French skipper Charlie Dalin reached the Cape of Good Hope on Africa’s southern coast in first place on Friday as the Vendee Globe solo non-stop round the world yacht race headed for rough seas.
Dalin, 40, has been leading for the past week, setting a swift pace through the Atlantic since leaving Les Sables-d’Olonne in western France on November 10.
His Macif boat passed the Cape of Good Hope — the first of three great capes along with Australia’s Cape Leeuwin and South America’s Cape Horn — at 1545 GMT after 19 days, three hours and 43 minutes at sea.
“I feel like I’ve been teleported here from the equator,” said Dalin, who took seven days from the equator to reach the entry point to the challenging southern seas.
“It’s sailing hard and it’s sailing fast.
“It’s really impressive how quickly we have done this section to the Cape. I really have lost all sense of time and space.”
At 1800GMT Friday, Dalin was closely followed by fellow French skippers Sebastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil), Thomas Ruyant (Vulnerable) and Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkea), the trio just 25 nautical miles behind.
“We all knew that this would be a very competitive race and so it is proving,” said Dalin, who in 2020 also led at this point but by a margin of 300 nautical miles.
The Cape of Good Hope is where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, making it a key point in the southern seas.
“The real world tour begins today,” warned British racer Sam Goodchild, an early leader but now seventh.
Like the equator, Point Nemo, the entry into the Pacific, or Cape Horn, the Cape of Good Hope is an important crossing in the Vendee Globe, but also a dangerous zone.
“This is the place that I fear the most,” Dalin had said of the currents which descend the east African coast to create whirlpools before the sailors arrive in the Indian Ocean.
For three weeks competitors will have to deal with rough seas, freezing temperatures, violent winds, icebergs and the feeling of solitude.
