IMOCA Open 60 - Vendée Globe - Day 31 - Das Spitzen-Duo im Survival-Mode

Yesterday evening UTC, Charlie Dalin FRA ('Apivia') and Thomas Ruyant FRA ('LinkedOut') reached the storm depression over the South Indian Ocean. At 45kn, in peaks up to 60kn, both are sailing in survival mode with retracted foilers and minimal sail area. Dalin FRA lies 285nm miles off Ruyant FRA this morning UTC. The chasing group, on the other hand, is benefitting from 'normal' conditions (25kn) at the backside of the disturbance. Louis Burton FRA ('Bureau La Vallée') was able to complete repairs moving up to 3rd place with a 336nm backlog. Benjamin Dutreux FRA ('OMIA') advanced to 5th place as best non-foiler, in front of Damien Séguin FRA ('Groupe Apicil', Non-Foiler), who apparently was able to repair his autopilot. Isabelle Joschke FRA ('MACSF') in 9th place was still one of the fastest, reducing the gap to 578nm. Armel Tripon FRA ('L'Occitane') rank 14, coming strongly from behind with an 18kn average speed, was the fastest in the fleet. ----- The race tracker and the reports.