At sea (AFP)

Sign of the seas of the south, an albatross came to flirt with the boat of the leader of the Vendée Globe, Charlie Dalin, which is tired of this too long descent of the Atlantic, Thursday, while another favorite, Alex Thomson , returns to the game after damage.

"Complicated this night (Wednesday to Thursday) ... Not a lot of wind, the wind which changes direction constantly", blown Dalin Thursday morning in a video.

The 36-year-old Norman still remains in the lead of the race, a position he took on Monday in the early hours of the morning and which he retains despite an exhausting game to catch the slightest breath of wind while avoiding being caught by a front. threatening high pressure.

The skipper, aboard his latest generation boat (Apivia), continues his descent of the South Atlantic, bypassing the Saint Helena anticyclone and despairs of finally reaching the seas for the first time in his life. from South.

But it is not very far from it - still two or three days of navigation - and Wednesday evening it received a good indicator.

"The positive point is that last night (Wednesday) I saw my first albatross, it was a sign that despite all that the south was approaching", he was comforted.

Behind him, Thomas Rettant (LinkedOut) remains his runner-up, despite the large crack in one of his foils, these side appendages which allow the latest generation boats to sail at high speed, rising above the waves.

- Thomson all smiles -

Loud won't be able to go so fast anymore.

Thursday, in the French 6:00 p.m. ranking (5:00 p.m. GMT), he was still second, 139 nautical miles (about 267 km) from Dalin, ahead of Jean Le Cam and his 13-year-old boat - and without foil (Yes We Cam!) - which is 232 nm (429 km) from him.

In the last edition (2016/2017), Thomson (Hugo Boss) broke one of his two foils very early in the race, but still finished second.

This year, the Welshman came back with a brand new and very 'high tech' boat but a structural problem forced him to give up his leading position last weekend.

Since Monday, Thomson repairs.

And Wednesday night, energetically activating a winch, he shouted loudly that "the Boss is back!"

(the Boss is back!).

"The repairs are done. It's an important event for me. It took a lot longer than I imagined. And I finished just on time. The breeze came back, the boat is moving forward. quickly, ”Thomson smiled in a video.

"This is the first time that I have exceeded 20 knots (37 km / h) since Saturday morning. I feel good. I can now concentrate on the race again, chasing the first ones. I can't wait! ", rejoiced the skipper who is taking part in his fifth Vendée Globe.

Of the 32 sailors still in the race (for 33 starters), two sailors are still in the northern hemisphere: the Japanese Kojiro Shiraishi (DMG Mori Global One) and Jérémie Beyou (Charal), who is nine days behind the head of fleet after having to return to Les Sables d'Olonne due to several damage.

"Everyone is far away, there is no competition except to move the boat forward as well as possible," said Beyou.

On the 18th day of racing, there was only one retirement, that of Nicolas Troussel (Corum L'Epargne) after a dismasting on November 16 off Cape Verde.

© 2020 AFP