With 515.6 miles in 24 hours – between 9AM on December 9 and 9AM on December 10 – at an average speed of 21.5 knots, MACIF has set the 24-hour distance record bar even higher.
In a 25-to-30-knot wind, François Gabart seems to be flying on a relatively calm sea, but he is not the only one driving the speedometer crazy. With 494.7 miles, Jean-Pierre Dick and his Virbac Paprec 3 is getting really close to the 500 miles landmark. The two men are currently sailing in favourable conditions and closing the gap with Armel Le Cléac'h's Banque Populaire, sailing two knots slower.
Things may be going fast for the race leaders, but the back and middle of the fleet are not facing the same conditions. With131.5 miles in 24h, Bertrand de Broc, on Votre Nom Autour du Monde avec EDM Projets, is stuck in an anticyclone he is having troubles getting out of. In the next 48 hours, the weather should not be changing much for the entire Vendée Globe fleet and the leaders will widen the gap even more, promising even more impressive distance figures in four hours.
