Vendée Globe, Day 52: Dalin, Richomme looking for the trades

The two leaders of the Vendée Globe may finally have extricated themselves from cold front off Cabo Frio by Rio but both Charlie Dalin (MACIF Santé Prévoyance) and Yoann Richomme (PAPREC ARKÉA) still have some light winds to break through before reaching the southeasterly tradewinds which will allow them to accelerate more directly north towards the equator and home.

Dalin has led since yesterday but once more he has seen his margin trimmed by his pursuer, from 93 to 63 miles today. 

“The thing has been the weather GRIB files don’t really relate to what we are having. Sometimes we have seen as much as 200 degrees of difference. Only now are they starting to line up a bit.” He explains, “We talk a lot about the Doldrums but the semi-permanent cold front of Cape Frio can be a real headache. It is poorly documented and, in my opinion, underestimated. In this type of place, you sail by sight and, ultimately, in a way that is quite different from what you are used to. You have to be a bit opportunistic, adapt to what is happening but also know how to detach yourself a bit from the files, which is not necessarily easy. So we had to try to imagine what was happening.” 

Big wave jumps
In this very unstable area Dalin encountered some surprisingly big waves which had his MACIF Santé Prévoyance leaping out of the ocean, “In fact they were the most violent waves since the start of my Vendée Globe. I did some pretty crazy jumps. Everything flew around in the boat.”

Dalin told the Vendée LIVE! show, "Right now, I'm making progress on port tack to find my point where I will tack towards the North before then starting a very long tack on starboard to the Doldrums. This is a point that promises to be quite important because it will define a line that will then be difficult to change.” 

Crémer learns from 2021
Clarisse Crémer (L’Occitane en Provence) completed her second solo passage of Cape Horn at 1419hrs this afternoon in 12th position, the same position as she rounded in January 2021. She was followed 1hr and 19 minutes later by Benjamin Dutreux (Guyot Environnment).

"It's a little frustrating. It's still really cool to start 2025 like this. It's surreal to be on the other side of the world, to cross the Horn. It's a milestone that is not insignificant! Magellan, Drake, Shackleton... With each name that comes to mind, we almost feel like we are meeting legendary ghosts!" said Crémer. 
“Last time it was such a huge relief, it was like a finish line for me, I had looked forwards to crossing it for so long that when it happened it was almost like a disappointment because I was still racing, I was very, very far away from home, you are still very south and this part of the world has quite complex weather forecasts and so there is a fine balance between keeping the mythology alive, the legend alive, these aspects of Cape Horn, realising and enjoying the moment, what is means to be here, how lucky we are to be in these incredible places. It means a lot to cross Cape Horn as a sailor by yourself but you also need to stay calm and focused on the days to come.” 

Different, better mood to 2021 for Davies' fifth rounding
Briton Sam Davies (Initiatives Coeur) was due shortly after.  Speaking to Tracy Edwards on the Vendée LIVE! English show, she recalled her mood when she rounded in 2021 out of the race, “ For me it is such a massive achievement to get here in a very different mood to last time I was here. I am so thoroughly enjoying this race. It is great to be able to turn the page and go past Cape Horn again, I am not quite ranking where I hoped to have been and that is a bit frustrating but the race is still long and I am going for it.”

The semi-permanent cold front of Cape Frio can be a real headache. It is poorly documented and, in my opinion, underestimated.
CharlieDalinMACIF Santé Prévoyance

Denis in the Pacific 
Meantime there was an important milestone too for Denis Van Weynbergh (D'Ierteren Group) who, on the other side of the planet, entered the Pacific at 17:42hrs UTC "The next big step for me is the halfway point. Then will come the passages of the antimeridian, Point Nemo... and Cape Horn. It makes you dream!"  smiled the Belgian sailor delighted that a new ocean is opening up before him. And for good reason, the prospect of the next major steps to come acts as additional motivation.