Vendée Globe | Charlie Dalin still in the lead, Sébastien Simon in rocket mode

A little further on, Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil) took third place from Yoan Richomme (Paprec Arkéa), setting the new record for distance traveled in 24 hours on an Imoca: 615.33 miles, or 1139 km.

“It’s an incredible distance, I never would have imagined doing that! And in my opinion it’s not over […] I managed to stay in the group at the front so I will accompany the depression until the Cape of Good Hope,” appreciated the 34-year-old skipper from Vendée.

While the head of the fleet rushes towards the first reference course of the race, the first five pursuers of Dalin – also including Nicolas Lunven (Holcim-PRB) and Jérémie Beyou (Charal) – are held in a little more than one only fifty miles.

Then a group of three skippers – Sam Goodchild (Vulnerable), Yannick Bestaven (Maître Coq V) and Paul Meilhat (Biotherm) – are still in contact before a clear break of 160 miles with the rest of the fleet.

“I really try to always sail with the same intensity, with a fairly stable average speed and a tight trajectory, because that’s what’s interesting over time to preserve the equipment and not do stupid things and establish a bit of a operating routine. It’s certain that we’ve been at over 20 knots all the time for a few days now! », Meilhat told the organizers by radio.

It has in fact maintained an average speed of 21.71 knots over the last 24 hours and was sailing at 24.52 knots at 7 p.m. while ahead, Dalin posted 27,568 knots at the start of the evening for an average over 24 hours of 23.84 nodes.

But Meilhat chose to take advantage of “stable” conditions to regain strength.

“I really try to sleep as much as possible, and I have managed at times to extend my sleep time a little and not just be in 20-minute nap mode. Afterwards, it’s true that we don’t move much, so when we do a maneuver, which is a little rare, we realize that we are a little rusty, and a little tired. I try to stay fit and be careful! “, he said.

If the first 14 benefit from a depression, behind them the lack of wind is felt, forcing some to take less direct routes, others to maneuver constantly. And as the Saint Helena anticyclone will settle in the area, according to the organizers, the gaps risk increasing with the leaders.