Superyacht News

It is, ironically, for two of the Vendée Globe’s most experienced and toughest skippers, Jean Le Cam and Mike Golding, both in their early 50’s, that the Bay of Biscay is set to deliver a sting in the tail for their finishing miles into Les Sables d’Olonne, one final riposte from the weather gods for a duel which has been ongoing since 12th-13th December and more especially since early in their climb back up the South Atlantic. Winds averaging 40kts with gusts to 50kts are expected on their final night.

Offshore, along the coast of Brasil, to the west of Cape Verde, the Canary Islands, between Madeira and the Azores the skippers sail in the winds, along the edge of high pressure. There is another is low north of Spain. "That's the Vendée Globe," said Bertrand De Broc (Votre Nom Autour du Monde avec EDM).

It is an anthology of fickle conditions for the nine competitors still racing. Their arrival dates in Les Sables d'Olonne range between the 4th and 18th February.

Three down with nine to go. So François Gabart (MACIF), Armel Le Cléac'h(Banque Populaire), François Gabart (MACIF) and Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) may have written the opening lines of the epilogue of the seventh Vendée Globe, but there remains nine pretenders to yet end the tale. Today, the plotline revolves around a tired, lonely, Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec 3)moored keel-less to a buoy for three days with too much time to think and not enough food or fuel. He is waiting for a weather window so that he can begin his 291 miles journey back to Les Sables d'Olonne. So near yet so far.

The warmth of the welcome and the passion for the Vendée Globe was immediately obvious to everyone who was in Les Sables d’Olonne last Sunday to witness the historic finishes of winner François Gabart and second placed Armel Le Cléac’h, and indeed to a huge global audience who used every different type of media to share the incredible experience.

Alex Thomson, Hugo Boss, third place in the 2012-2013 Vendée Globe

Alex Thomson crossed the Vendée Globe finish line at 07 hours 25 minutes 43 seconds (GMT) after 80 days 19 hours 23 minutes 43 seconds at sea. He finishes 2 days 18 hours and 7 minutes behind François Gabart.

His final race time is 80 days 19 hours 25 minutes 43 seconds. His average speed around the course was 12.6 knots and he actually covered 28, 022 miles at the average speed of 14.4 knots. Note: the race’s theoretical distance was 24,393.41 miles.

British solo sailor Alex Thomson is expected to finish the Vendée Globe, the non stop around the world race, at around 0700hrs UTC (0800hrs local time France) this morning.

Thomson should finish in third place, setting a new solo non stop record for a British skipper, breaking Mike Golding's mark by nearly eight days. He will become only the third British sailor ever to finish on the podium of the famous Vendée Globe after Ellen

"It's a perfect way to end the race as the night was falling. I hope the lights were nice for the public. I'm glad I could sail through the channel and directly to the pontoons, without having to wait for the favourable tide.

The weather was rough last night, and there was a lot of traffic. I had to zigzag between cargo ships and I had to be very careful.

"The entire race is something very intense and once you arrive in Les Sables d'Olonne, the transition is a unique moment. I've given 100% for two months and a half and when it stops all of a sudden, it feels quite strange.

My initial goal was to do my best, but MACIF and I didn't think about winning, we weren't that ambitious. We wanted to have a great race that was it. But when I passed Armel in the Indian Ocean, I knew Jean-Pierre was behind and Vincent was out of the race and I started thinking maybe I could do it.

Fleet News

Today, Sunday, January 27, 2013, the world of sailing and yacht racing is preparing for a historic moment. For the first time, two men solo, nonstop and without assistance, will sail around the world in less than 80 days. The legendary duel between François Gabart (MACIF) and Armel Le Cléac'h(Banque Populaire) which has raged unabated since the 10th November will finally be concluded.

Sunday 26th January, François Gabart (MACIF) Vendée Globe is expected to cross the finish line between 10AM and 1PM, 2 to 5 hours before Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire). The tide will allow the boats to enter the canal to Port Olona, Les Sables d'Olonne after 2PM.

Flashed over 15 and 16 knots this last hour, François Gabart (MACIF) and Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire) have not finished accelerate, as the wind will freshen. The last few miles that lie ahead will soon put an end to this duel global intensity unprecedented. While Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec 3) is still wondering about the possibilities to continue, Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) is about to double. Behind, Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel) and Mike Golding (Gamesa) returned that night in the northern hemisphere.

François Gabart (MACIF) in his epistle last night to the race HQ explained that his journey through the centre of the Azores High was wrapped in a beautiful rainbow. The young pretender and race leader has elected to sail around the edge of the high, which should enable him to reach the northern ridge as quickly as possible and gather momentum once again

This is the final hurdle before the tempestuous Bay of Biscay and the final strait into the race finish at Les Sables d'Olonne. The current ETA sees the first two arriving late Saturday night, early Sunday morning.

This is no longer a Royal Way, but rather to llyl Imperial Highway, which continues its fantastic ride to Les Sables d'Olonne.

Benefiting today from severe depression, the leader will leave all his pursuers to several hours or even several days! Overwhelming domination plunging his pursuers in the sense of utter helplessness, especially in the western group yet rich in very good specialists Virtual Regatta, which must now resolve to lower the flag.

Everyone is focused on the variation of the differences between François Gabart and Armel Le Cléac'h. The two leaders eventually get used to the distances sometimes less than ten miles between the two competitors. At the same time, one hundred miles may seem a world. But nearly twenty knots, such as the arrival of les Sables d'Olonne can provide the conditions, it is less than six hours apart.

It happens. Feared by some, expected by others, crossing the ridge that extends into the southwest of the Azores will, gradually slow the two leaders of the Vendée Globe. South Atlantic, between progress and galleys chaotic material, it is far from these tactical considerations. The key is to stay the course.