Vendee 2020

[psk125]

Lots of bunching. Who'd have thought that there would be six or seven boats within 50 miles or so of each other after 14,000 miles of sailing? La Niña seems to be toning down the roaring 40's, though speeds seem to be up a bit today. Easy to see why the Trophée Jules Verne guys are holding back from starting out: the wind isn't there.

[MicHughV]

well, they've got that " exclusion" zone to deal with now, had they had the opportunity to dip below this line, things would likely look different.

staying above this line also causes the race length to be longer..

but being these boats are more or less all the same, sizewise, sail area, etc, so it stands to reason their speed capabilities are comparable...

but likely the biggest difference is the onboard electronics, wind maps, competitor location, routing software, etc...the ability to see what your competitor is doing in real time must be a big advantage....

finally, and this is my view only, being near point Nemo, about as far from possible assistance as possible, there must be some instinctive need to stay grouped together in case the doodoo hits the fan..

[MicHughV]

throwing Jean Le Cam's 16.15 hr time allowance into the mix, would put him in 2nd place right about now...hmmmm......gonna be an interesting run up the Atlantic...this thing is gonna come down to the wire I think....

[Yellowtulip]

Bear in mind that they have to cross the doldrums again. That is often a lottery.

[MicHughV]

absolutely...the doldrums is a crap shoot...be in the wrong place at the wrong time and you can see a two month lead evaporate into thin air...and then watch people behind you cross in front...

[psk125]

And there are lots of people just a short way behind the leaders.
In previous races there weren't as many contestants and they were much more spread out.

[MicHughV]

something appears to be out of whack with Sebastian.....one would even think he is heading for Australia...???
but there is no news that I can find...anyone ???

[Franziska]

Not sure but he seemed not 100% sure on his ruddestock/Ap repair. Might try to really fix it before heading into the big void all by himself...

[Yellowtulip]

He is heading North so that he can go to anchor in Bay D’Esperance in Tasmania if he feels unable to fix his steering on the go. Last I heard he hoped to be able to carry on.

[JPA Cate]

There are a number of spots where he can find anchoring depths in SW Tasmania. Wishing him good luck on his repairs.

Ann

[Yellowtulip]

Apparently he anchored in Bay D’Esperance in a previous race. Translated it is the Bay of Hope.

[MicHughV]

Sebastian is over 6,000 NM back from the lead pack, that is some serious difference. If he stops to fix anything, that will put him even further back. He could finish a month behind the lead boats. Not sure he has the food supplies for that and he's going to be on his own in the Pacific. Hmmmmm ????

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

something appears to be out of whack with Sebastian.....one would even think he is heading for Australia...???
but there is no news that I can find...anyone ???

Here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30fT0IN_GNA

[psk125]

In that video he says he spent his New Year's Eve fixing his rudder thingy. (Not sure if it's an actuator or a servo-motor system, or what.) He seems very pleased with the repair. He doesn't go into much detail about what the problem is or was. The Vendée tracker shows him in last place beating northeast towards Tasmania at 3.9 knots in about 4 knots of wind. His situation is not looking good, despite his positive tone. Update with more details likely tomorrow.

[DomPerignon]

At this point it would be more exiting if the race was around lake Okeechobee