It's been an exciting 84 days since the start of the Vendee Globe. Several yachts had to return to port for repairs soon after the start including the eventual winner, Michel Desjoyeux. It was the second time he had entered the race and he is the first person to have won it twice - this time by a margin of several days!
The previous occasion was 8 years ago, when he was trailed in by the now-famous Ellen Macarthur. Today the second place competitor, Roland Jourdain, retired after losing his keel, a consequence of crashing into a whale of some sort in the Southern Atlantic.
Thirty competitors started the race 12 weeks ago, and now only 11 competitors remain in the race. The winner has finished and the last man has still to make it around Cape Horn, with the South and North Atlantics lying ahead of him before his turn to finish - assuming he makes it that far.
It has been an exciting race, with one man breaking his leg and needing an emergency rescue, two leaders losing their masts and retiring, and one boat capsizing with the yachtsman being rescued by a competitor, damaging his own boat in the process, after which he too was dismasted.
There are too many stories to tell here. You can read and see all about it on the Vendee Globe race website.
The leading British sailor, Samantha Davies, is now in third place, following Jourdain's retirement. The fourth-place man has a larger time bonus than Sam after standing by poor Yann Elies while he awaited rescue after breaking his leg. So it will be an exciting finish for those two as they race up through the North Atlantic.
Can Sam take third place? Wait and see!
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