Dalin, Beyou, Ruyant: three men on a quest for glory

Akin to Sisyphus

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus, son of Aeolus, was punished in Hades for his misdeeds and condemned to the eternal task of rolling a large stone to the top of a hill, from which it always rolled down again. It symbolises a vain and seemingly endless test that feels hopeless at times. Today, once again, Charlie Dalin, Jérémie Beyou and Thomas Ruyant must feel like Sisyphus, the summit in question being the ranking, which they have to constantly start over from scratch.  

Leading the way yesterday, Jérémie Beyou summed up the situation to a T: “It’s hard because each time I get ahead, the wind eases. Inevitably, I come to a standstill and the others make the most of it to change direction behind me and I get overtaken. Yesterday evening, there was a reunification of nearly the whole fleet. On my computer screen, there were 10 boats pressed together. It’s a great battle for sure, but I’m afraid that all that serves no real purpose given the conditions we’re going to have at the Gallimard mark, which is placed right inside the ridge of high pressure”. The front boats are expected to arrive there in the early hours of tomorrow, Monday 13 July.

Adieu Morpheus

As a result, Charlie Dalin took control of the fleet last night, albeit by just a matter of boat lengths. The pilot of Apivia and that of Charal could see one another through their binoculars. Given their sharpened competitive spirit, neither of them will willingly give an inch. However, conditions are so shifty on this reach to the next course mark, that the skippers are having to pay a high price to continue this battle: that of sleep deprivation. Slightly outpaced last night (15 miles), Thomas Ruyant succumbed to the call of Morpheus and enjoyed some restorative sleep. Contacted at the telephone link-up, the skipper of LinkedOut highlighted the dilemma: “If I could do without it, I would never sleep. To make headway, these boats are so demanding that it’s hard to let up and go and get some rest”. 

Will he be fresher than his predecessors when it comes to tackling the zone of light winds (5 knots in places) tonight? For now, all’s well. Thomas and his playmates are leading the way with an average of 20 knots on the beam. However, this pattern is not set to last. At nightfall, there will still be nearly 100 miles left to cover at the heart of the ridge of high pressure and the danger could come from any side.

Thriller at Gallimard point?

Carried along by Kevin Escoffier (PRB) and Samantha Davies (Initiatives-Cœur), who are neck and neck, the horde of pursuers is champing at the bit. Boris Herrmann (Seaexplorer- Yacht Club de Monaco) and Yannick Bestaven (Maître CoQ IV); Fabrice Amedeo (Newrest-Arts& Fenêtres) and Clarisse Crémer (Banque Populaire X) and further back, Maxime Sorel (V and B-Mayenne) and Kojiro Shiraïshi (DMG Mori Global One) accompanied by Giancarlo Pedote (Prysmian Group) are all embroiled in some galvanising duels.

Tonight, the passage through the ridge of high pressure will favour their return and the umpteenth reunification. For the sailors, the Gallimard waypoint certainly won’t be a chance to enjoy a reading break. However, for the race’s spectators, the suspense and the constant jockeying for position will be reminiscent of a thriller… (visit this link and discover a series of texts from the skippers and writers)

The last four competitors meantime, still have a few pages to read. Indeed, as the head of the race tackles the final waypoint tomorrow, Arnaud Boissières, Manuel Cousin, Miranda Merron and Clément Giraud will still be at the latitude of Fastnet Rock.

ETA in Les Sables d’Olonne:

the front runners are expected overnight from 14 through into 15 July and the back runners at midday on 16 July.