Alex Thomson is the victim of a problem with his boat in the Vendée Globe, his team announced on November 21, 2020. -

Sebastien SALOM-GOMIS / SIPA

And now, the Cape of Good Hope.

The sailors of the Vendée Globe, after having passed off Brazil, are now heading towards the southern tip of Africa, with sometimes unsettling weather conditions and the impression of having passed through the Doldrums for the second time.

Former race leader Alex Thomson suffered a problem and was almost stopped.

Classification

1. Thomas Rouillard (LinkedOut)

2. Charlie Dalin (Apivia) 38.5 miles behind the leader

3. Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) 73.1 miles behind the leader

4. Jean Le Cam (Yes we Cam!) At 274.7 from the first

5. Kevin Escoffier (PRB) 315.6 behind the first

Breakage for Alex Thomson

Hard blow for the one who made a perfect start to the race.

Alex Thomson's boat, which ceded first place to Thomas Rouillard on Friday night to Saturday, suffers from a "structural problem", his team announced Sunday morning, without going into too much detail.

The Welshman's staff were informed by the skipper of his problem when he was about 800 miles east of Rio de Janeiro in the South Atlantic.

"Alex and his team, along with the naval architects and engineers, are now working together to assess the extent of this structural problem and to determine a program and repair schedule," the statement added.

The skipper is doing well and talks regularly with the team, it is also specified.

A new point must be made during the day.

In the meantime, Thomson does not change course but advances at very low speed.

Charlie Dalin surprised by the weather

At 5:00 am this Sunday morning, the new runner-up of Rouillard, Charlie Dulin, explained in a vacation his funny night.

He didn't understand anything about the weather conditions he went through, and had the feeling of plunging back into the Doldrums, this Inter-Tropical convergence zone crossed a little earlier, in which the weather is very unstable.

“It was a very complicated night, I must have slept an hour cumulatively, he said. I had the impression of doing a Doldrums again, with very strange, very sudden variations in the wind. , in strength as in direction. I was not expecting that at all, I did not understand how I could have a northwesterly wind. "

In the early morning, conditions returned to normal, with "a super beautiful starry sky, without clouds".

A great reward after a Dantesque night.

The weekend video

After a fiery start to the race, Jean Le Cam remained in the top 5 but gradually fell behind with his boat without a foil.

Why ?

Is it irremediable for the dean?

The answer to these questions in our traditional video of the (weekend) week.

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