Armel le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire VIII) and Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) have been leading the Vendée Globe fleet since the start of the race on 6 November 2016. From now on, the two competitors who are only around ten miles apart are in the Deep South, off the Kerguelen Islands
The two skippers were filmed from a helicopter of the Frégate Nivôse, whose mission is to ensure the sovereignty of the French state within the TAAF (Terre Australe et Antarctiques Françaises). These rare images were made possible thanks to the collaboration of several actors: the race management, the audiovisual production of the Vendée Globe, the French Navy and TF1.
The helicopter followed the directions of the race direction to find the two lost IMOCAs in the desert of the Southern Seas, at the gates of the ice, 40 miles north of the Kerguelen
We share the sea conditions of the two leaders, who are making 20 knots in the Indian Ocean in heavy seas: under mainsail with one reef and J2 for Banque Populaire VIII and under two reefs, small gennaker and staysail for Hugo Boss. In addition to seeing them, they can also be heard on the VHF since the frigate was able to exchange with the two sailors. This is the first time in the history of the race that such images have been shot
" It's true that this morning was the good surprise, finally last night. Around 3 in the morning we had the visit of the French Navy, with a beautiful boat and the helicopter which came to fly over us a few minutes. I was able to talk to the pilot and the captain of the boat. It felt good to have human presence in the middle of the Indian Ocean. We said hello, they were happy to see me too. I asked them what they were doing here and their missions. It feels good to have people around us, we had the impression of being at home in Brittany. But I couldn't see the Kerguelens, because the visibility wasn't terrible. It's been going pretty fast for the last 24 hours, it's pretty tonic. We're at over 20 knots "Armel confided to the Vendée Live this lunchtime.
"I think it's nice that Armel keeps in touch with me. Of course if I had a foil, I wouldn't. It's good that he's here to set the pace. This allows me to calibrate myself against him. The conditions are similar for both of us. It allows me to check my choices. If he takes the same road as I feel confident, we are on the right road. And if he goes somewhere else, I look to see what makes him do it. So we're both faster. And then there's security." launched this afternoon at the Alex Thomson session. On the pictures, we see the British skipper who, despite the conditions, does not hesitate to climb on the roof of his boat to wave an English flag!
