Please select your home edition
Edition
Henri-Lloyd Dynamic Range

Vendée Globe–Day 52– Third placed Beyou makes Cape Horn for first time

by Vendée Globe on 27 Dec 2016
Day 52 – Nandor Fa – Spirit of Hungary – Vendée Globe Nandor Fa / Spirit of Hungary / Vendée Globe
After setting out on five different round the world races or record attempts, Jérémie Beyou today rounded Cape Horn, laying to rest the spectres of his past attempts as he holds an excellent, hard earned third place overall in this eighth edition of the Vendée Globe solo round the world race.

Beyou passed the famous Cape at 1344hrs UTC, rounding some four days, one hour and 10 minutes after the race leader Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire VIII) and two days two hours and two minutes after the British sailor Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss). He abandoned early in the Vendée Globes of 2008-9 and 2012-13, but Beyou has sailed an astute race so far, dealing with several significant technical issues, not least the failure of his communications equipment. He can receive only limited weather information through a Skyfile service. He passed Cape Horn 51 days one hour and 42 minutes after the start, the third successive skipper to break the benchmark set in 2012 by François Gabart at 52d 6hrs 18min.

Beyou has made fast progress in to Cape Horn over the last 36 hours approaching his first Horn with 20-30kt westerly winds. Although he is 800 miles behind second placed Alex Thomson, the weather models seem to suggest there may be a chance for the skipper of Maître CoQ to pull back some miles on both the leaders by being able to sail a more westerly course, so cutting the corner.



Race leader Armel Le Cléac'h, some 900 miles to the SE of Mar del Plata, Argentina, appears to have crossed the high pressure ridge which has been blocking his course northwards with a band of lighter winds. With his lead to second placed Alex Thomson cut to 284 nautical miles now, the French skipper's losses are stabilised for the moment but there is one more blocking high pressure zone to be breached before the leaders can even contemplate the Saint Helena anticyclone which appears complicated.

Thomson confirmed this morning that he had struggled to download good weather information as he has had internet communication problems: “I have just slowed down a bit because it is quite windy, I am just going to chill out for a few hours. I don't have any wind instruments right now. It is windy. So I have slowed down in the meantime. And also I don't have much weather information. When I was going really fast with all the water coming over the bow, over the satellite antenna, that is the last antenna I have left and I can't get any internet. I can't make any calls and so I have rolled the jib away just now and I am sailing with just the mainsail but I am still making averages of 17-18kts. I will sail like this for a few hours. So otherwise it is all good, no problems. I could do with a little bit of sleep, I will do that now as I go slowly.”



Next to pass Cape Horn should be Jean-Pierre Dick who holds fourth place on StMichel-Virbac. He is now 300 miles ahead of Yann Eliès. Conrad Colman (Foresight Natural Energy) appears to be set for the toughest 48 hours of his Vendée Globe as he negotiates a nasty low pressure system which he is trying to stay in front of for as long as possible. Colman reported good initial sea conditions on the front of the low earlier this morning and had sorted out a technical problem with his pilots before the worst of the storm arrives.

Rich Wilson spoke today to 2004-5 Vendée Globe skipper Bruce Schwab who became the first American skipper to finish when he took ninth on his Ocean Planet. Schwab quipped that the five skippers grouped just in front of him, all slowed to avoid this same stormy low, could not wish for a better shepherd coming along behind them. In 15th place Wilson, on his second Vendée Globe, said today: “We are coming back into the tail end of the depression. It is not moving away quite as fast as we thought and so we got a little into the seaway which is quite chaotic. The others up ahead are getting it worse than I am. We are really lucky in that when this was forecast to develop, our group of six were back far enough. When it started out we would have been in the middle of it. I was quite surprised at how big the seas got for the amount of wind we did have. And then in fact as the wind diminished how the sea state maintained itself. It is just totally chaotic. I went up on the foredeck this morning to get the fractional gennaker ready to go and I could not stand up. I had to crawl. It was chaos. I was thinking about the bull riders who have it easy by comparison as they only have to stay on the bull for eight seconds. We have to stay on all the time.”

Mackay Boats 728x90 BOTTOMCyclops Marine 2023 November - FOOTERPalm Beach Motor Yachts

Related Articles

2025 Dutch Water Week day 4
At the end of the city's main shopping street, spectators could watch the racing The penultimate day of the Dutch Water Week brought Olympic-class sailing and windsurfing right into the heart of Almere.
Posted today at 11:13 am
America's Cup: Controversial agreement signed
According to Italian media, the secret AC Partnership agreement has been signed by CoR/D* International sailing journalist, Fabio Pozo, writing for the Milan based newspaper La Stampa, reports that the secret America's Cup Partnership (ACP) agreement is expected to be signed next week.
Posted today at 10:46 am
Women's Match Racing Worlds in Chicago overall
History made: Match in Pink Team wins fifth consecutive title Pauline Courtois and her Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team from Le Havre in France have once again proven their dominance in the sport of match racing, capturing their fifth consecutive World Sailing Women's Match Racing World Championship title
Posted today at 9:22 am
Race to the Finish with Paprec Arkéa
Zhik is the official gear partner for The Ocean Race Europe The Ocean Race Europe has again proven why it is one of the most demanding tests in sailing. With Zhik as the official gear partner, the Paprec Arkéa crew faced the extremes of Europe's waters equipped for the challenge.
Posted today at 8:00 am
J/105 North American Championship overall
Randy's Hecht's Niuhi three-peats as champion In the finale of the J/105 North American Championship, Randy Hecht claimed victory for the third time, with crew Russ Silvestri, Ethan Doyle, Maggie Bacon, David Janinis and Stephen Marsh.
Posted today at 3:26 am
New trophy for 2025 Six Metre Worlds
Presented by HM King Juan Carlos of Spain The Opening Ceremony for the 2025 International Six Metre Open and Classic World Championships saw the 29 participating teams from nine nations gather on the waterside lawn of the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club.
Posted today at 3:08 am
David Porter, King of Sydney Harbour in the 1970s
During one of the greatest eras in the 134-year history of the 18ft Skiff class During a 10-year career in the 18s from 1970-71 to 1979-80, inclusive, Dave Porter won the 1975 World Championship, three Australian and five NSW (State) championships as well as numerous club championships.
Posted today at 12:51 am
SailGP: Australia on top in Geneva- Day 1
The Flying Roos (AUS) top of the leaderboard, after the first day of racing in SailGP Switzerland. The Flying Roos sit on top of the leaderboard, after the first day of racing in SailGP Switzerland. This was the first test of the new light air foils, and three races were sailed, all completed within the time limits.
Posted today at 12:35 am
Another win for MACIF Santé Prévoyance
Sam Goodchild and Loïs Berrehar victorious in Défi Azimut Lorient Agglomération The British skipper Sam Goodchild, who was a key part of the crew on Biotherm that won The Ocean Race Europe, followed up with victory in the two-handed Défi Azimut - Lorient Agglomération 48 Hours race today.
Posted on 20 Sep
Team Malizia ends on a high
Boris Herrmann's team fourth in The Ocean Race Europe After five legs, over 4,500 nautical miles, and six weeks of intense offshore racing, The Ocean Race Europe 2025 concluded today in Boka Bay, Montenegro. Team Malizia delivered a strong performance, climbing the overall leaderboard to finish fourth.
Posted on 20 Sep