Samantha Davies aboard her Initiatives-Coeur boat, at the start of the Vendée Globe 2020-2021.
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Loic VENANCE / AFP
The Vendée Globe skippers have gotten really tough and everyone is doing what they can to repair the minor injuries to their boat when the sea has decided to stay calm for a few moments.
Sébastien Destremeau (Merci) thus climbed the mast for the third time, Thursday evening, to resolve an anemometer problem.
Clément Giraud (Compagnie du lit-Jiliti) had to tinker with a spare halyard.
In the standings, Charlie Dalin still in the lead, with nearly 150 nautical miles (278 km) ahead of his pursuer and compatriot Louis Burton.
Thomas Rouillard is not very far.
The classification at 9:00 a.m.
1. Charlie Dalin (Apivia) 16,396 miles from the finish
2. Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée 2) 149 miles from the leader
3. Thomas Rouillard (LinkedOut) 208 miles behind the leader
4. Yannick Bestaven (Maître Coq IV) 383 miles behind the leader
5. Damien Seguin (Groupe Apicil) 393 miles behind the leader
Simon and Davies in deep depression
The two collided with an Ofni within hours of each other.
At the worst possible time.
Sébastien Simon (Arkea Paprec) and Samantha Davies (Initiatives-Coeur) are in difficulty with their damaged boat, as they enter the terrible seas of the south.
Clearly, morale has taken a hit.
"I'm a little upset, disgusted, I don't know what to say, I want to continue this world tour, I didn't deserve that, it's an incredible injustice," Simon said at noon on Thursday. 'liaison with the organization.
"And as shit never comes alone, every two hours I have to go pump under the cockpit, in a not pleasant place", he added, while another part broke on his boat.
Davies also recounted, overcome by emotion, her incident on Wednesday evening, in which she was injured.
“I was advancing between 15 and 22 knots in difficult seas.
I typed as if I was on the heels of a rock: I stopped dead.
There were creaks.
I flew, everything in the boat flew, including my dinner.
It was violent, I hurt myself, ”explained the English sailor, who suffers from the ribs.
First news from Sam after his damage.
She reflects on the violent shock her boat suffered last night.
Do not hesitate to show him your support in the comments.
"I need it," she says at the end of the video.
# VG2020 #GoSam 💪https: //t.co/F5UiH5nZEu
- Heart Initiatives (@initiativecoeur) December 3, 2020
The keel was damaged, causing cracks.
“It's a brutal situation for Sam, she's shocked, it's hard,” said race director Jacques Caraës.
It is a very hostile region, damage in these regions is all the more complex.
These are risk areas, we are far from everything. "
Davies and Simon look for a somewhat calm sea to try to repair.
This Friday morning, they are heading for the Cape of Good Hope, where Alex Thomson, who announced his retirement a few days ago, arrived.
The solitude of the sailor in the face of the unknown
Speaking of the complexity of the southern seas, we will note this morning Pip Hare's words.
The British sailor, 35, is about to jump for the first time in this part of the world that she has heard a lot about.
And not that in good.
“It is the most remote ocean in the world.
It is a mysterious place that people speak of with dread.
And I'm going there for the first time, alone, on a 60-foot boat, she wrote in a logbook sent to AFP.
I already imagined how I would feel in these first few days of sailing in the southern seas.
It will be the start of six or seven weeks of the roughest sailing of my life.
I should be - and I will be - anxious but I hope it doesn't last too long.
We are there, it is the unknown and I will take the plunge.
"
To make matters worse, Pip Hare is on probation.
“I lost one of my two hydrogenerators, the lower part fell overnight.
I don't really know why and it screwed me up, this element produces the electricity I need for my navigation systems, autopilot and watermaker.
And although I have one left, if it takes any damage, it will be the first link in a chain reaction that would mean the end of my race.
No power, no running.
"
Today's reading
If you have to read only one paper on the Vendée today, this is it.
My esteemed colleague William paints the portrait of Jean Le Cam.
Fascinating character with a thousand faces, including that of a savior since Wednesday.
You will read, among many other things, his wife Anne tell that King Jean went through great moments of doubt before finding Escoffier.
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Jean the cam
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