François Gabart (MACIF) and Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) may still be fighting for leadership, but the skippers chasing them are also engaged in a tough battle. Between day 40 and day 50 of the race, Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec 3, 3rd) and Alex Thomson (HUGO BOSS, 4th) have respectively gained 226 ad 23 nautical miles on the Banque Populaire skipper (December 30 rankings at 4PM). In the meantime, Arnaud Boissières (AKENA Vérandas) and Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel) are holding on tight to stay in touch with the leading pack, losing only 70 and 268 nautical miles respectively. The Indian and Pacific Oceans have not been so nice to the rest of the fleet, though, with more 500 miles lost. Bernard Stamm, who had to moore to fix his hydrogenerators, lost more than 1,900 miles, the worst in the fleet over the past ten days.
Shrinking gaps
Over the same ten-day period (Day 40 to day 50), the average gap between skippers has dropped and it is now 402 miles. The Vendée Globe sailors are definitely getting closer to each other, since the average gap was 700 miles between days 30 and 40! Figures show the Vendée Globe is definitely not over yet…
