Vendée Globe - Armel Tripon heading to the finish

The first of the two depressions are sweeping over the Bay of Biscay passing to north of L'Occitane in Provence and so Armel Tripon slowed safely along the Iberian coast to avoid the winds of over 50 knots and rough seas.

In these conditions, landing in Les Sables-d'Olonne is not easy, the continental shelf lifting the sea and transforming the formidable approach.

This morning, at Cape Finisterre, Tripon has winds of 33-35 knots with gusts of 38-40, not easy but manageable. 

A’second depression is coming in to with very big seas ahead of it, arriving on the Vendée coast at the same time as Tripon so it will be a complicated finish.

At the Azores yesterday, Clarisse Crémer is keeping a very eastern route staying clear of the the monster Atlantic low. A long way from the IMOCA fleet where winds and currents meet there are waves of 10 to 20 metres.

The rest of the fleet is advancing in more typical high pressure conditions, or the trade winds which are not really established. And so progress is neither fast nor comfortable.

www.vendeeglobe.org

Cover photo © Armel Tripon / L’Occitane en Provence