The Vendée Globe leaders are locked into near-perfect conditions, riding the leading edge of a low pressure system in the South Atlantic on a direct fast train towards Cape Town.

Combined with a relatively manageable sea state, particularly for the latest generation IMOCAs which have improved wave handling capability, this has seen the front pack hit record speeds over the past 24 hours.

The Antoine Koch/Finot Conq-designed IMOCA Paprec Arkéa has broken its own speed record within a week in the Vendée Globe. Photo: Eloit Stichebaut/Polaryse/VG2024

The current 24 hour solo sailing record was recorded at this morning’s, Monday 25 November, 0300hrs ranking, with Yoann Richomme on Paprec Arkéa covering a phenomenal 579.86 (1073kms) nautical miles, maintaining an average speed of 24.2 knots.

Over the previous day several of the lead boats took turns to set a new 24 hour record, the most recent benchmark having been established just four days previously by Richomme at 551.84 miles on a ‘crazy horse’ ride in the North Atlantic.

Thomas Ruyant’s Koch/Finot Cong Vulnerable, a sistership of Paprec Arkéa, has also set a new speed record in the Vendée Globe, though it was immediately broken. Photo: Eloi Stichelbaut/Polaryse/VG2024

First, Richmome bettered his own record by covering 574.41nm in the previous race ranking, then Thomas Ruyant on Vulnerable, which is a Antoine Koch/Finot-Conq designed sistership, covered 568.35 nm, then 571.6 miles. Richomme then set the 579 mile benchmark.

Many of the top boats were easily covering over 550 miles in 24 hours, with last week’s record holder Nicolas Lunven (Holcim-PRB) at 554.55 miles, leader Charlie Dalin (Macif) with 558.82 miles, Jérémie Beyou (Charal) at 551.5 and Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil) at 551.

While the solo skippers are progressively adding 20-30 miles to the 24hr record, Richomme believes that the crewed IMOCA record, which stands at 641.13 miles, is even within reach.

Living like animals

Thomas Ruyant reported to the Vendée Raace team this morning: “It’s flying along, we have the right boats for this.

“We’re not going fast just to break the record but especially to try to keep the best position with this depression, we don’t know what the rest will bring but in any case if we can keep it as long as possible, it’s good.

Fast speeds for 2nd placed Vendée Globe skipper Thomas Ruyant on Vulnerable. Photo: Pierre Bouras/VG2024

“On a downwind course, I think I have a good machine, I’m getting used to it well, after Charlie and Yoann continue to go very fast, the rest of the fleet too, in the end there are still a bunch of boats quite close.”

“We’re all here within a hundred miles, so in IMOCA it’s nothing! So the match is super tight, everyone is going fast, the fleet is really so impressive! I just had a spell at 32 knots there.

“But we live a life a little crouched, holding on, sitting, lying down, being extremely careful because the boat sometimes has movements and reactions that are a little bit unexpected because of the sea state, I feel like a small animal surviving in this hull that goes at Mach 12!”

New boats to the fore

The huge speeds and mileages have also seen a slight reshuffle at the front of the 39-boat fleet with the newer designed IMOCAs coming to the fore in the optimum conditions.

Charlie Dalin (MACIF Santé Prévoyance) continues to hold the lead he secured two days ago, though Ruyant is just 50 miles astern.

Yoann Richome has moved up to 3rd, just 10 miles behind on the tracker.

After two weeks of racing in the Vendée Globe, the leaders are heading on a fast direct route to Cape of Good Hope

Another 50 miles back is a small chasing pack, with Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil) in 4th is, previous record holder Nicolas Lunven (Holcim-PRB) in 5th, and Jérémie Beyou (Charal) in 6th.

Top Brit Sam Goodchild, who had led for some stages of the North Atlantic and is the only sailor of the group in a previous generation boat (Vulnerable) has slipped to 7th, but is still within touch of the chasing pack.

“It’s been a bit of a rough day getting used to a new type of sailing,” Goodchild reported from Vulnerable this morning.

“The boat’s going fast, doing 27, 28 knots at the moment. There’s a bit of sea state and it’s a bit of nose divy. So it’s not very easy but trying to find a nice balance of what Brian Thompson likes to call fast but not furious! Easier said than done.

Wet but fast conditions onboard Sam Goodchild’s Vulnerable at the start of Week 3 of the Vendée Globe. Photo: Sam Goodchild/Vulnerable/VG2024

“It was a bit stressful this morning but I’m getting used to it slowly but surely, so it’s something like this for a while now. Losing a bit of miles but there you go it’s part of the game – try and keep up but try not to take too much risk.”

The leaders have around 2,000 miles until they pass south of the Cape of Good Hope. Ruyant explained that he does not expect them to route close to the headland.

“The next few days we are just out to stay on this this depression, to reach the Cape of Good Hope, which we are not going to pass very close.

“We will stay quite South or even close to the ice zone, but it is still far ahead, so for the moment we are moving towards the objective!”