Vendee, Vendee…: The three leaders (Le Cam, Riou and Golding) are all around the Horn and headed north up the Atlantic toward the finish. Click here for latest daily report and here for positions. Less than 100 miles separates the top 3, which is simply unbelievable after two months and more than 20,000 miles of sailing. Any of these guys could win, and we’re in for a thrilling final leg. Just consider that in 2000 Ellen MacArthur was more than 400 miles behind the leader, Michel Desjoyeaux, at the Horn, and still managed to pass him (albeit very briefly) at the Equator. Despite its blood-curdling reputation Cape Stiff was exceedingly gentle on the top three. Here’s Mike Golding’s account:

“The cape was fantastic. It was a beautiful clear day with a sea breeze from the east. At around 60 miles from land I could clearly see the mountains. I don’t know if that was because of a refraction of the light. I really enjoyed the late evening at the Cape. I was about 3 miles off at around midnight GMT. I opened a rather large bottle of champagne and had a little drop or two! I haven’t kept a count on how many times I’ve passed the cape but I think it must be 7 or 8 times. I remember that each time I’ve been surprised by the weather. I only have one recollection of a time when we had really strong winds. I was racing crewed and we had 55 to 60 knots of easterly, which is very different from this time around. It’s generally been quite kind. It is clearly a big relief to have left the Southern Ocean. The icebergs put a different perspective on things. Any three of us (Golding/Le Cam/ Riou) stand a chance of winning now. Any of us can pull away little by little. I firmly believe that anything is possible…”

And don’t miss the fantastic video (taken from the air and on land) of 2nd place racer Vincent Riou rounding the Horn on PRB, which can be found on the Vendee Globe website video page. If you ever wanted a good look at the famous headland, this is it. Leader Jean Le Cam’s video of a Southern Ocean iceberg is pretty cool, too. God, I love the Internet…



Riou Rounds In The Sun: “Wow! Am I truly at the bottom of the world or is all that New Year’s champagne causing hallucinations…?”