Dramas in the Vendee Globe but rescue averted
The Vendee Globe non-stop, solo, around-the-world yacht race is living up to its reputationEver the scene of high-seas drama, the Vendee Globe non-stop, solo, around-the-world yacht race is living up to its reputation.
After hitting a 'UFO' thought to be a shipping container or whale, skipper Thomas Ruyant was nursing his hopelessly delaminated, split and sinking yacht towards New Zealand. It looks like he made it and averted a costly and potentially dangerous rescue.
Meanwhile, after colliding with a UFO while racing at 24 knots in mid-November, Alex Thomson is still battling away with a damaged foil on his 60-footer, which can now only reach optimum performance on starboard tack. That's a bit like running a marathon with one shoe. Understandably, Thomson is hamstrung and understandably frustrated when he has to sail on port tack.
But in his latest dispatch, the stoic British sailor seems upbeat while racing past Point Nemo, the most remote point on planet earth. As Thomson has said to his onboard camera before while sailing at 30 knots... "marvellous fun!"
Point Nemo, also known as the oceanic pole of inaccessibility, is the farthest point from land on our planet. Located within the Southern Pacific ocean between New Zealand and South America, the nearest landmass is 1670 miles away.
The remoteness of Point Nemo means that the nearest humans to Thomson and the Vendee Globe fleet are the astronauts in the International Space Station.
The next milestone is Cape Horn, an infamous landmark in offshore racing where he will leave the ferocious Southern Ocean and re-enter the Atlantic Ocean. Rounding Cape Horn marks the point where the fleet turn their bows north again towards the finish line in Les Sable d’Olonne, France.
Thomson (42) is still in second place racing against favourite Armel Le Cleac’h (39), second photo, with some 500nm nautical miles between them at last check, and the foxy Frenchman will round the Horn first.
The two sparring partners have now completed more than 65 per cent of the race, which could take in the region of 80 days to complete. There's no shortage of news at www.vendeeglobe.org/en.
Photo Credits: Marine Nationale/Nerfertiti; Armel Le Cleac'h/Banque Populaire V111, Vendee Globe; Jean-Marie Liot/DPPI/Vendee Globe
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