Charlie Dalin continues to lead the Vendée Globe as he passes Cape Leeuwin, the gateway to the Pacific Ocean, but his lead is shrinking as his competitors gain ground. Despite a recent breakage of his starboard foil, Dalin's closest rival, Sébastien Simon of Groupe Dubreuil, has reduced the gap to 157.58 miles as of the latest checkpoint at 19:00 on December 9. Yoann Richomme, sailing for Paprec Arkéa, has been the fastest in the last 24 hours and is now in third place, while Thomas Ruyant of Vulnerable follows closely in fourth. The top ten skippers have all made up some distance on Dalin, but a potential
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