Vendee

The top five leaders in this year's running of the Vendée Globe have been dancing back and forth, in and out of the lead position since the fleet passed the tip of South Africa. Currently, Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire) has only an 8.5-mile lead over the young pup of the fleet, François Gabart (MACIF). "Maybe I’ll see Armel soon; it will depend on the visibility," Gabart noted. "I can see him on my AIS, though. I can even tell you his speed and heading!" His wish could come true shortly if he's able to maintain his current record-breaking speeds of 22 knots. This morning, the 29-year-old broke the solo sailing record by hitting 545.3 miles in 24 hours, breaking competitor Jean-Pierre Dick's 502.9-mile record set just 10 days ago.