The Vendée Globe’s final 5,000 miles are set to be a cliffhanger

-Strategic battle of wits to get to the Trade Winds - Complicated hours for Isabelle Joschke (MACSF) - Boissières, Roura, Beyou, Hare soon at the Horn

After a bitterly tough blow for Isabelle Joschke who had to retire from the Vendée Globe at just before 2130hrs UTC last night after her keel broke free of the temporary ram which had been holding it in place for nearly a week, there are 26 skippers still racing, 13 west of Cape Horn and 13 climbing the Atlantic.

Vendée English Live #64

Today, Joff Brown, technical director of Medallia (Pip Hare) will be the guest of the Vendée Live. 

Miranda Merron 'nobody is immune from a technical failure'

Brutal Blow For Joschke, Bestaven Looks To New Breeze

Since it was announced last night that Isabelle Joschke has abandoned she has been nursing her MACSF and its damaged keel carefully to get out of the windy low pressure system as quickly as possible, helped by Race Direction and the Vendée Globe’s meteo consultant Christian Dumard.
At the front of the fleet Yannick Bestaven’s lead has shrunk but gradually he is getting back into new wind pressure whilst the chasing duo’s speeds have been more erratic as they close to the same light winds anticyclonic ridge that has slowed the leader.

Additional keel ram damage for Isabelle Joschke (MACSF) who has abandoned her Vendée Globe

The Franco-German skipper Isabelle Joschke has been forced to abandon her Vendée Globe on the 62^nd day of racing after a further failure of the keel canting system on board her IMOCA MACSF.
Joschke was lying racing in 11^th place racing in difficult conditions, in 30-35 knots of wind in the South Atlantic some 1100 miles east of the Argentinian coast.