UPDATE AT 21:00 hrs : Thomas Ruyant on LinkedOut increases lead from Alex Thomson to 41 nm and 64 nm from Charlie Dalin. The leading three are now 300+ nm ahead of the chasing fleet, with Thomson the most Westerly of the three.
Thomas Ruyant on LinkedOut has took the lead at the head of the 32 boat Vendée Globe fleet on the early morning rankings Saturday.
LinkedOut made 511.4 miles over the 24 hours to 04:00hrs this morning as the breakaway top trio enjoy a fast slide south eastwards towards the Southern Ocean.
Ruyant, second placed Alex Thomson on HUGO BOSS and Charlie Dalin on Apivia in third, know only too well that this stage of the descent down the South Atlantic is all about positioning for the medium to long term.
The leading trio of Ryant, Thomson and Dalin now have a gap of over 270 miles ahead of a group of seven IMOCAs which Jean Le Cam tries to keep under control.
After five days on top of the standings this morning Thomson will not be too concerned to see the Frenchman lead the rankings.
Yesterday the British skipper confirmed he is sailing his own race as much as possible, biding his time for when the particular strengths of his boat should prevail.
Behind them the southbound train of boats stretches back across the Equator to the Cape Verde islands.
Sam Davies, now in tenth place, 413 nm from the leader, sent a quick little evening message at sunset.
‘Initiatives Coeur is moving quickly towards the South. Yesterday I had a bit of a downer, I think that the fatigue had really built up since the start, a bit of a reaction of my 2 (almost) sleepless nights in the doldrums.’
‘And on top of that the stress of knowing Romain to climb on his mast and then to not to hear if he was OK for several hours.’
Vendée Globe Leaders – Day 14 – Sat 21 Nov – Updated 21:00 hrs UK
1st FRA Thomas Ruyant – LinkedOut – 19,886 nm to finish
2nd GBR Alex Thomson – HUGO BOSS – 41 nm
3rd FRA Charlie Dalin – APIVIA – 64 nm
4th FRA Jean Le Cam – Yes we Cam! – 303 nm
5th FRA Kevin Escoffier – PRB – 348 nm
6th FRA Boris Herrmann – SEAEXPLORER – 381 nm
7th FRA Yannick Bestaven – Maître CoQ IV – 392 nm
8th FRA Louis Burton – BUREAU VALLEE 2 – 404 nm
9th FRA Sebastien Simon – ARKEA PAPREC – 428 nm
10th GBR Sam Davies – INITIATIVES-COEUR – 435 nm
11th FRA Benjamin Dutreux – OMIA – Water Family – 644 nm
Other GBR:
22nd GBR Pip Hare – Medallia – 1725 nm
26th GBR Miranda Merron – Campagne de France – 2074 nm
Retired: Nicolas Troussel
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