Thomas Ruyant passed Cape Leeuwin in eighth place at 1809hrs UTC
yesterday. Along with Louis Burton he is one of the fastest and most
isolated skippers in the fleet. Scattered across the Indian Ocean,
thirteen other skippers are battling it out. Certain are struggling with
low pressure systems, others with technical problems. And indeed some
are dealing with both at the same time.
In the Pacific the four
frontrunners are racing two by two, Cléac'h/Thomson and Meilhat/Beyou,
while the three chasing boats (Dick, Eliès, Le Cam) are seeking to avoid
the worst of the storm off Tasmania. But today, we look more closely at
the fifteen others struggling in the Indian Ocean at a time when the
leaders are back up to speed and Yann Eliès appears no longer to be hove
to. All fifteen are getting a pummelling in the Indian Ocean.
Thomas Ruyant (Le Souffle du Nord pour
le Projet Imagine) has been one of the main beneficiaries over the past
24 hours. He was the eighth sailor to cross the longitude of the
legendary Cape Leeuwin yesterday evening and having sailed 427 miles in
24 hours, was one of the fastest in the fleet. He has regained 300 miles
from Yann Eliès. Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée) is not much slower having
clocked up 393 miles and is doing well in ninth place. He is currently
sailing at 18 knots, 900 miles SW of Australia.
Around 350 miles behind Louis, there is a
battle raging for tenth place between Stéphane Le Diraison and Nandor
Fa. And it is very tight with 425 miles sailed in 24 hours by Compagnie
du Lit-Boulogne Billancourt and 410 miles by Spirit of Hungary. This is
the same distance as that sailed by the current leader, Armel Le Cléac’h
(410 miles). Stéphane is currently 70 miles ahead of Nandor, who is
surprised to be doing so well, as he told us yesterday. This pair is
sailing around a thousand miles from the longitude of Cape Leeuwin.
Amedeo and O’Coineen have to climb their masts
It is also very tight between the New
Zealander, Conrad Colman and French sailor, Arnaud Boissières. Around
350 miles NE of the Kerguelens, the skippers of La Mie Câline and
Foresight Natural Energy are only two miles apart in terms of distance
to the finish and ten miles apart out on the water. They are not exactly
side by side but almost. Advancing at 15 knots at the moment, they are
watching how a low-pressure system is developing, as it may block their
route south of Australia later this week.
A
little further south and 200 miles back, Fabrice Amedeo, 14th, has not
managed to catch them in spite of a good southerly option. It is true
that the skipper of Newrest-Matmut has a halyard that is stuck and he is
going to have to climb his mast some time or other, preferably in
calmer conditions. That is also the case for Irish sailor, Enda
O'Coineen (Kilcullen Voyager-Team Ireland, 15th) who is also waiting for
the right momnt to try to resolve a similar problem. "Technical
problems? Everyone has them. We have to get the toolkit out every day,”
Eric Bellion explained this morning. The skipper of CommeUnSeulHomme
left the international gang comprised of Irishman, Enda O’Coineen, Swiss
sailor, Alan Roura (La Fabrique) and American Rich Wilson (Great
American IV) to head towards the NE. The reason for this radical choice?
To avoid the worst of the low-pressure system expected tomorrow to the
west of the Kerguelens.
Heerema: “I’ll be getting 40 knots but not for so long”
Around
600 miles further back, it’s safety first for Dutchman, Pieter Heerema.
"I’m heading towards the NE. I’ll be getting 40 knot winds, but I hope
they won’t last as long," explained Pieter in a short message. No Way
Back is in nineteenth place and one of the most isolated boats in the
fleet: he is sailing 600 miles behind Eric Bellion and 600 miles ahead
of Catalan sailor, Didac Costa (One Planet One Ocean), twentieth. Pieter
is not going to be disturbed by his neighbours, with the nearest boats
more than 600 miles away.
At the rear of the fleet, 750 miles SE
of the Cape of Good Hope, yesterday’s summery condition are over now for
Sébastien Destremau (technoFirst-faceOcean) and Romain Attanasio
(Famille Mary-Etamine du Lys). No more jokes about being outside sunning
themselves or wearing shorts in the cockpit while filming. Romain has
got nine miles ahead of Sébastien and confirmed that the Indian is not
being friendly to them either. "I have thirty knots of wind and am
surfing along at more than 25 knots. I have to go and reduce the sail
now." 6700 miles behind Armel Le Cléac'h and Alex Thomson, the fight is
on. It is not because you are an ocean apart that you are not allowed to
enjoy yourself a bit.”
(www.vendeeglobe.org)
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