Vendée Globe update: Mean Biscay lives up to its reputation
by Vendée Globe media 24 Jan 04:12 AEDT
23 January 2025
Charal instruments in the Vendée Globe - 23 January 2025 © Jérémie Beyou
Nearly one week since the Vendée Globe podium was completed by Sébastien Simon, Jérémie Beyou will lead a surge of exhausted but relieved and grateful skippers through the finish line. The skipper of Charal is well set for fourth place, due to cross the line tonight between midnight and 0200hrs UTC.
For the hard driving skipper from the Bay of Morlaix the finish gun cannot come soon enough and it will represent a final deliverance from a tense, nervous finale which has been dragged out by tough and changeable weather. Beyou, who will add to his third place on the 2016-17 race when he finished four days behind winner Armel Le Cléac'h, admitted to being a bundle of nerves today, just wanting his race to be over..
He said this morning, "The whole end of the course is difficult. Rounding Cape Finisterre was too. The wind picked up to 35-40 knots when I passed. It didn't last long - 4-5 hours. I am going to have work to do until the end, that's for sure. My ETAs are about that. The problem is that almost no model has been accurate for two days."
With just over 200 miles to go this afternoon and a 150 miles buffer ahead of Paul Meilhat (Biotherm) Beyou remained cautious, worrying, "I think I have some leeway but I don't intend to slacken anything off because 4-5 hours without any wind and your lead, it melts like snow in the sun. I'm really trying to exploit everything I can. I don't know how long it's been since I last slept. You really have to be on top of it.
"I think about it the finish, that is human nature, but I'm focused on what's happening with the wind. I avoid looking too much behind. The others aren't in the same system. I don't want to relax. The wind comes in gusts. I still crossed the path of the cargo ships twice in a row.
"I can't fall asleep either. I no longer have radar, no more Oscar and just a small antenna which means I can see the cargo ships when they are two miles away. We mustn't let our guard down. My pilot does some dirty tricks on me from time to time, I'm on the alert but it's okay. The boats are worn out and there are things that really hold on to the limit."
After Beyou finishes all things being equal next in should be Meilhat in fifth pursued in quick succession tomorrow afternoon by Nico Lunven (HOLCIM-PRB). Justine Mettraux (TeamWork-Team Snef) is up to eighth and seems likely to pass the compromised Thomas Ruyant (VULNERABLE) before the Cape Finisterre and the Swiss skipper may yet get seventh on her first ever Vendée Globe expected to finish between 2300hrs UTC and 0400hrs Saturday morning.
After them a very big low pressure is expected to come in which will generated winds to 50 or 60 knots and huge seas. Benjamin Dutreux (Guyot Environnement-Water Family), Clarisse Crémer (L'Occitaine en Provence) and Sam Davies (Initiatives Coeur) should outrun it but for the British skipper the timing remains very tight. With his next nearest rival nearly 1000 miles behind Germany's Boris Herrmann (Malizia Seaexplorer) can afford to slow to avoid the huge system/
North of the Equator now and in the trade winds, the scrap between the top two non foiling boats is non stop, Benjamin Ferré (Monnoyeur-Duo For A Job) is about 15 miles ahead of Tanguy Le Turquais, (Lazaire)
Le Turquais reported this morning, "Honestly, it's pretty incredible to be in contact like this with Benjamin (Ferré). It's been the case since the Cape of Good Hope. We didn't let go much. He went off a little bit from time to time but I always managed to come back. Jean and Conrad are coming back strong in our match, too. The weather is favorable for that and so much the better. What we want is to fight for as long as possible. That's what drives us and makes the time pass.
"It's certain that it's going to slightly reduce my chances of being on the podium of the daggerboard boats to see Jean (Le Cam) come back to equal but I'm going to fight until the end and frankly, I'm enjoying this Vendée Globe. It's not just an adventure, it's really a tough race and I can tell you that I do each manoeuvre as if I didn't want to lose a hundredth."
Meantime the last boat to escape the Big South and enter the Atlantic this morning was Denis van Weynbergh (D'Ieteren Groupe) who crossed Cape Horn at 0639hrs UTC.
"The boat is banging like crazy, I have to go and reduce some sail because the boat is jumping. I'm going to break things. Honestly, I haven't enjoyed it at all, not yet. Right now, I'm 200% stressed. I passed the Cape, it was a bit calm. I took the opportunity to sleep for an hour. I saw on the map that I had passed but that's it. I'll celebrate later. I didn't see it, it was the middle of the night. Right now, I have 22-23 knots but I mainly have a head sea. It's very noisy, it's banging. I'm under-canvassed. We make do with what we have. Really not the joy of this passage at the moment but it doesn't matter, we'll enjoy it later."
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