Vendée Globe, Loick Peyron nuovamente al comando
OceanoVelaVendée Globe 6 Dicembre 2008 Zerogradinord 0
[singlepic=1029,250,170,,left] Vendée Globe – Oceano Indiano – Tra i due litiganti il terzo gode. Un adagio sempre di moda, specie nel mondo delle competizioni sportive, che trova ottima collocazione nella giornata vissuta dai protagonisti della Vendée Globe, da poco transitati cinquecento miglia a sud del Capo di Buona Speranza e quindi da considerarsi ufficialmente in Oceano Indiano.
La leadership conquistata nel corso della notte da Eliés Yann a bordo di Generali è infatti durata pochissimo. Lo skipper francese, passato Sebastien Josse, è stato a sua volta scalzato da Loick Peyron che, sul suo Gitana Eighty, si è giocato la carta nord e ne ha tratto tutti i benefici del caso.
Peyron, leader per buona parte della gara, ha potuto sfruttare venti forti e stabili, mentre più a sud gli avversari dovevano fare i conti con una situazione meno definita, caratterizzata da refoli deboli e da una fastidiosa onda lunga.
Dietro al rinato Peyron – protagonista del ventesimo cambio di leadership nel corso di ventisei giorni di regata – insistono i soliti noti: Sebastien Josse, attardato di una ventina di miglia, Eliés Yann, staccato di quasi trentacinque, e Armel Le Cléac’h.
Quanto accaduto in questi giorni insegna che, mai come quest’anno, i giochi sono aperti. Dal primo al decimo – lontani poco meno di centosettanta miglia – tutti possono considerarsi in gioco.
Day 26, 20.00 GMT, ranking
1 – Loïck Peyron (Gitana Eighty) at 17612.3 nm to finish
2 – Sebastien Josse (BT) +19.5 nm
3 – Eliés Yann (Generali) +34.3 nm
4 – Armel Le Cléac’h (Brit Air) +41.4 nm
5 – Jean Pierr Dick (Paprec Virbac 2) +52.4 nm
Per seguire la regata sul web clicca qui.
[flashvideo filename=video/oceano/Vendee_051208.flv /]
Video courtesy Vendée Globe.
PEYRON MARGIN’S BUILD
[Vendée Globe Press Release] A tantalizing glimpse of what was to come was offered by this morning’s 10.00 GMT positions when Loïck Peyron resumed his tenancy at the head of the Vendée Globe fleet, albeit by a margin of just 7.4 miles, but Gitana Eighty’s lead this afternoon has grown to 44.9 miles over the intervening four hours period.
Peyron’s choice to stay to the north has paid off just now, his gains earned by virtue of stronger, more settled winds while those who strayed south have had spells of lighter winds and a big residual seas to contend with as they flirt with a moving high pressure system. Sébastien Josse, (BT), consistent as ever, has stuck in second place, while Armel Le Cléac’h chose the north as well and has risen to fourth from ninth last night.
Peyron is one of the seven skippers who have now lead this Vendée Globe race, this morning’s swap from Eliès is the twentieth lead change in 26 days of racing. This afternoon the head of the field has stretched now with 172 miles from Peyron to tenth placed Michel Desjoyeaux, and Jean-Pierre Dick’s dive to the south on Paprec-Virbac 2 sees him fifth now 87.8 miles behind the leader when last night he was 32 miles behind.
On Thursday evening, Sébastien Josse (BT) was in the lead, before handing over the reins to Yann Eliès (Generali, 7th different leader) at 5h this morning, then to Loïck Peyron (Gitana Eighty) at 11h. The differences in speed reflect the variations in the wind conditions out on the water – 15 knots for some (Peyron, Le Cléac’h) and 3 to 5 for others (Dick, Le Cam, Jourdain, Golding, Eliès) in the 11h rankings. Five hours later the leading trio was slowed to 8 knots, while behind them, they were taking off again at between 9 and 14 knots. As they are all so close at the front, these differences in speed can lead to major position changes in the rankings. However, this should not worry the competitors, as the close contact racing is far from over.
The fleet will pass the longitude of Cape Town tomorrow, in a round the world race via the three capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin and The Horn), rounding the first of these landmarks heralds the entry into the Indian Ocean, the most feared ocean on Earth because of the violence of the elements.
No photo opportunities here though, as they will be leaving the Cape around 500 miles to their north (the equivalent of the length of Britain) tonight or tomorrow morning. This is therefore more of a symbolic event for the solo sailors, signifying that they are in the southern seas and the Roaring Forties. Albatrosses, grey skies and surfing conditions now make up their daily backdrop.
On today’s radio session, some of them talked about surfing along at 30 knots. Incredible speeds for a monohull. Welcome to the deep south… Apart from a few inhospitable islands, the next piece of land is Australia, more than 4500 miles away.
Day 26, 20.00 GMT, ranking
1 – Loïck Peyron (Gitana Eighty) at 17612.3 nm to finish
2 – Sebastien Josse (BT) +19.5 nm
3 – Eliés Yann (Generali) +34.3 nm
4 – Armel Le Cléac’h (Brit Air) +41.4 nm
5 – Jean Pierr Dick (Paprec Virbac 2) +52.4 nm
To follow the race on web click here.
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