Vendee Globe | Dag 12

Light at the end of the tunnel

Standings at 0500GMT, Day 12.
1- Loïck Peyron (Gitana Eighty) 20671.4 miles to the finish
2- Seb Josse (BT) at + 21.2 miles to leader
3- Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac 2) at + 36.1 miles to leader
4- Vincent Riou (PRB) at + 43.5 miles to leader
5-Armel Le Cléac’h (Brit Air) at + 49 miles

Selected international:
8- Mike Golding, GBR, (ECOVER 3) at + 78.2 miles
11- Dominique Wavre, SUI, (Temenos 2) at + 193.5 miles
12- Brian Thompson, GBR, (Bahrain Team Pindar) at + 202.1 miles
13- Sam Davies, GBR,(ROXY) at + 217.9 miles
16- Dee Caffari, GBR, (AVIVA) at + 341.4 miles
18- Steve White, GBR, (Toe in the Water) at + 394.6
19- Johnny Malbon, GBR, (Artemis) at + 421.3 miles
20- Unai Basurko, ESP, (Pakea Bizkaia) at + 433.5 miles
21- Rich Wilson, USA, (Great America III) at + 507.9 miles

Loïck Peyron lead the fleet into the Southern Hemisphere last night about 21h GMT. The skipper of Gitana Eighty is still 21.1 miles ahead of Seb Josse (BT). The top three remains the same overnight, Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac 2) third. Mike Golding regains two places overnight to lie eighth. Painless crossing of the Doldrums for Wavre, Thompson, Davies. Desjoyeaux passes Caffari who is now 16th Sedlacek and Stamm have passed the Cape Verde Islands.

The top three positions have remained the same overnight in the Vendée Globe with eight boats across the Equator into the Southern Hemisphere by the 0400hrs GMT poll, Loïck Peyron (Gitana Eighty) still leading by 21.2 miles from Seb Josse (BT). In third, Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac 2) has lost less than two miles overnight to the leading pair, but gained against fourth placed Vincent Riou (PRB) by just under five miles as the leaders pace each other upwind in the SE’ly tradewinds.

Slightly to the west of the leading pack, Mike Golding has risen two places overnight, passing Jean Le Cam (VM Matériaux) and Jérémie Beyou (Delta Dore) and is pressing seventh placed Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement) hard, making 4.6 miles against him overnight to lie less than a mile behind. Jourdain was 11.6 miles SW of Golding this morning.

A comparatively swift crossing of the Doldrums for Dominic Wavre, SUI, (Temenos II), Brian Thompson, GBR, (Bahrain Team Pindar) and Sam Davies, GBR, (ROXY) sees Thompson start to show the upwind speed of his powerful design, second quickest of the top 20 boats overnight, and fastest this morning, but this trio have lost around 17-20 miles on the leaders overnight. Dee Caffari, GBR, (Aviva) became the latest skipper to fall to the steady climb up the fleet of Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia). Foncia overtook Aviva overnight to lie 15th, Caffari 8.6 miles behind in 16th this morning.

Steve White, GBR, (Toe in the Water) is feeling the speed crunch in the Doldrums and only made an average of 5 knots overnight, but he has not suffered as much as Jonny Malbon, GBR, (Artemis II) whose overnight average is just 3.6 knots and who is making just over 1 knot this morning.