The skipper Charlie Dalin.
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AFP
Wednesday January 27th
We got our money's worth ... At 12 hours before the finish of the Vendée Globe, it was impossible to know who will be the winner among the group of five boats leading the race towards Les Sables-d'Olonne in a sprint of unprecedented suspense, accentuated by the compensations enjoyed by those who got away from it all to save Kévin Escoffier at the start of the race.
The classification at 9 a.m.
1) Charlie Dalin, 185 miles from the finish
2) Louis Burton, 61 nm from the leader
3) Boris Herrmann, 72 nm from the leader
4) Thomas Rettant, 155 nm from the leader
5) Yannick Bestaven, 183 nm from the leader
Dalin always ahead
"I've been at sea for so long that I forgot that life on land really existed, my standard is to be on Apivia, it is to be on my boat and I'm not arriving at all , but then not at all to tell me that the arrival is imminent, ”explained Tuesday Charlie Dalin who is in the lead after 79 days and should arrive in the early evening Wednesday.
Behind him, Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée 2) and Boris Herrmann (SeaExplorer - Yacht Club de Monaco) should arrive on Wednesday evening, while Thomas Rettant (LinkedOut) is expected at the start of the night, followed by Yannick Bestaven in the middle of night / early morning.
♫ The following will be the first, in this reality ♬
But as we have already explained to you, the first to cross the finish line might not be the winner, as two sailors in the leading group are getting hourly compensation for helping with the search during Kevin's sinking. Escoffier: this is the German Boris Herrmann, currently in third position 72 nautical miles (152 km) behind Charlie Dalin and who has a compensation of 6 hours, and Yannick Bestaven (266 miles / 493 km behind the leader) with a compensation of 10 hours and 15 minutes.
"I know that it will be played within a few hours or a few minutes or so, so to have nothing to regret after crossing the finish line, I will give everything to the end", explained to AFP Yannick Bestaven.
A historic finish
To find such suspense, we must go back to the 2012-2013 edition when Armel Le Cléac'h arrived only three hours and 17 minutes after the winner François Gabart, but during this edition, the following boats had joined the wear respectively two days, eight days and nine days after the leading duo.
“It's completely new, how can we imagine being on such a tight field of competitors after a nonstop and unassisted round the world trip.
It's incredible.
This is the first time we've seen this.
So much the better, it proves that sport is in its place.
There is competition and that's what you have to remember, we are unable to give the podium.
So that means that the level is excellent, ”said race director Jacques Caraës.
A "slightly sad" arrival
Despite a letter sent to Emmanuel Macron, the mayor of Sables-d'Olonne, Yannick Moreau, was only able to obtain from the prefecture the authorization for Vendée Globe volunteers to form a guard of honor for the skippers. which will arrive between Wednesday and Friday evening.
For the rest, with the curfew in effect, the arrival will be behind closed doors.
"This guard of honor will be made up of 300 volunteers, who will each be masked, placed four meters from each other, along the channel so as to be able to bring a little humanity, warmth, and fervor to the arrival of the Vendée Globe skippers and prevent them from returning to a deserted port in winter, in the sanitary silence of today's France, ”said Yannick Moreau.
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