Here is some remarkable video footage of the two leaders of the Vendee Globe single-handed around the world race, shot from a French Navy helicopter from the frigate Nivôse. The helicopter videoed Armel le Cleac’h, sailing Banque Populaire VIII, and Alex Thomson, sailing Hugo Boss, as they passed the Kerguelen Islands deep in the southern Indian Ocean. Le Cleac’h and Thomson are now in first and second places, respectively. Thomson, the only Briton in the race, has been sailing at or near the front of the pack, despite having broken one of his foiling dagger boards.

Vendee Globe – Southern Ocean Match Racing – from the French Navy