Vendee Globe Starts Today, Facts, Video, Discussion

[Polux]

Taking the opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas, that I an sure it will be the case for almost all (if not all)..... but not for some of the sailors on the Vendee.

Some will be encountering really bad conditions in the next 12 to 24 hours. That is the case with Destremau and Attanasio (the two on the tail) on the next 12 hours and on the next 24 hours and over the case with Rich Wilson, Enda, Roura, Eric, Fabrice and Arnaud, that sail on the same group.

They will encounter again the passage door between NZ and the ice exclusion line close by a big storm, like it had happened previously with that famous trio (Le Cam, Jean-Pierre, Yann). Tough situation and very difficult to manage since the options, without stopping racing for a while are not much.
https://gis.ee/vg/

I am pretty sure that they will be very glad to have other boats near by, on the great Austral desert where help is about as far as the moon.

And regarding being close don't miss the most amazing Duo singing a Christmas song on the video below
J48 : Eric Bellion et Alan Roura naviguent bord à bord / Vendée Globe - vidéo Dailymotion

Regarding the race, Armel had a very slow passage on the Horn, almost without wind and doing only 7K. Alex recovered about 100 nm but the fastest was the third, Beyou, that after having lost time doing a 2 hour penalty comes charging making 424nm on the last 24 hours, against 286 from Alex and 229 for Armel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0ttdOYT7O8

Beyou is now at 715nm from Alex and with a favorable run on the next days (he has favorable wind ahead) perhaps we will have a fight for 2th place.

The other one that is doing great is Didac Costa that managed to overtake Pieter taking more risks and more wind on that depression they have tried to avoid. He did not only overtake one more as he put himself in a better position not only to avoid the worst of the bad weather on the next 12 hours but to take advantage of it, being pushed by the depression.

Well, the next ones ahead of him are Amadeo and Rich Wilson, at about 1100nm. It is going to be interesting to see if he can catch them, but if so it will be only after passing the horn, on the Atlantic.

I am also following with interest a very interesting trio that seems to be sailing better and better: Louis Burton, Nandor Fa and Conrad Colman.

[Pelagic]

Thank you Polux and a Merry Xmas to you.
Being mostly bedridden the last 3 weeks after an Achilles tendon operation, your Vendee updates have been highly appreciated.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Bleemus

I have hit logs far offshore and narrowly missed a mostly submerged container just outside of NY Harbor. With the amount of miles I have I consider it a rare event but the percentage of Vendee boats hitting stuff seems outside the Bell Curve.

Is it? I hit a submerged log at ~ 8-9 knots 2 years ago, bending a rudder (fortunately I have 2). I've dodged a container. Granted, coastal water have more crap in them. But that's a lot of boats sailing fast, and hitting something at 18 knots vs 5 knots is 12x the energy.

[steamgoat]

As previously mentioned, Thomas Coville is now 300miles from home and doing 28 knots,about 5 days ahead of previous record,that boat looks amazing at speed !!

[Polux]

Alex had a fantastic day doing 541nm while Armel had a lousy one, making only 243nm. He had to sail first with very weak winds and then against very strong head winds. Could not be worst.

Alex recovered on one day and a half almost half the distance that separated him from Armel. He is now at 456nm and still closing. He will have better wind than Armel on the next days, so he is going to get even closer.

I believe the 3rd, Beyou that only lost 18nm for Alex on the last 24 hours has on the next days even better wind conditions, and will close on Alex and Armel.

But in some two days it would be routing time with lots of delicate options and then we will see from the three who can make the better work.

Anyway it seems to me they are all in attack mode, Christmas or not.

Beyou talks about sailing his IMOCA like a Figaro and a Figaro is a boat that demands constant tuning and Beyou is one of the best on those boats. Attack mode, I said

That's Christmas, family time for me and I have no more time today for posting but if you want to hear about a Christmas and solidarity story on the Vendee, have a look at the last post my blog.

[Polux]

Originally Posted by steamgoat

As previously mentioned, Thomas Coville is now 300miles from home and doing 28 knots,about 5 days ahead of previous record,that boat looks amazing at speed !!

Yes, he is going to have the Christmas dinner wit the family

He is at only 57nm, going at 27k. The advantage over the previous record is of ove 3000nm!!!! and we will have a new solo circumnavigation sail record of about 49 days and just some very few hours.
Tableau de bord - Sodebo - Tour Du Monde 2016

That record will be slower for only about 3 days and a half than the absolute sail record that belongs to Loick Peyron on the maxi trimaran Banque Populaire, with the help of a 13 men crew. Amazing feat for Coville!!!
Loïck Peyron / Banque Populaire V - Trophée Jules Verne

[Steadman Uhlich]

Christmas Alone on a Sailboat?

How would you celebrate Christmas if you were alone and far from your family? Alone on a boat in a storm tossed ocean?

The more I see of Alex, the more I respect him; as a sailor, as a man, and now as a father. This video, sent from a sailboat as he races around the world alone for months, shows his love for his children, and his great spirit and wonderfully charming humor. Salute! Merry Christmas to Alex and the other racers!

And Merry Christmas to ALL sailors who are at sea, or separated from family, or snug in a harbor or even at home!

I enjoyed this video "Christmas Message" from Alex. Link below.

https://www.facebook.com/AlexThomson...9649541715758/

[Steadman Uhlich]

Saw this cartoon today and thought about the Vendee racers and how they hit UFOs.



Merry Christmas to All!

[Steadman Uhlich]

POLUX,

I have not followed the Vendee boat development closely, and would appreciate learning a bit more about what you refer to here in this quote from what you said up above. Please give a brief description of how the boat's length changed from 70 to 65 and what was the cause or reason. A brief description or some elaboration of your comment would be appreciated as I am ignorant on this issue and would like to learn a little more.

Your opinions and factual knowledge are both appreciated.

You wrote:
"This show also how the evolution of these boats have been a constant. probably they are among the race boats whose evolution has been more constant and fast. We can see by comparison the VOR 65 being slower than the VOR70, after that tragic mistake (regarding boat evolution) to make them a class boat and not even attributing their design to the one that had made the fastest VOR boats."
_________

And thanks again for adding such good content to CF for us to enjoy and learn from. I have read every post and learned a lot from your posts on this topic. Bravo Pollux!

And may you and all reading this and ALL CF members have a Merry Christmas too!

[Steadman Uhlich]

Just released video of Alex singing a unique Christmas song as he prepared to round Cape Horn.

https://www.facebook.com/AlexThomson...0471508300228/

[Polux]

Originally Posted by Steady Hand

POLUX,

I have not followed the Vendee boat development closely, and would appreciate learning a bit more about what you refer to here in this quote from what you said up above. Please give a brief description of how the boat's length changed from 70 to 65 and what was the cause or reason. A brief description or some elaboration of your comment would be appreciated as I am ignorant on this issue and would like to learn a little more.

Your opinions and factual knowledge are both appreciated.

You wrote:
"This show also how the evolution of these boats have been a constant. probably they are among the race boats whose evolution has been more constant and fast. We can see by comparison the VOR 65 being slower than the VOR70, after that tragic mistake (regarding boat evolution) to make them a class boat and not even attributing their design to the one that had made the fastest VOR boats."
_________

And thanks again for adding such good content to CF for us to enjoy and learn from. I have read every post and learned a lot from your posts on this topic. Bravo Pollux!

And may you and all reading this and ALL CF members have a Merry Christmas too!

Steady, big confusion!!! The VOR boats (Volvo Ocean Race) are the ones that passed from 70 to 65 ft and from being different designs inside a box rule to being a one class boat with all the boats equal.

The IMOCA boats (that are used on the Vendee Globe) have a box rule that actually gives a lot of freedom to the designers, almost all the boats are different, even the ones designed by the same designer. The more successful boats today are designed by Verdier.

The IMOCAS have 60ft and because the box rule is flexible is why they are also known as Open 60's even if in fact they are not Open boats.

[Tricolor]

B&G where is the support somebody can expect sailing the prestigious Vendee Globe....


ZERO SUPPORT FROM B&G TO SOLVE PIETER HEEREMA"S PROBLEMS!!!! A BLOODY SHAME

Report from Pieter Heerema;

Pieter Heerema (NED) (No Way Back): “The weather is great I am going slow intentionally steering into the high pressure, because I have a huge list of things to be done which can only be done in a calm situation. I had repair the mainsail with ten patches. I have repaired three cars, on the mainsail track. The going is slow but the circumstances are fantastic. It is like a holiday cruise right now. I have let go my thoughts of the race right now. This comes as a welcome chance to prepare the boat for the Pacific. I am not completely ready but should be by the end of the day and then thereafter it is just keeping fingers crossed that a solution is found to the autopilot problems. If not then that is another reason to be in the north, because I look for a harbour in Australia and put the boat on a freighter back to Europe. Without an autopilot it is just not doable. I am not going back into the Southern Ocean without a working pilot. I have no idea what I am doing with the software.”

[Bleemus]

Originally Posted by Tricolor

B&G where is the support somebody can expect sailing the prestigious Vendee Globe....


ZERO SUPPORT FROM B&G TO SOLVE PIETER HEEREMA"S PROBLEMS!!!! A BLOODY SHAME

Report from Pieter Heerema;

Pieter Heerema (NED) (No Way Back): “The weather is great I am going slow intentionally steering into the high pressure, because I have a huge list of things to be done which can only be done in a calm situation. I had repair the mainsail with ten patches. I have repaired three cars, on the mainsail track. The going is slow but the circumstances are fantastic. It is like a holiday cruise right now. I have let go my thoughts of the race right now. This comes as a welcome chance to prepare the boat for the Pacific. I am not completely ready but should be by the end of the day and then thereafter it is just keeping fingers crossed that a solution is found to the autopilot problems. If not then that is another reason to be in the north, because I look for a harbour in Australia and put the boat on a freighter back to Europe. Without an autopilot it is just not doable. I am not going back into the Southern Ocean without a working pilot. I have no idea what I am doing with the software.”

You do realize that this is a race where they are not allowed outside assistance right?

[Tricolor]

Originally Posted by Bleemus

You do realize that this is a race where they are not allowed outside assistance right?

Are the batteries of B&G`s Sat-phone empty..? As off installation the AutoPilot did not function, B&G is the last 2 month invissible.... Knowing Heerema the last word about this has not yet been spoken..

[Davidhoy]

Originally Posted by Tricolor

Are the batteries of B&G`s Sat-phone empty..? As off installation the AutoPilot did not function, B&G is the last 2 month invissible.... Knowing Heerema the last word about this has not yet been spoken..

See section 22.2.1 of the race instructions, http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/download/23202/. This seems to explicitly prohibit external modifications to onboard systems, which would include software patches.

-David