Rhythm of the Race All the top boats back to double digit pacing, with leader PRB fastest at 16.1 knots.

Standings table 

Top 3

1.  PRB  45:3 South 44:2 East
2.  Sill 47 South 43 East + 35 miles 
3.  Aquitaine Innovations 49 South 39:2 East +173 miles

Fleet round up section 

For the 2nd day in a row PRB is the leader of the fleet.  Following closely in 2nd is Sill only 35 miles back.

Former leader Aquitaine Innovations seems to be getting back in the race sailing at a speed of 14.4 knots.  From onboard Yves Parlier reports: "I’m going to get the main up full soon. I’m still in a Westerly wind and am climbing a little North. It’s exactly as if I left the highway and got caught in the side roads. So now, I’ve found the highway again. There could well be some more potholes on the route though."

Skipper Communications

Mike Golding Group 4 "This morning I was changing sails in a big sea. I thought the Code 5 was inside its wind range but it broke. It’s not the end of the world, as I have another. With the situation with my wind instruments the real problem is that it’s hard to judge the true wind speed."

Roland Jourdain Sill "Not being a weather-expert I haven’t got a solution for every situation. The choices we’ll make in the next 12 - 24 hours will dictate the events of the next few days."

Simone Bianchetti "The only thing that annoys me a bit is the autopilot. I really do not understand why it is not working. I am trying to tune the sails well to avoid tiring the rudders too much."

Thomas Coville Sobedo "I have just hit something, I don’t know what, it wasn’t very violent, but two times one after the other on the top of the keel. I am doing a complete check up, I want to verify my rudders. I don’t understand, the water’s temperature is too high for the ice. It is at 07 degrees celsius. If it is a growler, the damages will be much worse than if it is an animal. I might have to dive in the sea, but I really don’t want to. Two times it starts to be a bit too much..."

Catherine Chabaud Whirlpool "My strategy is to try and recuperate as much as possible, a big sleep especially, as I’ll need all the energy I can get. I’m sure that tiredness caused Yves to get into his mess, as he is too good at weather strategy."

Yves Parlier Aquitaine Innovations "I could definitely see my hopes for the Vendée Globe dashed by this.  It’s been a nightmare, I was on the direct route towards the Heard Island way point. The boat was going at 17 knots average speed, and both weather forecasts made out that this was the best route. I fell into light airs and behind the weather was all over the place below the depression which was passing to my North. There was a big swell, fickle winds and to cap it all - snow. Knowing that the others were going at 15 knots, that was hard to take."

Bernard Gallay Voila Fr. "I got out my polar sleeping bag last night - but nothing much to complain about, I’m looking after myself well, so life’s not bad!"

Thierry Dubois Solidaires "I’m on the edge of the depression and so the wind’s from the West which should come back a bit form the Southwest. I’ve just crossed the 50th degree parallel South but don’t aim to get any lower given the iceberg risk."

Current weather conditions West to NW winds for the top boats at 15 to 20 knots.

Weather Forecast Better winds remain to the North, with a large high pressure hole to the south.

What does it all mean

Parlier is back to keeping up with those ahead of him.  The weather ahead is unsettled so more gains and loses stand to be made.