Three yachts are converging on the finish line of the Vendée Arctique tonight, and the race for victory remains wide open. Sam Goodchild holds the lead aboard MACIF Santé Prévoyance, but Ambrogio Beccaria and Violette Dorange are closing fast, and either could still snatch the win in the final hours.
Goodchild is expected to cross between 8 and 11:30 p.m. (NZST), provided conditions hold. He faces a narrow window before the channel entrance becomes impassable at high water. If he doesn’t finish by midnight tonight, he’ll have to wait until Tuesday morning from 7:30 a.m. (NZST) onwards to enter safely.
Beccaria, piloting Allagrande Mapei, sits minutes behind. His ETA spans 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. (NZST) on the same timeline, with the same constraint: miss the window and he too waits for the channel to reopen Tuesday morning.
Dorange aboard Initiatives-Coeur sits third, expected between 9 p.m. and midnight (NZST) Monday night. Unlike the two leaders, she has no second-chance window; if she doesn’t finish tonight, she’ll arrive in the early hours of Tuesday.
Behind this trio, the fleet spreads. Francesca Clapcich in 11th Hour Racing should arrive between 2 and 6 a.m. (NZST) Tuesday. Elodie Bonafous, sailing Association Petits Princes – Quéguiner, follows between 8 and 10 a.m. (NZST) Tuesday morning.
The tail end drags deeper into the week. Nico d’Estais and Arnaud Boissières both face Thursday finishes, while Manu Cousin won’t cross until late June.
The compressed finish window for the three leaders adds a layer of tension to what has been a tightly fought race. Current conditions favour speed into the finish, but the tidal constraints mean nothing is guaranteed. A wind shift or tactical miscalculation in these final hours could shuffle the podium entirely. For Goodchild, holding position is no longer enough; he has to hold it fast.
