Whilst the slow start was largely welcomed by the skippers, much preferring the weak wind to the strong gales which have often affected the early stages of previous races, the first hours of the 24,500 nautical miles course will require a very high level of vigilance while the giant fleet of IMOCA 60 yachts remains compact and close together on the Bay of Biscay..
Daggerboarders delighted, foilers foiled….
In the light airs there was no opportunity for the latest generation of foiling IMOCA 60 footers to show their speed potential. Instead it proved a great chance for a few of the skippers with more modest budgets, sailing boats with straight daggerboards – which benefit from having less hardware dragging in the water – to enjoy a few hours up at the front of the pack.
Germany’s Boris Herrmann (Malizia-Seaexplorer) led the fleet away from the start gun on his foiling boat which as well as been optimised for the big winds and seas of the Southern Ocean is also slippery in the very light, sub eight knots wind. But also up with the top group early on was race rookie Szabolcs Weeöres (New Europe) who learned his racing skills in dinghies on Lake Balaton in his native Hungary and who was a newcomer to IMOCA solo racing just three years ago.
High emotion, low winds
Vendée Globe start day remains one of the most outstanding fan experiences in world sport and today was bigger and more emotional than ever, not least because four years ago the 2020-2021 race started ‘behind closed doors’ locked down by the global pandemic. For three months in the midst of that period this mythical race anchored the lives of people all around the world, especially in France. Following the skippers’ exploits was the perfect daily antidote to the stresses and strains of life under lockdown. The start of this tenth edition has been equal parts a ‘thank you’ to the race, the skippers, the organisers and the region, as it has been an expression of freedom in every sense.
Through the three-week build up to start day, unprecedented crowds have gathered in les Sables d’Olonne to file down the race pontoon and pay homage to the intrepid skippers and their boats. But today was one of celebration and high emotion. Crowds starting forming from 04300hrs, lining either side of Les Sables d’Olonne’s legendary channel – the tidal canal which brings craft into the heart of the town – and in one huge voice, over the course of two hours, bid the racers farewell, fair winds and a safe circumnavigation.
Colman overturns pre-start challenges to lead
After losing his footing on the pontoon during his dock out - dropping partly into the water - New Zealander Conrad Colman found himself forced to start over an hour late after getting a rope snagged in his propellor on MS AMLIN. Adhering strictly to the starting protocols for getting help to sort his problem, the ‘Crazy Kiwi’ began his race at 1417hrs, an hour and 15 minutes after the fleet. But then, whether propelled by the added motivation of atoning for his pre-start problems, or just being better able to pick his way round the fleet in the building N’ly wind, Colman was leading the whole Vendée Globe fleet through the late afternoon as they head south towards Cape Finisterre on the NW corner of Spain where the winds are expected to be more than 25kts.
Building breeze
Winds are expected to strengthen. Strategically the key will be to get west to where the breeze is forecast to come in stronger but gybing downwind to use the little shifts in wind direction to make sure you are making the optimum speed most directly to the south. The leaders should be off Cape Finisterre by midday or early afternoon Monday.
