News From The Classes

Top 40 skippers today

Thomas Ruyant (Destination Dunkerque “It is starting to feel a little long now! And so I need to just find some patience. I am getting towards the finish but it is still slow. I have not got the spinnaker out yet. It will not be very fast. I am not completely relaxed about it because the conditions are far from simple. What can say it is that you have to work very hard being at the front of this fleet, it is a demanding stressful thing, but it is cool. I think my ETA will be around the 18th or after depending on the winds around Guadeloupe.” Damien Grimont (Monbana): “It is nice to be in slightly more peaceful sailing conditions, after Annapurna! So it is down to a battle for the podium between Noblet, Manuard, Jorg and me and there is everything to play for with 500 miles still to go. When you see that I made 40 miles again on taking the right tack at the right time, then it shows there are still options. And conversely you can say that if you mess up a manoeuvre then you will pay a big price. If you want to gain on the shifts then you need to be well placed and positioned to do so. We will fight until the end. The end of the road will be thrilling.” Sam Manuard (Vecteur Plus): “I’d like to get third place. I am a bit closer to the wind and bit more isolated from the more squally stuff, so we will see if that pays off. I have never had any problems of motivation or moral, everything is good. I right in the race and it is all going well. Sure, I am a bit jaded and tired, accumulated tiredness, so I try to go at a sustainable rate and to save a little bit back for the finish which will be difficult. I spend some time looking at the weather, even if my overall strategy is fixed.”