© François Van Malleghem / Imoca

After the slew of finishes last night through into the early hours, then that of Isabelle Joschke this afternoon off Les Sables d’Olonne, there are now just four competitors left at sea. Arnaud Boissières, Manuel Cousin, Clément Giraud and Miranda Merron are on a direct course towards the finish. They’re expected in at around 03:00 hours on Thursday morning.

Thirteenth, Isabelle Joschke valiantly completed her obstacle course today. Deprived of a boom since it broke in two on the morning of 11 July, the skipper of MACSF has been sailing for the past 4 days with a mainsail cobbled together and reduced down to the second reef. The Franco-German sailor has nonetheless managed to complete this Vendée-Arctique-les Sables d’Olonne, a race that she had to finish to qualify for the Vendée Globe. Mission accomplished!
 
Under big blue skies, Isa finishes 13th, relieved and happy to have overcome various obstacles along the way, even though her final position does not reflect the potential that she demonstrated during the first two thirds of the race. Without this damage, she would doubtless have formed part of the great flood of finishers last night.
 
Yesterday evening and through into the early hours, there was a succession of 12 competitors between the Nouch Sud buoy and the committee boat, the same line from which the Vendée Globe sailors will set sail on 8 November 2020. Just 6 hours and 19 minutes was all it took for 10 men and 2 women to cross the finish line. That’s an average of one boat every half hour and proof of the intensity of this Vendée-Arctique-les Sables d’Olonne.

Ten days of close-contact racing around the North Atlantic and a fabulous testing ground prior to the singlehanded round the world, such was the take-away sentiment for the sailors competing in this unique and necessary event. In fact, it was even essential for three of them, who were compelled to compete in a singlehanded race to validate their qualification for the Vendée Globe. That’s already a done deal for the Japanese skipper Kojiro Shiraishi and for Isabelle Joschke. Clément Giraud should also qualify tomorrow, Thursday 16 July, at around 07:00 hours.
 
 
The next ETAs (French time):

14 – Arnaud Boissières (La Mie Câline - Artisans Artipôle) at 03:00hrs
15 – Manu Cousin (Groupe SÉTIN) at 04:30hrs
16 – Clément Giraud (Vers un monde sans sida) at 07:00hrs
17 – Miranda Merron (Campagne de France) at 10:30hrs