It is done.
And that once again upsets this totally crazy ninth edition of the Vendée Globe.
After handing over command of the Vendée Globe on December 16 to Yannick Bestaven (and having just taken it over on Christmas Day) Charlie Dalin got it back on Monday evening.
At the 10 p.m. check-in, the skipper of the monohull Apivia was 20 miles ahead of Maître CoQ's navigator, and Thomas Rouillard by 53 miles (LinkedOut).
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- Trapped with a headwind in a meteorologically complex area off Brazil, Yannick Bestaven kept seeing his pursuers getting closer in the standings on Monday.
And he ended up relinquishing his throne in the evening, Charlie Dalin taking advantage of a position further east as the sailors wade through an area without much wind generated by a front that disrupts the winds around the high pressure area. Saint Helena.
"The night promises to be tough," detailed Yoann Richomme, double winner of the Solitaire du Figaro during his much appreciated point on Facebook.
We can expect tomorrow morning Tuesday to be an almost normal situation with the boats in the trade winds and engaged in a battle of speed which promises to be very interesting ”.
"It's going to be a good fight"
Yoann Richomme
Regarding Yannick Bestaven's situation, Yoann Richomme estimated that the leader could have shifted east a few days ago to cover Charlie Dalin.
But then there was not much he could do in the face of this front which disrupted the area and made him lose all his lead which had climbed to 440 miles.
At the helm of a latest generation foiler, although deprived of his port side, Dalin will be able to try to make the difference in the trade winds which will propel him to the Equator and then to the Doldrums.
And Bestaven will hold him back on his older monohull.
“It's going to be a great fight,” said Yoann Richomme, a passionate observer of this Vendée Globe, which he dreams of one day being at the start ...
Far behind, the day was marked by the passage to Cape Horn of Arnaud Boissières, Alan Roura and Jérémie Beyou, big favorite at the start and 17th to pass the Horn.
The emotion of its three sailors at the moment of passing the mythical rock recalls the difficulty of the southern seas and their happiness to get out even if the finish is still very far away.
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