Vendée Globe Yacht Race Passing Tristan and Gough
The Vendée Globe is a solo non-stop round the world yacht race, starting and finishing in France, and taking place every four years. This year's race started from Les Sables d'Olonne, France, on the 8th November 2020, with the competitors heading off on old east-bound sailing ship route towards Brazil and then across the South Atlantic Ocean to pass the Cape of Good Hope.
Race map showing the yachts passing through the Tristan Group about midday 28th November - Source: Vendée Globe
On Friday 27th November 2020, the first yacht, Apivia, skippered by Charlie Dalin, reached the Tristan group, passing south of Gough Island. Next was Jean Le Cam's Yes we Cam! which passed north of Tristan da Cunha in the early hours of 28th November, guided partly by the street lights from the settlement. (These can be seen on Jean's video at: youtu.be/QgSfjhslT6Y)
Thomas Ruyant's LinkedOut then passed north of Gough, sailing close enough to take pictures of the island. The main 'peleton' of yachts sailed between Tristan and Gough on the 29th November, neither close enough nor in the right place to be seen by the islanders. A dozen or more further yachts are expected to pass the islands over the next couple of days, so there may yet be sightings of the race from Tristan. Meanwhile, the speed of these yachts is such that the leaders are likely to pass the Cape of Good Hope during the 30th November.
Thomas Ruyant's photo of the north coast of Gough Island as he races by - Source: Twitter