Offshore Racing

Now in the trade winds, the foiling Open 60 can show off their qualities: In flat water and moderate winds of around 20 knots, they are chasing southwards at 30 knots. ----- Sam Goodchild GBR ('Vulnerable') is back in the lead, Sébastien Simon FRA ('Groupe Dubreuil') follows 42 miles behind, and Charlie Dalin FRA ('Macif') has moved up to third place, 58 miles back. Jean Le Cam FRA ('Tout commence en Finistère') dropped back to 11th place, with Justine Mettraux SUI ('Teamwork/Team SNEF') right behind in 12th place, 122 miles behind. Alan Roura SUI ('Hublot') and Oliver Heer SUI ('Tut gut') follow in 34th and 36th, respectively. ----- The race tracker and the reports.

François Gabart FRA and his team have been on stand-by in Lorient since Monday to wait for a suitable weather window for their round-the-world record attempt. The record is 40 days and 23 hours, set in 2017 by Francis Joyon FRA and his trimaran 'IDEC'. ----- The report.

Jean Le Cam FRA (tout commence en Finistère) back in the lead! Yesterday, Jean Le Cam FRA was the first to reach the trade winds and accelerate: This morning he is ahead by 48 miles. The next hurdle now is to find the best passage through the Doldrums. South of the Cape Verde Islands, Le Cam is heading west. The first chasing group with all the favorites has also reached the trade wind zone this morning. Among them is Justine Mettraux SUI ('Teamwork/Team Snef'), 117 miles behind in 11th place. Boris Herrmann GER ('Malizia') follows in 23rd place, 211 miles behind. Alan Roura SUI ('Hublot') has lost a lot (320 miles behind) and is now 31st. Oliver Heer SUI ('tut gut') follows in 36th place. ----- The race tracker and the news.

Another change on top yesterday: in the lead is Sam Goodchild GBR ('Vulnerable'), one of the first in the western group to turn south and continues to benefit from good winds - still - as today, he will reach the flat transition zone to the trade winds. Sébastien Simon FRA follows in second place 38 miles behind, and Thomas Ruyant FRA ('Vulnerable') is already 70 miles behind in third place. Yesterday's leader Jean Le Cam FRA ranked 4th with a 96 miles backlog, currently in the doldrums on the extreme east of the course, is not far from the trade winds. Alan Roura SUI ('Hublot') has dropped back to 8th place, Justine Mettraux SUI ('Teamwork Team Snef') has improved to 14th place, 166 miles behind. Among the day's losers was Boris Herrmann GER ('Malizia'), who dropped back to 30th place, 266 miles off the leader. Directly behind him in 31st place is Oliver Heer SUI ('tut gut'). ----- The race tracker and the reports.

A race in a class of its own! The first week of racing at the Vendée already exceeded all expectations: Regular lead changes, record speeds, a compact fleet in which even the non-foilers kept up, inconsistent winds with many options for strategic attacks ! This morning Jean Le Cam FRA (Tout commence en Finistère) was still in the lead with his conventional Open 60. In the meantime, he has also reached the flat transition zone to the trade winds in the far east. Also sailing to the east of the fleet, Alan Roura SUI (Hublot) has moved up to second place, just 13 miles behind Le Cam! The former leaders, on the other hand, are sailing in the far west in fresh northerly winds, but are not making any progress towards the equator and are far behind in the classification. Two-time Paralympic gold medallist Damien Séguin FRA (Groupe Apicil) has moved up to 9th place (58 miles behind), Clarisse Cremer FRA (Occitane) is the best ranked woman in 10th place, 76 miles behind. The 23-year-old Violette Dorange FRA (Devenir) has moved up to 15th place, ahead of Boris Herrmann GER (Malizia - 18th place). The winners of the day also include Oliver Heer SUI (Tut gut), who has moved up to 20th place 169 miles behind, two miles ahead of Justine Mettraux SUI (Teamwork Team Snef) in 21st place. There are likely to be numerous changes of position again today. Who will reach the trade winds first ? Louis Burton FRA (Bureau Vallée), who was sailing in the top group in the west, reported structural damage with cracks in the deck, it is questionable whether he will be able to continue the race - the report. The race tracker and the reports.

As expected, there was an upheaval in the classification yesterday when the doldrums zone was reached: ----- Jean Le Cam FRA (Tout commence en Finistère) was able to get around the leading group in the doldrums in the east along the coast of Morocco and is also the only one sailing at a speed of more than 10 knots this morning. Gian-Carlo Pedote ITA ('Prysmian') is in 2nd place, 7 miles behind, Benjamin Ferré FRA ('Monnoyeur') is in 3rd, 25 miles behind. Alan Roura SUI ('Hublot') has made a huge leap to 4th place, 29 miles behind. Samantha Davis GBR ('Initiatives Coeur') is now the best classified woman in 6th place. Justine Mettraux SUI ('Teamwork/Team Snef') has dropped back to 17th place, 77 miles behind. Oliver Heer SUI (tut gut) was able to reduce his deficit to 156 miles and is now 31st. Jean Le Cam FRA is the only one trying his luck in the south. It remains to be seen who will be the first to reach the trade winds. The weather conditions are still very unusual. ----- The race tracker and the reports.

Maxime Sorel FRA was the first to retire from the Vendeés Globe yesterday: He injured his ankle and could barely walk. He also damaged his rig, and repairing the halyard swivel in the masthead was beyond his capabilities. The report.

After passing the Canary Islands, the fleet has reached a flat transition zone and the leaders have moved closer together. ----- This morning, Sam Goodchild GBR led 17 miles ahead of Nicolas Lunven FRA ('Holcim-PRB'). Yoann Richomme FRA ('Paprec-Arkea') is now in 3rd place, 43 miles behind, while Justine Mettraux SUI (Teamwork/Team SNEF), who overtook Boris Herrmann GER (Malizia, Rang 9), 9th place, yesterday, is also in the leading group 57 miles behind. ----- The race tracker and the reports. Instead of the usual trade winds, a larger, flat transition zone awaits today....the cards are being reshuffled!

The fresh aft winds made for a fast race yesterday again. ----- Nicolas Lunven FRA ('Holcim-PRB') even set a new 24-hour single-handed record with 546 miles, moving to 6th place. This morning the fleet is about to pass the Canary Islands, for once in the north where the wind forecast is better: The northerly winds should hold out until the trade wind zone. The leaders are still close together: Yoann Richomme FRA ('Paprec-Arkea)' leads this morning by 2 miles from Charlie Dalin FRA ('maci'f). Sam Goodchild GBR ('Vulnerable') is now 6 miles behind in 3rd place. The chasing pack moved a little closer: Boris Herrmann GER ('Malizia') in 8th place is now 45 miles behind, Justine Mettraux SUI ('Teamwork/Groupe SNEF') follows in 10th place 57 miles back. Alan Roura SUI ('Hublot') is now 26th, Oliver Heer follows in 34th place. ----- The Race-Tracker and the Reports.

In the meantime, the leaders have passed Gibraltar in fresh aft winds. While there are stronger winds out in the Atlantic, the IMOCAs sailing close to the coast are benefiting from flat water. ----- The leaders are still close together: This morning Yoann Richomme FRA ('Paprec-Arkea') has taken the lead, followed 6 miles behind by Charlie Dalin FRA ('macif'). The lead is likely to change again in the day: Nicolas Lunven FRA ('PRB-Holcim') has sought his luck far to the west, has moved up from 26th to 7th place and is still travelling 5kn faster than the competition. The winners of the past 24 hours also include Boris Herrmann GER ('malizia'), now in 8th place, 67 miles behind, and Justine Mettraux SUI ('Teamwork/Groupe SNEF'), who has reduced her deficit by 30 miles and is now 11th, 85 miles behind. Alan Roura SUI ('Hublot') follows in 26th place, 186 miles behind, Oliver Heer SUI ('tut gut') is in 35th place, 235 miles behind. ----- The race tracker and the reports.

As expected, the fleet quickly crossed the Bay of Biscay with the freshening aft winds and passed Cape Finisterre on the north-western tip of Spain during the night. With winds now up to 25 knots, the foilers have accelerated: ----- Impressive the favorite Charlie Dalin FRA ('macif'), who, after a moderate start, has moved into the lead and is now steadily extending his advance with speeds around 25 knots. Sam Goodchild GBR ('Vulnerable') is now 27 miles behind in second place, with Sébastien Simon FRA ('Groupe Dubreuil') a further 2 miles behind. The well-starting Justine Mettraux SUI ('Teamwork/Groupe Snef') was the first to launch an attack towards the west. With good chances: on the approach to the Canary Islands, the winds will die down close to land and turn to the south, while the fresh northerly winds should persist out in the Atlantic. For the time being, however, the Swiss has lost some ground and is in 19th place, 104 miles behind. Boris Herrmann GER ('Malizia') follows in 26th place, 115 miles behind. Alan Roura SUI ('Hublot') and Oliver Heer SUI ('tut gut') follow in 36th and 37th place. ----- The race tracker and the reports.

The start of the 10th Vendée Globe took place yesterday in light winds in front of 350,000 spectators. Light aft winds kept the fleet close together. This morning - halfway across the Bay of Biscay - the winds picked up enough for the foilers to take off and accelerate. ----- This morning UTC, Sébastien Simon FRA ('Groupe Dubreuil') is leading with a 2-mile advance over Charlie Dalin FRA ('macif'). The favorite Dalin moved up to 2nd place tonight after a slow start. Justine Mettraux SUI follows in 3rd place, 4 miles behind. Oliver Heer SUI ('Tut gut') also got off to an excellent start, keeping up with the leading trio for the first few hours of the race and now dropping back to 22nd place, 22 miles behind. ----- The freshening aft winds will make for a fast race, and the fleet will pass Cape Finisterre on the north-west tip of Spain as early as midday today. ----- The race tracker and the reports.

The start of the Vendée Globe takes place today in Les Sables d'Olonne, the live broadcast has already begun (see above): the 40 participants leave the quays every 5 minutes and are towed through the canal into the sea. This is followed by the live broadcast on the water. The light wind forecast should ensure an unspectacular start. The offshore north-easterly winds will blow lightly at 13h, but will then freshen up after the start of the race and should quickly carry the fleet into the trade winds - as always, the race (including wind forecasts) can be followed from 13h by race tracker. The event website with the latest news.

The final preparations for the Vendée Globe are ending in Les Sables d'Olonne. Yesterday, the 40 skippers met for the final briefing: in addition to the latest weather reports, the ice limit in the southern seas was also announced, which may shift during the race depending on the presence of drift ice - the report. The race starts tomorrow at 13h, and whether the expected 500,000 spectators will turn up remains to be seen: The weather forecasts predict light winds (7-10kn) and rain. We will be broadcasting the start live, and numerous major TV stations will also be there: TF1 + 2 in France, ARD/ZDF in Germany and TSR in Switzerland.

Alan Roura SUI ('Hublot'), who has a competitive Open 60 with foils (the former ‘Hugo Boss’), will be participating for the third time. In the interview he provides information about the latest preparations.