10th July 2020 – Midway through the Vendée-Arctique-Les Sables d’Olonne, with 1,339.3 nautical miles to the finish, it is all-change at the top of the leaderboard. German sailor Boris Herrmann on Seaexplorer – Yacht Club de Monaco took the lead this morning at 09h30 CET of this unique solo race. The triangular course between Les Sables d’Olonne, the polar circle and the Azores islands is the last qualifying race for the Vendée Globe which starts 8th November 2020.

 

Consistent and combative, staying in the top seven since the start on 4th July, Boris took the lead during the night, opting with Kévin Escoffier (PRB) and Sam Davies (Initiatives Coeur) for a route slightly to the west of a direct line.

 

As the 17-strong fleet of IMOCAs (still in the race out of 20) head south to the second Waypoint in the Atlantic on the same latitude as Les Sables d’Olonne, light winds could complicate progress. The battle continues between Thomas Ruyant, Jérémie Beyou, Kévin Escoffier, Charlie Dalin, Sam Davies and Boris Herrmann, with all six being only within a 10nm radius of each other.

The field is wide open!