Saturday, November 22, 2008

More than half the Vendée Globe fleet in the southern hemisphere; Peyron still ahead

[Source: Vendée Globe] The only change among the leaders this evening are small differences. The leaders have been headed by a matter of a few degrees and so are heading very slightly more west. That two mile gain that Loïck Peyron made has subsided again and Gitana Eighty is now 22.7 miles ahead of BT.

Jean Pierre Dick has gained a mile, Vincent Riou has gained two, all largely due to the very slight change in course direction, the header reaching Gitana first.

But speeds remain good, Mike Golding still tops the league again this evening, he is perhaps a little more eased on his sheets, steering five degrees still to the west of the main pack on Ecover 3.

Otherwise the remarkable feature is still how closely matched the fleet leaders are. In that Ecover 3 v Générali race for sixth, there is only one tenth of a knot difference in distance over four hours.

Highlights from the 13th day of the Vendée Globe. 22 November 2008. Video copyright Vendée Globe

Fourteen boats are now over into the Southern Hemisphere, the last to cross being Sam Davies this afternoon.

For those trying to get out of the Doldrums there seems to be more hope. Steve White, on Toe in the Water has been making decent headway again, though Rich Wilson on Great American has been rather glued to the spot for a while, VMG just 1.7 knots. Jonny Malbon’s speed has risen but VMG is still pretty woeful and perhaps there is still some more pain to come, as if he and those around him have not suffered enough.

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