Clarisse Cremer’s first week of the Vendée Globe by Alan Roberts

What a close and exciting race start we’ve had! The boats are close, and the game is still wide open.

The light conditions at the start have allowed the daggerboard boats to stay in contact with the foilers. The only opportunity for the foilers to show their reaching speed came while going down the Portuguese coast, where Nicol Lunven unknowingly broke the 24-hour record… classy!

Amazingly, it looked like we were going to have a first with no boats abandoning before reaching the equator. My hopes were high, especially after the boats passed Cape Finisterre with all the traffic, debris, fishing boats, stronger winds, and killer whales. But unfortunately, we’ve just received the news that Max on board V&B has had to retire due to an injury and a damaged mainsail hook. It’s a real shame for him and the team. These boats are violent, and a fall or twist can happen quickly, taking you out of the game. The boats are also very sensitive, and despite regular checks, sometimes there can be hidden surprises. Unfortunately, Max has been caught out by both at once.

The weather ahead looks tricky and variable. With the trade winds not flowing as usual, the boats will have to cross a high-pressure ridge before getting into the sweet NE flow around the latitude of Cape Verde. This will be short-lived, as they will soon enter the doldrums before they can finally get their tans on.

Currently, the options are to head south or to go west. We can see the skippers forming different groups, each with their own strategies. The daggerboard boats are dealing with lighter winds and focusing on more VMG (Velocity Made Good) sailing, while the faster and punchier boats are favouring a westerly route with more wind. The middle westerly route is keeping the westerly boats honest.

The idea is either to dive south and hope to pick up the NE winds earlier and then soak SW, or to head west now for more consistent wind and a better angle once they pass through the light airs, which will allow them to sail faster. Of course, the boats will choose their routes based on the strengths of their boats as well as their weather strategies.

Historically, most boats pass west of 28 degrees and within 400 miles of Recife off the Brazilian coast. Cutting the meteorological corner could mean sailing a shorter distance, but there’s a risk of getting caught in lighter wind.

For Clarisse, it’s been a mix of good sailing and an unfortunate scenario that may cost her in the coming days. The loss of her MHO, which is the largest sail she was carrying, means that VMG sailing in light winds (specifically 7-16 knots) will be harder. She won’t be able to sail as low as the boats around her, so she’ll need to stay sharp with her decision-making and pick the right shifts.

It’s a long race, and if there was one sail you’d want to lose, the MHO might be at the top of the list, as it won’t be used in the Southern Ocean. But we’ll see the effects in the coming days and weeks.

She is currently in a good group of boats and is keeping her speed up relative to the other boats in her group, which is great to see.

The game isn’t over yet! Up next, we’ll likely see some compression in the fleet before the elastic stretches out again as the boats cross the high-pressure ridge and enter the Southern Hemisphere.