The leaders are racing their last, but not necessarily the most pleasant miles, even if for Loïck Peyron (Gitana Eighty), they are the ones which will mark his first victory on this Farr design designed for the Vendée Globe. His victory is almost in the bag given that the skipper has a lead of over forty miles on his closest rival, Kito de Pavant (Groupe Bel) with only 150 miles to go... Second place however is less certain, though it is beginning to shape now: Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) is only sixteen miles astern in third and the SE’ly wind currently on zone in the Bay of Biscay should back to the East at the end of today, forcing the two solo sailors into a tacking frenzy to complete this Transat Ecover-BtoB. Once they’re on a beat, there will be more chance to make up a deficit on a wind shift or a favourable tidal current. The chances are certainly slim but as long as the finish line isn’t crossed it’s game on... "

It is plain to see that despite the great appeal of this race for the solo sailors, their shore crews and above all the public, there now appear to be few opportunities for the sailors to upset the hierarchy! All of them are going to benefit from the same weather conditions, which announce a S’ly air flow between the Azores and the Iberian peninsula, a small transition phase off Cape Finisterre, and an E’ly breeze to cross the Bay of Biscay. The upshot of this is no real manoeuvres, no real course options and no real opportunities to make up their deficit. In this way, behind Kito and Mich', who are set to arrive in Port la Forêt three and five hours later than the likely winner, Yann Eliès (Generali) looks likely to take fourth place when he crosses the finish tomorrow lunchtime, Friday, Marc Guillemot (Safran) likely to follow suit at nightfall... We’ll have to wait until Saturday morning to welcome in Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat) who has had a great race on the older generation Farr design.

At the head of the chasing pack however, the competition is still very much in evidence in the duel between Yannick Bestaven (Cervin EnR) and Samantha Davies (Roxy), 1,000 miles from the finish: the two sailors have been no more than ten miles apart for over four days and they’ll both be racing their steeds hard in the harsher conditions.  Between the Azores they’ve had downwind conditions and it’s the same scenario as they reach the tip of Spain... Behind them, the end of the race will take on a slightly different hue as the deficits are now fairly hefty and the spirits a little dampened! The goal will essentially be to complete this transatlantic race, which serves as a qualifier for the Vendée Globe, without making the situation onboard any worse. All of them are or have been experiencing technical issues and will be keen to get home and prepare the winter yard. With a deficit of over 1,200 miles, the final threesome will be at least five days behind the leaders, Loïck Peyron expected after midnight tonight in the Breton haven.

Translation KJ