The first skippers to enter the Vendée Globe should cross the finish line on Wednesday evening.

At the PC Course, the tension mounts to the extent of the suspense, five participants still seeming to be able to win.

And the time compensations granted to some add to the uncertainty.

REPORTAGE

The participants in the Vendée Globe have undoubtedly experienced their last full night at sea on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday.

At the last score, Charlie Dalin is ahead of Boris Herrmann and Louis Burton, but there are five in a pocket square.

And crossing the finish line will not necessarily be synonymous with final victory, because some benefit from time compensation for having participated in the rescue of Kevin Escoffier.

In this context of historical suspense, the race management is at the center of all attention.

>> LIVE

- Vendée Globe: follow the arrival of the first skippers

They are four to take turns every 8 hours in a room of the PC Course, located a few meters from the pontoon of honor which will soon welcome the first to arrive.

All are focused on responding to messages from the sea, staying attentive to the latest position scoring and responding to increasingly pressing requests for estimated arrivals.

"You have to stay very focused"

The race director, Jacques Caraës, will embark on Wednesday at the end of the afternoon to go to the finish line, stopwatch in hand.

A key role when you know that victory can be played within a few minutes.

"We must above all take the times with the greatest precision, since there is in addition, this time, something which is added and which is not usual, it is the compensation of hours for three competitors, ”he recalls.

"These times are going to necessarily upset, at least probably, the real podium. So there is a little calculation, a set-up that must be done very well. That's why you have to stay very focused. "

>> LARGE FORMAT -

Vendée Globe: the best of Charlie Dalin's logbooks

Once the line is crossed, it will be necessary to manage the entry to the port of the sailboats.

And for a question of the tide, the channel will be inaccessible to them between 7:30 p.m. and 2 a.m.

Clearly, at this end of the race, everything is a matter of patience.