17 days 23 hours to the Cape of Good Hope from the start in Les Sables d'Olonne - 5 days faster than the record!
Mad...
It's an extraordinary contest and I'm full of admiration of the skill and courage of the competitors. I'm always excited by the Vendée Globe, and yet........
There's a little bit of me that's never been entirely comfortable with the whole concept of single handed racing, as there's a serious issue of good seamanship. A skipper is required to keep a proper lookout at all times, yet the single handed sailor cannot possibly do this. In a "normal" yacht, plugging along at 5 knots this is not such an issue as it is with boats that reach such dizzying speeds as these IMOCA 60s and the like.
Still, kudos to Alex Thompson.
