IMOCA Open 60 - Vendée Globe 2016/17 - Day 18

This evening around 19h, Alex Thompson GBR will round the Cape of Good Hope with his 'Hugo Boss' in a new record time. Thanks to the increased top speeds of the Open60s with foils - an average velocity of almost 16 kn - and ideal wind conditions during the whole race so far, he will smash the during the last Vendée established record of Armel Le Cléac'h FRA by over 4 days. With 18 days and 12 hrs, Thomson is as fast as the catamaran 'Orange II' during the record race in 2002 ! The fresh wind zone caused by the perturbances from the West has now gone also for the leading trio, but with speeds around 16 kn, they are racing at the same speed as the chasers far behind. With a 100 nm backlog, Armel Le Cléac'h FRA ('Banque Populaire') remains on the 2nd place. Sébastien Josse FRA ('Edmond de Rothschild') on rank 3 is now 234 nm behind after a 6 hours' repair halt after a rudder system damage due to a collision with flotsam two days ago. The bulk of the fleet is now over 2'000 nm behind trailing in the lulls off the Brazilian coast, allowing the backmarkers to rejoin the fleet.
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