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The International Jury of the 2020 Vendée Globe have published their decisions for time compensations awarded to three of the four skippers who were involved in the rescue operation for Kevin ESCOFFIER during the period late afternoon and overnight Monday, November 30 when the skipper had to abandon his boat some 850 miles SW of Cape Town.

The number of Vendee Globe skippers now in the Indian Ocean grew to nine overnight as French sailors Thomas RUYANT and Jean LE CAM passed the Cape of Good Hope. Race first-timer RUYANT, skipper of Le Souffle du Nord pour le Projet Imagine, and veteran LE CAM on Finistère Mer Vent, were just under four hours apart from one another passing the magical longitude of 018°29.85'E.

At 20:00 UTC on 26th September, Golden Globe Race HQ in Les Sables d'Olonne received a request from the manager of the 32ft sailing yacht Selene for assistance from any GGR yacht in the area because her skipper Kjell LITWIN is running out of water.

This afternoon at 0330hrs UTC and whilst TechnoFirst-faceOcean was sailing in a strong 30 knots of wind with three reefs in the mainsail and the J3, with her skipper inside, a rogue wave put the boat on her side, mast in the water.

Skipper Chris NICHOLSON paid tribute to the winners after CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand were pipped to the finish by Team Telefónica in the climax of an epic duel between the two boats.

As one by one the boats disappear into the anti-piracy stealth zone, the skippers and navigators have been finalising their Doldrums strategies.

For the second time in two legs, Team Sanya are facing a test of resource and resolve just to continue in the race but for skipper Mike SANDERSON there is no doubt they will be back ready to pounce in time for Leg 3.

Alors que débute la 5e semaine de ce Vendée Globe, les défis qui s'annoncent sont nombreux. En tête de course, Charlie DALIN (Apivia) et Thomas RUYANT (LinkedOut​) doivent décider de leur stratégie avant d'affronter un front conséquent à partir de demain. D'autres, comme Louis BURTON, sont déjà face à un autre front ce lundi matin. Loin de là, quatre skippers ont passé le cap de Bonne-Espérance hier et savent que la suite s'annonce particulièrement corsée.

Over 24 hours of intense work has left the inside of Louis BURTON's IMOCA Bureau Vallée in a mess but the third placed skipper confirmed this morning that his efforts, in collaboration with his shore team, have kept him in the race. Speaking on the 0400hrs TU call this morning, after he had just gybed at the Antarctic Exclusion Zone he said, "I'm pretty burnt out and I admit that I came close to having to abandon". True to the philosophy of many competitors BURTON was not giving everything away about his problems, other than having said earlier that he had automatic pilot troubles.

The team at ARKEA PAPREC and French skipper Sébastien SIMON have confirmed he has abandoned his Vendée Globe. Last Wednesday morning at 0820hrs UTC his IMOCA hit a floating object and badly damaged his starboard foil and its housing. The boat has had a steady ingress of water which SIMON has largely dealt with. But with repairs seeming to be extremely complicated and probably requiring the foil to be cut into pieces, Simon and his team made the tough decision that he will give up. SIMON is on his way to Cape Town. He should reach the South African bay overnight from Saturday to Sunday.

The three skippers in the Vendee Globe solo round the world race who are having to avoid the worst of the violent Southern Ocean storm all are deploying different strategies. Two, Jean LE CAM in eighth and seventh placed Jean-Pierre DICK are headed in different directions as they outrun the worst of the winds nearest the centre of the low, while Yann ELIES in sixth has hove to and slowed right down - to just two or three knots at times - to hold a position which should ensure the strongest winds pass to his north.

The seven pirates charged in connection to the deadly hijacking have spent the last five years incarcerated in France, and face life imprisonment if found guilty.

The seven pirates charged in connection to the deadly hijacking have spent the last five years incarcerated in France, and face life imprisonment if found guilty.

Just a month after the start of the Vendée Globe, on 6th December in the middle of the Indian Ocean to the north of the CROZET Islands, Kito DE PAVANT and his Bastide Otio hit an unidentified floating object. The damage was fatal for the boat and the skipper was forced to abandon the race and his monohull.... Fortunately, the French vessel, the MARION-DUFRESNE, which delivers supplies to the French islands in the Antarctic and Southern Ocean, was sailing close to the area when the incident happened. Kito was rescued and taken aboard the ship, which continued her delivery trip. A few months later, they were able to watch the videos recorded on the hard disk aboard the boat, and discovered that the unidentified object was in fact a sperm whale, which was clearly visible in the wake of the boat. You can watch the video here. Hang on tight!

Following a violent collision last Wednesday evening, British Vendee Globe skipper Sam DAVIES (Initiatives-Cœur) sustained significant damage to the framework supporting the keel of her IMOCA. In consultation with her team, she made the decision to stop in Cape Town (South Africa).This morning as she arrived in Cape Town she confirmed by video at 0900hrs UTC that she is officially retiring from the race. But she says she is determined to return - after making repairs with her team and experts - to complete the race course as 'hors course', unclassified on the solo race which forbids any kind of outside assistance.

British skipper Sam DAVIES informed her team that her IMOCA Initiatives Coeur had struck a floating object at around 1900hrs UTC this evening. She is heading north at reduced speed and will inspect her boat to assess the damage and discuss actions with her team. Sam DAVIES is unhurt.

Racing in 25 knots of wind at 53 degrees south, life is distinctly chilly for Thomas RUYANT and Yannick BESTAVEN, the top two Vendée Globe skippers who are less than ten miles apart. They both gybed early this morning and are heading fully east running parallel to the exclusion barrier, for the Pacific where they are hoping the sea state will be easier and more conducive to higher average speeds than the Indian Ocean has been.

Louis BURTON, the solo skipper of eighth placed Bureau Vallée 2, plans to stop to make repairs at the tiny, remote MACQUARIE Island in the Southwestern Pacific this weekend. The 15 miles long island is close to his route eastwards and a short parenthesis, he hopes, would allow him to climb his mast and make repairs to his mast track and to the other damages which are compromising his speed potential.

Bangladesh has introduced a monsoonal fishery closure in the Bay of Bengal to ensure the conservation of fish stocks and productive breeding grounds. While the fishing ban has likely supported this goal, it has also sparked protest and resentment among small-scale fishers. This study investigated fishers' perceptions of the 65-day fishing ban between May and July in the Bay of Bengal. We collected both qualitative and quantitative data from five coastal fishing communities. Data were analyzed to explore fishers' perceptions of the socioeconomic and ecological impacts of the closure. While most respondents agreed that the closure produced positive ecological outcomes, they felt that their income and food security had been negatively affected. Importantly, crew members perceived their losses to be more extreme than the boat skipper or owner due to their overreliance on the fishery and lack of alternative skills and occupations. These fishers cannot forfeit their livelihoods and food security needs, as they are already living on the margins of subsistence. This social ramification emphasizes the necessity of understanding the interconnection between fishers' socioeconomic conditions and conservation needs. Social-ecological trade-offs and inequalities raise the question of social equity and environmental justice, which could ultimately compromise management and conservation effectiveness and legitimacy. The involvement of local communities in the decision-making process for future fishery interventions could enhance both the livelihood opportunities and the positive ecological outcomes in the Bay of Bengal marine ecosystem.

After a hideous night bashing across the Agulhas Current, the Volvo Ocean Race fleet has now reached a road block. It is the windless trough between the two low-pressure systems, which have threatened, but not yet evolved into one. It is now a race to get through the light and fluky airs of the trough and reach the new northerly breeze of the second front.

Nuit agitée sur l'eau, journée agitée dans la tête des navigateurs. Après un passage nocturne mouvementé à travers le courant des Aiguilles, différentes options se dessinent dans l'Indien.