Vendée Globe: One Cape down, two to go

(December 1, 2020; Day 24) – Following the successful rescue today of Kevin Escoffier in the Vendée Globe, a result of hull damage to his 2009 VPLP-Verdier designed PRB which required him to abandon the IMOCA, race leader Charlie Dalin on Apiva passed the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope late yesterday at 2311hrs UTC.

One Cape down, two to go.

Dalin crossed the line after 22d 9hrs 51mins since the start in Les Sables d’Olonne on November 8. Thomas Ruyant (LinkedOut) followed Dalin across the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope at 1341hrs UTC today, 14 hours and 30 minutes behind. Louis Burton – who is Escoffier’s cousin by marriage – now lies third on Bureau Vallée 2.

Meanwhile, the International Jury will convene in the next few days to discuss time compensations for the skippers- Jean Le Cam, Yannick Bestaven, Sébastien Simon, and Boris Herrmann – whose races were on hold while they were engaged in the rescue mission. This process takes into account not only the actual time lost when the sailors were away from their race route, but also any significant changes in their racing conditions – wind and routing- caused by the delay.

Ranking – 21:00 (GMT)*
1. Charlie DALIN, APIVIA – 17228.6 nm DTF
2. Thomas RUYANT, LinkedOut – 222.98 nm DTL**
3. Louis BURTON, BUREAU VALLEE 2 – 246.22 nm DTL
4. Sébastien SIMON, ARKEA PAPREC – 408.13 nm DTL
5. Damien SEGUIN, GROUPE APICIL – 427.65 nm DTL
DTF – Distance to Finish; DTF – Distance to Lead
* Four skippers assisted in the rescue of Kevin Escoffier which began on Nov. 30. Their ranking order that day as of 14:00 was Escoffier (3rd), Jean Le Cam (4th), Yannick Bestaven (6th), Sébastien Simon (7th), and Boris Herrmann (8th). The Race Jury will now determine the credit for each skipper to reestablish their ranking in the race.
** Ruyant damaged port foil on Nov. 24 at 02:00.

Race details – Boat types – Tracker – Ranking – YouTube

The Vendée Globe is the only sailing race round the world that’s solo, non-stop, and without assistance, and it was all systems go for the 9th edition on November 8. Beginning in 1989 with 13 entries, the start line in 2020 had 33 skippers taking off from Les Sables d’Olonne, France.

The development of the IMOCA Class toward foiling will see these boats hurl themselves around the world, teetering on carbon skates through inhospitable regions, chasing the record set in 2016-17 by Armel le Cléac’h of 74:03:35:46.

2020-21 Attrition
Nov. 16, 2020 – Nicolas TROUSSEL, CORUM L’EPARGNE – dismasted
Nov. 28, 2020 – Alex THOMSON, HUGO BOSS – damaged rudder
Nov. 30, 2020 – Kevin ESCOFFIER, PRB – hull damage (sunk)

Participation history:
1989-90: 13 boats at the start
1992-93: 15 boats
1996-97: 15 boats
2000-01: 24 boats
2004-05: 20 boats
2008-2009: 30 boats
2012-2013: 20 boats
2016-2017: 29 boats
2020-2021: 33 boats

2020-21 Entries
Fabrice AMEDEO: NEWREST – ART & FENÊTRES
Romain ATTANASIO: PURE – BEST WESTERN
Alexia BARRIER: TSE – 4MYPLANET
Yannick BESTAVEN: MAÎTRE COQ IV
Jérémie BEYOU: CHARAL
Arnaud BOISSIÈRES: LA MIE CÂLINE – ARTISANS ARTIPÔLE
Louis BURTON: BUREAU VALLÉE 2
Didac COSTA: ONE PLANET ONE OCEAN
Manuel COUSIN: GROUPE SÉTIN
Clarisse CREMER: BANQUE POPULAIRE X
Charlie DALIN: APIVIA
Samantha DAVIES: INITIATIVES-CŒUR
Sébastien DESTREMAU: MERCI
Benjamin DUTREUX: OMIA – WATER FAMILY
Kevin ESCOFFIER: PRB
Clément GIRAUD: COMPAGNIE DU LIT / JILITI
Pip HARE: MEDALLIA
Boris HERRMANN: SEA EXPLORER – YACHT CLUB DE MONACO
Ari HUUSELA: STARK
Isabelle JOSCHKE: MACSF
Jean LE CAM: YES WE CAM !
Stéphane LE DIRAISON: TIME FOR OCEANS
Miranda MERRON: CAMPAGNE DE FRANCE
Giancarlo PEDOTE: PRYSMIAN GROUP
Alan ROURA: LA FABRIQUE
Thomas RUYANT: LINKEDOUT
Damien SEGUIN: GROUPE APICIL
Kojiro SHIRAISHI: DMG MORI
Sébastien SIMON: ARKEA – PAPREC
Maxime SOREL: V AND B – MAYENNE
Alex THOMSON: HUGO BOSS
Armel TRIPON: L’OCCITANE EN PROVENCE
Nicolas TROUSSEL: CORUM L’ÉPARGNE

Source: Vendée Globe