Vendée Globe winner and runner up Charlie Dalin and Yoann Richomme have their IMOCA boats safely at the dock on the Ponton d’honneur and can finally rest for full, long night in a bed that doesn’t rock, enjoy good food and drink, decompress and re-enter real life on dry land.
But among the 32 skippers still racing there are smiles as big as the ones worn by Dalin and Richomme. Swiss German racer Ollie Heer (Tut gut) passed Cape Horn for the first time lying in 29th place. Chinese skipper JingKun Xu (Singchain Team Haiku) is set to pass tomorrow Thursday.
Heer enthused,
I've always thought about Cape Horn since I've been sailing my Optimist on Lake Zurich, so to have been able to cross it is just fantastic... I am a very happy little boy today! My approach was a bit rock and roll with around 50 knots of wind and one hell of a sea state. And I sailed safely with three reefs. But what was really impressive how it calmed down after the Cape we find ourselves at 20 knots with less than two metres of wave, perfect conditions... I'm very happy to leave the Southern Oceans behind me, it's the end of a big chapter! I'm still pretty much in good shape, I'm ready for the Atlantic.
And the personal challenges continues, Benjamin Ferré (Monnoyeur - DUO For a JOB, 16th) has had to climb his mast, “In terms of morale, it's going great, it's funny because I have the impression that as soon as I have news from land they are asking me ‘when will you get here?’ " and I am 'm more in the mood "shit, there's only a fortnight left to enjoy this, because after the finish, it's over, the life of an earthling resumes!". So there you have it, every minute must be savoured! I've been in this state of mind for a few days, in warrior mode, "ok I get it, that's what the Vendée Globe is all about, ‘what's the next damage? Jean Le Cam used to make fun of me by saying that I was never in the boatyard, well I think I've made up for my four years of absence from the yard by racing in a Vendée Globe!”
In the group 4th to 10th Jérémie Beyou (Charal) leads Sam Goodchild (VULNERABLE) by 17 miles as they approach the high pressure zone of lighter winds. With Boris Herrman (Malizia Seaexplorer) and Thomas Ruyant (VULNERABLE) forced more west, Switzerland’s Justine Mettraux (TeamWork-Team Snef) is up to eighth 121 miles behind Nico Lunven (HOLCIM PRB)
