Vendée Globe: Le Cam Adds Salt to the Golding's Wound

Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel) is a masterchef of the airwaves and decided on Saturday that some raw flesh needed a touch more salt.

He looks like he is about to escape on a north wind from Mike Golding (Gamesa) and the two others chasing him, as the three hit a ridge of high pressure south of Australia. He thought he would rub it in.  

Le Cam suggested on Vendée Globe TV live, with more than a pinch of mischief, that Golding might have a problem with his boat because his speeds were so low.

“I don’t sail as fast as I would like but I’m OK, I’m not very happy with my speed, but I am managing to get far away from Mike,” Le Cam said. “I should be able to make the break now. I think Mike has a problem with his sails because it’s not possible to sail like he does with the current wind directions. When you see Dominique (Wavre), he is doing much better, so I think something is up with Mike.”

“The boat is doing well. I didn’t do that much repairs, so it’s nice. But I still feel like an old man because of my little injury to my back.” (Le Cam injured his back during a particularly heavy landing off a wave last week).

Stirring the pot, Le Cam wondered whether Golding had perhaps not revealed all about his wipeout last Sunday. Although, Le Cam did post some strangely slow speeds occasionally in the last week.

Of equal significance to the sailing community will be the news that Samson will not be cutting his hair for the finish as vaguely promised.

“Everybody has been breaking my balls before the start (about my hair) but I won’t go to the hairdresser,” Le Cam said. “It’s like this. I’ll do some pigtails before my arrival in Les Sables.”

Le Cam was stirring an old Anglo-French rivalry. The 53-year-old Frenchman, in his third Vendée Globe and famous at home for winning three editions of the Solitaire du Figaro, is an old sparring partner of the 52-year-old Briton, Golding.

A fan of James Bond, Le Cam, nicknamed Golding: ‘Goldinger’ (guess after which Bond film) during the 2004 race, when he finished second ahead of

Golding in a nail-biting race back to Les Sables.
Golding rejected the idea that there was a problem. “Well, I’ve got a gennaker up at the moment, we will see,” he said. “I’m gennakering.”

But added that Le Cam was likely to get away: “I am going to get caught by (the ridge of the high pressure). Whether Jean will get caught I don’t know, his routing looks pretty straight, so I’m not so sure he gets caught. Theoretically, the boats behind should slow down more, but we’ll just have to see.”

Dominique Wavre (Mirabaud), southwest of Golding, in eighth, has closed 30 miles in the last 24 hours, and is just 62 miles behind. Javier Sansó (Acciona 100% EcoPowered), northwest of them both, has lost a little and is 122 miles behind Wavre. The gang of four Vendée Veterans have 13 editions of the race between them.

Wavre said that Le Cam’s dive south two days ago had not made the difference, more that he was just far enough in front to avoid the high pressure ridge.  “Now he will fly away,” Wavre said.  

Fleet News

Both couples have separated at the front of the fleet.

Having either been side-by-side or on top of each other since December 9, Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) is now 50 miles southwest of the leader 
Francois Gabart (MACIF). Gabart leads by 34 miles, monster by the single figure standards of the last week. But Le Cléac’h is making the routing running. He was the first to the New Zealand gate on Saturday morning, gybed 70 miles west of where Gabard later gybed and has gybe again further south. Gabart will surely join him as there is low-pressure system arriving there.

Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss), the fastest in the fleet this morning and still over the last 24 hours, averaging 18 knots, has dropped Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat) at the Auckland Islands and is now 45 miles ahead. Thomson is reaching northeast in 26-28 knot northwesterlies. As for the leaders, the passage south of the Auckland Islands and over the Campbell Plateau sounded like no picnic.

Between the couples, Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec 3) has been the fastest over the last four hours, averaging 20.1 knots. He is 150 miles due of the New Zealand gate and has closed to 524 miles behind the leader.

At the back Tanguy de Lamotte (Initiaves Cœur) has lost 54 miles in pursuit of  Bertrand de Broc (Votre Nom autour du Monde avec EDM Projets), as both approach the West Australia gate. Meanwhile Alessandro di Benedetto (Team Plastique) is posting some impressive speeds at the back by the Amsterdam gate. He is 4,509 miles behind the leader, but is driving his 1998 boat, the only one in the fleet without a canting keel, hard and has covered 341 miles in the last 24 hours.

- Matthew Pryor

Watch Vendée Globe TV live at 1200hrs (UTC) (1300hrs, GMT) see today’s here.

PHOTO VINCENT CURUTCHET