull, Bertrand de Broc, skipper of the monohull MACSF, after consulting with Marc Guillemot his Team Manager, has taken the decision this evening to retire from the race.

Bertrand de Broc decided yesterday evening to head for the island of Fernando de Noronha to inspect the hull of his boat. After consulting his architect, Bertrand has been forced to retire from his fourth Vendee Globe. A large part of the hull has in fact been damaged, making it impossible to continue in the race. The deafening noise that is coming from the damaged hull is very handicapping for the skipper, even if he was wearing noise-cancelling headphones. This was a very difficult decision for the successful skipper and his team, who have done their utmost to enable him to continue this solo race around the world. Tackling the Southern Ocean in these conditions, Bertrand knew would be extremely risky. It was therefore the wise thing to do, even if he is very disappointed.

British race leader Alex Thomson was forced to slow his 60ft foiling yacht today after it hit a submerged object in the South Atlantic in the Vendee Globe Race. One of the boat's two foils, which help lift it out of the water to give it more speed, was damaged in the collision with the unidentified object floating beneath the surface.

Thomson was sailing at 24 knots in 22 knots of wind at the head of the Vendee Globe fleet, a position he has occupied for a week, at 0935 UTC when he heard a bang and his boat Hugo Boss changed direction. Thomson, who had been down below trying to sleep at the time, went up on deck and turned the boat downwind so he could inspect it. He found the starboard foil to be damaged and also noticed scrapes down the starboard side of the hull. Until the collision Thomson had been on course to set a new 24-hour solo distance world record, and in the 24 hours prior to the 1100 UTC position update had notched up 531 miles.

Thomson has now retracted the damaged foil and slowed his boat. He said there does not appear to be any structural damage but he will further inspect the boat when the weather conditions allow. “Having had a pretty quick night where the boat was sailing high averages and the boat was super uncomfortable I had retracted the foil 30 per cent early this morning and was sailing the boat pretty conservatively in a building breeze,” Thomson said this evening. “At 09.35 UTC this morning I was down below trying to sleep and the boat was sailing in 22kts of wind with a J2 and one reef in the main. I was averaging 24kts of boat speed when I heard an almighty bang and the boat stopped and turned to starboard by about 20 degrees. I quickly went on deck, eased the main sheet and realised I must have hit something. I eased the boat down wind and went to take a look and the starboard foil has been damaged and there are some scrapes on the starboard side of the boat. Right now I have taken the foot completely off the throttle and changed sails and retracted the foil and will sail on in these conditions until the wind and sea state moderate and I can inspect the damage and assess. I didn't see anything in the water but it felt like the boat wrapped itself around something and it has caused some pretty significant damage to my foil. I was instructed to carry out an internal inspection of the boat and there does not appear to be any structural damage to the hull that I can see. For now I am going to continue and assess when I get the chance.”

Ross Daniel, technical director of Alex Thomson Racing, added: “We spend years pre-Vendee Globe trying to mitigate risk but hitting something in the water is something you have absolutely no control over – it's very frustrating. We always knew that there was a risk that a foil could hit something so we took it into account with the design of the boat. It can sail with or without the foil, so it's not the end of the world, but obviously one tack will now be faster than the other. Alex is going to have to change the way he sails depending on what tack he is on. At the moment there is just the stump of the foil left so Alex will remove that once the weather allows and he will be back up to speed again. Luckily for us the majority of port sailing in this race is down to Cape Town and thereafter there's a lot of starboard. If we were mid-fleet it would be a different story but we've got a nice gap at the front.”

It might be fast and furious at the front but life in the peloton is about to get worse. A second centre to the notorious St Helena High is developing right in the path of the group led by Yann Eliès, who now lies some 624nm adrift of Thomson in eighth. The door that welcomed the race leaders through is about to slam shut, trapping the chasing pack in light winds and rendering them powerless to stop the gap growing further.

Meanwhile veteran skipper Bertrand de Broc this afternoon took shelter in the lee of Fernando de Noronha, a South Atlantic island chain off the coast of Brazil, to inspect damage caused when he hit an object off the coast of Portugal. De Broc dived underneath MACSF and was able to see some damage but couldn't establish what it was before he was forced to board his drifting boat. It is thought he will anchor to allow him to dive for longer.

Meanwhile Dutch competitor Pieter Hereema was relishing the 'champagne sailing' on offer in the south easterly trade winds. Despite being in 24th place, the 65-year-old was high in spirits as he forged a path south on No Way Back. “It's fine, beautiful weather – beautiful sailing conditions,” he said. “It's a shame it's all upwind but that's what it is in this part when you want to go south. I'm enjoying it very much and I hope in a few days to be able to crack the sheets and have a little bit of an easier angle to sail. This part here is not what the Vendee Globe is famous for – this is champagne sailing. The race is not only about big waves, freezing cold and 45 knots of wind. It's a long race and there are many more weeks to come that will be more difficult and more uncomfortable.”

Britain's Alex Thomson lead the eighth edition of the Vendee Globe solo non stop around the world race into the Southern Hemisphere when he crossed the Equator at 1905hrs UTC this Tuesday evening. The solo skipper of Hugo Boss sets a new reference time for the passage from Les Sables d'Olonne of 9 days 7 hours and 3 minutes. This betters the 2004 passage time of Jean Le Cam by 1 day and four hours.

For the seven front runners, the Doldrums are in their wake. But further back, there are races within the race. They still have the Doldrums to deal with and the fleet is likely to stretch out over the coming days.

Enda O Coineen (Kilcullen Voyager Team Ireland) in 27th place: "Upfront Alex Thomson seems to be pulling clear, I would love him to win. Back here, we're happily moving along on a more leisurely fashion. I think my detour around the Canaries did not help - together with sail problems. Also being away from the fleet, one possible explanation is that I have been sailing at slightly wider angles. The next big decision is to whether to take a course straight through the Islands (Cape Verde) or gybe and go more west where the wind angles and breeze could be a bit better - though since I will hit the island durning the day, the scenic route may be more interesting."

British sailor Alex Thomson this morning has strengthened his first position as he continues to lead in the Vendée Globe 2016. As Ireland woke up this morning, Alex found himself 65 Nautical Miles ahead of the next competitor Armel l’Cleac’h, racing on Banque Populaire VIII. The Vendée Globe is a non-stop unassisted, race around the world. Ireland's Enda O'Coineen lies in 27th place.

48 hours after the race started on Sunday 6th November Alex expressed his frustrations with his decision to Gybe early on in the race and head inland. This cost Alex many miles placing him in 9th place.

The fleet of Oceanmasters then began to head towards the Island of Madeira. Alex made the decision to keep with the pack and leave Madeira to the East. He channelled his frustration foregoing sleep and focusing on speed. By Friday night Alex claimed 7th place and the tracker showed HUGO BOSS achieving incredible speeds as he hunted down the leaders of the pack.

HUGO BOSS continued to pick up pace as Alex steered her towards the Canary Islands. Throughout Saturday Alex Thomson climbed through the fleet of IMOCA 60’s. During the afternoon Alex made the decision to pass through the islands leaving Cape Verde to the West. A manoeuvre which placed him almost 100 miles ahead of the leaders, allowing Alex to take pole position in the Vendée Globe.
The doldrums is renowned as a difficult part of the race as the North and South trade winds of the Atlantic meet and the winds decrease. Alex was fortunate to keep HUGO BOSS moving through this difficult part of the course.

With a full moon lighting the deck last night Alex explains ‘’ It's been a fantastic day today. I think that is the easiest Doldrums crossing I have ever had. Normally the rich get richer at this stage. As I get further south I'll get more wind and the wind will get more left which means I can ease the sails and go faster. That's the normal trend and looking at the forecast that should happen."

Alex is approaching the Equator on the 9th day of the race which could see Alex as the first non-French sailor to reach the Equator in the Vendée Globe. On top of this he is set to break the current record to the Equator which was set by Jean Le Cam in 2004 when he reached the Equator in 10 days 11 hours.

Once crossing the Equator Alex will heads for the next mark in the race the point where HUGO BOSS will turn left as he rounds the most southern tip of Africa the Cape of Good Hope.

Vendee Globe Day Four: Ireland's Enda O'Coineen lies 26th in the 29–boat Vendde fleet as the leaders are approaching Madeira, which the leaders are passing this morning, the middle ground, direct course continued to work for the pacemaker. But the Banque Populaire solo skipper has seen his lead shrink slightly as he tries to hold his distance ahead of a chasing pack which are pushing each other hard in the light to moderate breezes. For Le Cleac'h it is key to get south of Madeira with a margin intact, knowing that first into the NE Trade winds will accelerate away. The Azores high pressure, and the fickle, unsettled winds it produces has proven hard to escape. The leading group of eight are within 30 miles of each other, the lateral spread at 120 miles between Le Cleac'h and British skipper Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) in eighth.

The pace to Madeira remains slightly quicker than that of the 2012-13 race when Francois Gabart was at approximately the same point in some four days, compared to the three days of Le Cleac'h who was Gabart's principal rival all the way round the globe in that race. Once into the trade winds the average speeds should be higher - 450 mile days commonplace for the foilers - and so the Equator should certainly take less than ten days. If the weather models prove true that should mean one new record on this race from the outset.

In the lighter airs - 8-12kts - it seems local choices, finding lanes of extra breeze has been more important than boat speed. Gains and losses have been irrespective of whether the IMOCA has hydrofoil daggerboards or not. Sebastien Josse's investment to the west has paid slightly and his Edmond de Rothschild was up to second place. Paul Meilhat on SMA improved overnight from seventh to second, then third. A gybe to the east dropped Jean-Pierre Dick to fourth. Thomson has held eighth through the day but has been as quick as the leaders, gained a little westing back and with it six miles on Le Cleac'h.

#VendéeGlobe - Enda O’Coineen’s homegrown entry is not the only Irish connection in the latest Vendée Globe, as the Irish Examiner reports.

In fact, three other Irishmen have significant mangerial involvement in the round-the-world yachting challenge, which began on Sunday 6 November as the fleet set off from Les Sables.

Apart from Cork’s Stewart Hosford, chief executive of the Alex Thomson Racing/Hugo Boss team, there’s also Marcus Hutchinson from Kinsale, who is team director for French contingent SMA.

Meanwhile, Dubliner (by way of Japan) Tony O’Connor is general manager of the Japanese team Spirit of Yukoh, sailing the reconditioned Hugo Boss act that finished third in the last Vendée Globe in 2013.

The Paul Meilhat-skippered SMA is currently the best of these boats in third position, with Hugo Boss in seventh, Spirit of Yukoh 19th and O’Coineen’s Kilcullen Voyager in 26th following a premature start on Sunday.

Enda O'Coineen was a premature starter in today's dramatic Vendee Globe Race start. The Irishman showed how eager he was to get underway on the 26,000 nautical mile voyage when he was one of three in the 29–boat fleet that were called back after crossing the line a few seconds early off Les Sables d'Olonne. The three boats had to go back and cross the line again.

O'Coineen is seeking to boldly go where no Irishman has gone before on the first day of an anticipated 100–day journey around the world.

With more than 300,000 spectators lined up along the harbour entrance channel in Les Sables d'Olonne and more than a thousand boats out on the water around the start area, the 29 competitors in the 2016-2017 Vendée Globe set sail at 1202hrs UTC in exceptional weather conditions: sunshine, a 14-knot NNE'ly with slight to choppy seas. HRH Prince Albert II of Monaco signalled the start after greeting all the sailors as they cast off.

From the gun, Kito de Pavant (Bastide Otio), Paul Meilhat (SMA), Tanguy de Lamotte (Initiatives Cœur) and Vincent Riou (PRB) were out in front with the rest grouped together behind them. Bertrand de Broc (MACSF) and Enda O'Coineen (Kilcullen Voyager – Team Ireland) were called back after crossing the line a few seconds early. They had to go back and cross the line again.

The eighth Vendée Globe: off to a good start. Photo: Vincent Curutchet / DPPI / Vendée Globe

The 8th Vendée Globe is underway. The race around the world has begun.