In the small fleet of six sailors who left Brest on January 7, there are now two to have passed the Cape of Good Hope. After Charles Caudrelier, leader with the maxi Edmond de Rothschild, it was the turn of Thomas Coville in the role of the hunter to pass the mythical African cape in the night from Saturday to Sunday to enter the much feared Indian Ocean, the ocean ” the most dangerous in the world” in Coville’s words. Sodebo took 13 days, 13 hours and 48 minutes to pass this symbolic place in the quest for a solo world tour which should last around fifty days.
Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m., Coville was 1,256 miles behind Charles Caudrelier, who was averaging more than 33 knots in recent hours. A significant gap but one that can be closed in just over a day. On the scale of a trip around the globe, the lead remains fragile for the leader who covers more than 800 miles per day.
Also read “In the screaming 50s, there is no longer any morality”: Thomas Coville recounts his world tours
At the helm of Edmond de Rothschild, Caudrelier wants to go quickly while taking care of his giant of the seas. “People talk to me a lot about record times but my objective is to round Cape Horn with a boat in good condition and to win this race,” he admitted on Saturday, ensuring that he was not trying to “exceed the 40 knots.”
Approaching the Kerguelen Islands does not want to suffer the same mishap as Tom Laperche (SVR Lazartigue) who hit an Ofni and who is still heading towards the Cape of Good Hope for a technical stopover. He should arrive safely Monday afternoon. Behind, Armel Le Cléac’h (Maxi Banque Populaire) and Anthony Marchand’s Actual Ultim follow each other very closely, respectively 2684 miles and 2724 miles from the leader, brushing close to the prohibited exclusion zone in an attempt to hit strong winds. Further on, Eric Péron (Adagio) has begun the shift towards the east, leaving behind the Brazilian coasts which he will only see again, we hope, in a few weeks after having finished with the South Seas tunnel.
