Three more Vendee Globe sailors passed Cape Horn over Wednesday night, including Britain’s Sam Davies (Initiatives-Cœur).
Davies rounded in 13th place at 21:09 UTC, Wednesday 1 January, following Clarisse Crémer (L’Occitane en Provence) and Benjamin Dutreux (GUYOT environnement – Water Family). She now has 6,933 nm to race to the finish at Les Sables d’Olonne.
The first few hours of 2025 have brought a big, unwelcome surprise. For the first time since 2008, three Vendée Globe skippers have seen an iceberg.
At least two icebergs had been spotted by satellite outside the Antarctic Exclusion Zone (AEZ), and their position was reckoned to be quite close to Vendée Globe competitors.
Caution and vigilance was needed on this the first day of 2025 to avoid these lumps of ice which drift and break into “growlers” that are even more difficult to spot
Though they were warned in advance and the position and track were transmitted to the skippers it has been a fascinating and chilling encounter. Alerts have been sent to all the sailors currently sailing along the ice zone, right in the middle of the Pacific.
Meanwhile at the front of the fleet the two leaders are fighting through light winds again.
A band of high pressure is standing between them and the SE’ly trade winds, Charlie Dalin (MACIF Santé Prévoyance) is now only about 25 miles ahead of Yoann Richomme (PAPREC ARKÉA). Both were making between six and nine knots.
For the group of boats climbing the South Atlantic together, bidding farewell to the exclusion zone to their east, conditions are quite unpleasant upwind in an unsteady breeze,
In eighth Sam Goodchild on VULNERABLE reports, “The boat is OK these are not the most comfortable conditions, there is a bit of slamming and waves, it is not too bad but the wind is less and less stable as we go along.”
“There is a big low forming where there is no preferred option either go through the middle, go west for no wind, go east for quite a lot of wind and right now it is looking like we will try to go through the middle of it, it is a fairly fast evolving situation. It is pretty stressful and so it is not something I am finding very pleasant at the moment.”
Latest Cape Horn Passage Times:
Clarisse Crémer (L’Occitane en Provence) : 52d 02h 17min 07s
Benjamin Dutreux (GUYOT environnement – Water Family) : 52d 03h 26min 27s
Sam Davies (Initiatives-Cœur) : 52d 09h 07min 15s.
Vendee Globe Leaders at 22:00 hrs GMT Thursday 2 January 2025
1st FRA Charlie Dalin MACIF Santé Prévoyance – 4262 nm to Finish
2nd FRA Yoann Richomme PAPREC ARKÉA – 35 nm to leader
3rd FRA Sébastien Simon GROUPE Dubreuil – 307 nm to leader
4th FRA Thomas Ruyant VULNERABLE– 1316 nm to leader
5th FRA Paul Meilhat Biotherm
6th FRA Nicolas Lunven HOLCIM – PRB
7th FRA Jérémie Beyou CHARAL
8th GBR Sam Goodchild VULNERABLE – 1650 nm to leader
9th GER Boris Herrmann MALIZIA – SEAEXPLORER
10th SUI Justine Mettraux TEAMWORK-Team Snef
11th FRA Benjamin Dutreux GUYOT ENVIRONNEMENT – WATER FAMILY
12th FRA Clarisse Crémer L’OCCITANE en Provence
13th GBR Samantha Davies Initiatives-Cœur – 2519 nm to leader
14th FRA Romain Attanasio FORTINET – BEST WESTERN
15th FRA Damien Seguin GROUPE APICIL
16th FRA Jean Le Cam TOUT COMMENCE EN FINISTERE – ARMOR-LUX
17th SUI Alan Roura HUBLOT
18th FRA/GER Isabelle Joschke MACSF
19th ITA Giancarlo Pedote – PRYMIAN
20th FRA Benjamin Ferre – Monnoyeur
