Les Sables d’Olonne rocked all day yesterday to the rhythm of the last five finishes. Arnaud Boissières (15th) opened the ball of the day a little before 9am, which ended at 12.57am exactly with the crossing of the line by Pip Hare in 19th position.

The day after the arrival of Jérémie Beyou (13th) and Romain Attanasio (14th), the next arrivals will not take place until Wednesday. While an intense battle between five skippers (Boissières, Shiraishi, Roura, Le Diraison, Hare), Manuel Cousin has to deal with keel problems. There are still eleven skippers making progress in the Atlantic and heading for Les Sables d’Olonne.

Shining for nearly 80 days, Armel Tripon still shone at a press conference for having conquered Everest of the seas. It is the same euphoria that “threatens” the 14 skippers still in the race and who, day after day, are getting closer to home.

The race for victory is more open than ever: there are at least seven who can still claim it when they are expected to reach the Azores overnight.

This morning, after weeks of valiantly battling serious damage, Sébastien Destremau threw in the towel. Merci’s skipper has been heading since this morning to the port of Dunedin, in the South Island of New Zealand, or to Christchurch, which is easier to access and where he will find the equipment to repair.