SEILmagasinet · video

What this video covers

The second weekly Vendée Globe race report from SEILmagasinet covers the opening days of the 2024 edition, with four rookies — Sam Goodchild, Johan Richom (Holcim PRB), Nicolas Lundveen, and Justin Matrao — running in the top five and surprising the French sailing establishment.6:12 Lundveen set a solo monohull 24-hour distance record of 546.6 nautical miles (roughly 26.7 km/h average) by holding a northwesterly course past Cap Finisterre while rivals headed south, gaining a full day's lead at one point.11:25 The fleet was approaching the Canary Islands, averaging about 13 knots since the start, and entering a weather transition: normal North Atlantic trade winds giving way to a false doldrums zone, with a high-pressure system squeezed toward the Cape Verde Islands complicating routing.3:53 Sam Goodchild reported autopilot failures, running on a secondary pilot while awaiting lighter winds to attempt repairs.8:03 Maxime Sorel suffered a mainsail track failure — the sail stuck and could not be raised — and damaged the mast attempting a fix aloft, forcing a diversion to Madeira, roughly 450 miles away.15:44 The next report is planned for the following Friday, when the fleet is expected to be in the Southern Ocean.16:02

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