The 2020-21 Vendée Globe, that started in such difficult circumstances against the background of the worldwide pandemic, is set to finish in unprecedented style with the leading boats headed for the finish separated by no more than a few hours.

You only have to look online to see that thousands of sailing fans all over the world are hooked on the final stages of a 26,000-mile contest that features five solo IMOCA skippers vying for the win.

It is not too much to say that this Vendée Globe is already being seen as a watershed race – one that changes the way this marathon will be thought of, prepared for and competed for in future editions.

No longer is it a long distance slog with thousands, or hundreds, of miles separating the leading boats. From now on it is going to be about consistent, competitive sailing 24 hours-a-day, for three months and with expectation that skippers will have to fight all the way to the finish.

Right now the fascinating aspect is how the two routing choices that separate out the top-five are going to play out. In the south off Cape Finisterre, Charlie Dalin on Apivia has a lateral separation of around 80 miles from Boris Herrmann on SeaExplorer-Yacht Club de Monaco.

About 600 miles northwest of Dalin, Louis Burton, who has come back into contention after being over 900 miles behind at Macquarie Island on Bureau Vallée 2, is about to gybe about 220 miles ahead of Thomas Ruyant on LinkedOut. Ruyant has Yannick Bestaven on Maître Coq hot on his heels, 40 miles astern.

The rankings show Dalin in the lead, with just over 400 miles to sail to Les Sables d’Olonne, with a margin of 82 miles over Herrmann in second place, with Burton just under 140 miles back in third. Then comes LinkedOut (+255) and Maître CoQ IV(+295). 

While Dalin and Herrmann have the more direct route to the finish line, their three rivals in the north are going to benefit from stronger wind conditions and will come in faster. However, the latest routing suggests that Dalin and Herrmann will sneak in just ahead of the northern group.

But as they do so the time bonuses will come into play, with Bestaven getting 10 hours and 15 minutes for diverting to look for PRB skipper, Kevin Escoffier, in the Southern Ocean, and Herrmann being awarded six hours.

For the first time in the history of the race, the winner on the water may lose out on corrected time; for the first time in the history of the race a non-French sailor could win, if Boris takes the spoils; if he does so, he is likely also to be the first winner of the Vendée Globe who never led the rankings on the water, a remarkable statistic in its own right.

A thriller of a finish awaits, so it’s all eyes on the tracker….

Ed Gorman