Vendée Tip Is Approaching Doldrums

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Vendée Tip Is Approaching Doldrums
Vendée Tip Is Approaching Doldrums

Video: Vendée Tip Is Approaching Doldrums

Video: Vendée Tip Is Approaching Doldrums
Video: Week 2 highlights : passage through the Doldrums, Beyou and Gutek's abandonments - Vendée Globe 2024, March
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Back on track after difficulties: Norbert Sedlacek "brother"

The Frenchman Jean Le Cam continues to lead the field of the 24,000 nautical mile regatt Vendée Globe with his "Bonduelle". His compatriot Vincent Riou with "PRB" and the Briton Alex Thomson with "Hugo Boss" follow at 42 and 49 nautical miles respectively.

While the top of the Vendée fleet approaches the convergence zone (Doldrums), in which the skippers are exposed to the weather lottery, the only German-speaking one-handed freak in the field, the Austrian Norbert Sedlacek, sails 850 nautical miles from the leaders towards Cape Verde.

The YACHT reached Sedlacek today, Tuesday morning, by satellite phone on board its "brother". In the conversation, the 42-year-old explained why he suddenly lost almost 200 nautical miles to the field two days ago: "In the middle of the night the fitting for the large gennaker on the front side of the masthead broke off," Sedlacek told YACHT am Phone. His 300 square meter Spi was torn away from him. With around 6 Beaufort wind force, he didn't even think about winning the huge cloth back on board: "No chance".

Sedlacek wants to check how big the damage is in the top by climbing the mast - but only when he too will reach areas with less wind in the next few days. He is currently planning to pass Cape Verde on the inside (in the east). Jean Le Cam had also chosen this route at the weekend and was thus clearly in the front. "It's the shortest way, maybe I can get back to the gang of four in front of me," said Sedlacek quite confidently in the phone call.

Indeed, one has to say about Sedlacek's salvation of honor that in the past two days he has not lost any more miles to the Vendée skippers sailing in front of him. "Only one of them has to stand for a few hours with a little damage, and then it's my turn again," said the Viennese. Incidentally, he could not use the large gennaker until he returned from the Southern Ocean in the Atlantic. But, says Sedlacek laconically: "What I don't have, I don't have."

Ranking of the Vendée fleet on Tuesday morning at 5 a.m.:

1. Bonduelle, Jean Le Cam 2. PRB, Vincent Riou, nautical miles to leader: 42.43. Hugo Boss, Alex Thomson, SzF: 49.44. VMI, Sébastien Josse, SzF: 67.25. Sill Véolia, Roland Jourdain, SzF: 86.06. Ecover, Mike Golding, SzF: 141.17. Virbac-Paprec, Jean-Pierre Dick, SzF: 200.98. Temenos, Dominique Wavre, SzF: 208.19. Skandia, Nick Moloney, SzF: 224.3 10. VM Matériaux, Patrice Carpentier, SzF: 225.611. Pro-Form, Marc Thiercelin, SzF: 248.612. Hellomoto; Conrad Humphreys, SzF: 281.313. UUDS, Hervé Laurent, SzF: 291.114. Arcelor Dunkerque, Joé Seeten, SzF: 296.115. Ocean Planet, Bruce Schwab, SzF: 338.316. AkenVérandas, Raphaël Dinelli, SzF: 524.317. Roxy, Anne Liardet, SzF: 578.618. Max Havelaar Best Western, Benoît Parnaudeau, SzF: 580.719. Benefic, Karen Leibovici, SzF: 614.320. brother, Norbert Sedlacek, SzF: 866.8

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