Bernard Stamm’s Cheminées Poujoulat on the beach, Kerguelen Islands, about 50° S latitude.
I’m stunned that two of the Vendee Globe favorites are suddenly out; in fact the fleet is down to 21 entries out of 30 starters. The leaders are 14,000 nm from the finish, more than half the distance remaining and Cape Horn still to face, and the stragglers 3,000 nm behind. The old adage, “To finish first, first finish” never seemed truer. Below, a table of the retirees.
Mike Golding was dismasted today, too! What a mess. The Southern Ocean is not a toy.