Vendeé Globe 2020

[Ginpopy]

Good evening dear forum members.

Anyone fan of sailing and following the Vendeé Globe 2020 this year?

Start is in less than 18 hours, tomorrow November 8.th from France.

Incredible fast high tech (some foil) sailing boats expected to be back in 75 - 100 days.

Official website with live tracking:

https://www.vendeeglobe.org/en

Facts & figures:

33 participants

6 women (Alexia Barrier, Clarisse Cremer, Isabelle Joschke, Sam Davies, Miranda Merron, Pip Hare)

9 nationalities (France, Germany, Japan, Finland, Spain, Italy, Australia, Great Britain, Switzerland)

18 first timers

8 new foilers: Charal (arch. VPLP Design), DMG Mori Global One (arch. VPLP Design, sister-ship Charal), HUGO BOSS (VPLP Design – ATR-Pete Hobson), ARKEA PAPREC (arch. J. Kouyoumdjian), CORUM Epargne (arch. J. Kouyoumdjian), Apivia (arch. G. Verdier), LinkedOut (arch. Guillaume Verdier), L'Occitane en Provence (arch. Sam Manuard)

19 foilers in total

Record to beat: Armel Le Cléac’h 74 days 3h 35 minutes 46 s in 2017

Number of theoretical miles to cover: 24,296 miles (i.e. 45,000 km)

Number of sails on board: 8

0 past winners

2 podiums 2017: Alex Thomson 2nd, Jérémie Beyou 3rd

5th participation for Jean Le Cam and Alex Thomson, 4th for Arnaud Boissières and Jérémie Beyou

Youngest on the 9th edition: Alan Roura, 27 years old

Oldest on the 9th edition: Jean Le Cam, 61 years old

Good video:

https://youtu.be/BhPcBk1QV90





Cheers, Lorenzo


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[thieuster]

Thanks for the heads-up. Big sailing fan here! I'll follow it.

Menno

[WTRacer]

I'll be following closely, it's an astonishing event. Quite a few women this time around and a decent few Brits. Wonder if Alex will go one better this time.

[thieuster]

Have to give all non-sailors an idea. Especially for the British members of this parish:

[Montello]

Hope Alex finally gets the win this time

[Ginpopy]

Best pic of the day! No handed British flag alone on the rail at full speed autopilot in real sea storm salt water windy weather...






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[thieuster]

World Sailing (former ISAF) ranks NED as 2019 & 2020’s #1 when it comes to sailing successes. The finish of the VOR in The Hague last year has been followed (live) by more than 1 million people.

Despite the enormous success of sailing in the Netherlands, Dutch TV is not airing a single second of the start & race!

Boring long distance speed skating all over the tube. Again.

[Ginpopy]

Alex Thompson on the beautiful black «*Hugo Boss*» boat on 11. th position so far. He got stuck in a fishing net with a foil . Best Brit is S. Davies on «*Initiative Cœur*» in 9. th position. French sailors dominate on all other 9 positions out of 11....



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[Incredible Sulk]

Alex is only about 50Km behind the leader though, which isn’t anything really at this stage.

I’ve sailed with him a couple of times - back when we were both an awful lot younger. He’s one of the most competitive and driven individuals I’ve ever known.

[Ginpopy]

What a long race! Just few miles distance make such a huge difference in wind conditions. Alex / Hugo Boss catching up now on 6. th position...




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[Halitosis]

I sailed once on a former Americas Cup yacht and it was thrilling (and tiring).

This is clearly a whole different level - the yachts are incredible and and these sailors are astonishing. I'm struggling to think of a greater challenge of sporting endurance.

[simon-c]

As a 17 and 18 year old I spent a lot of my time in RI as part of the UK Americas cup, helping out on shore mostly with a bit of sailing on the training boat

I have huge respect for the sailers, and all the teams supporting them

The Vendée is a mixture of formula 1 and scaling everest

#AllezAlex

[33mgb]

I was hooked on this last time in 2016. Be warned, checking the race tracker can become an obsession for the next couple of months!

I really hope Alex Thomson wins it this time. Currently leading the fleet......but a long, long way to go.

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[Montello]

I’m checking regularly.

The rankings are not that helpful as they reference the rhumb line which isn’t necessarily the fastest route.

You need to look at the tracker and turn on the wind overlay.

Also the boat speed data is key. Best indicator of wind strength.

[PickleB]

I’m checking regularly.

The rankings are not that helpful as they reference the rhumb line which isn’t necessarily the fastest route.

You need to look at the tracker and turn on the wind overlay.

Also the boat speed data is key. Best indicator of wind strength.

That will enable you to see what TS Theta is doing relative to their route.

[Montello]

That will enable you to see what TS Theta is doing relative to their route.

Aye, they want to make sure they get to the west of that to keep going downwind.

[Ginpopy]

Wow... Alex in second place







It seems the foils are extremely fragile. It looks really as if they were driving F1 cars in a rally race in the finish winter woods mudded trials


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[Montello]

Wow... Alex in second place







It seems the foils are extremely fragile. It looks really as if they were driving F1 cars in a rally race in the finish winter woods mudded trials


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Remember the last race Alex almost one with just one foil for ages.

[Montello]

Alex takes the lead!

[33mgb]

On the latest update video from Alex Thomson he seems very upbeat. No idea how these sailors do it on so little sleep. Link to the Alex Thomson Hub for those interested;

https://www.alexthomsonracing.com/the-hub/



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[Groundrush]

Sam Davies in 8th and very much in contention. I am a little surprised to see the fleet sailing directly towards a hurricane. I’d be tempted to try and avoid that. In order to finish first, first you have to finish and all that. Maybe Ventusky makes it look worse than it is.

[PickleB]

Sam Davies in 8th and very much in contention. I am a little surprised to see the fleet sailing directly towards a hurricane. I’d be tempted to try and avoid that. In order to finish first, first you have to finish and all that. Maybe Ventusky makes it look worse than it is.

Theta is predicted to continue to move east and remain as a storm rather than becoming a hurricane. As such it provides the strongest winds in the area and that's what is needed to get the boats moving. Most seem to be on the west side of the storm and can skirt it balancing wind strength against sea state with their distance from the centre. Get caught on the east side and the wind direction is all wrong for making progress in the race. Hopefully the boats are built for this as they're heading down into the Southern Ocean. Expand the map and scroll down to see the weather that is lurking south of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin, NZ and Cape Horn.

[sweets]

What a race, pleased to see Thomson in the lead, and that another Brit, Samantha Davies is the leading lady.
I hope Thomson isn't burning himself out early, seems he probably hasn't slept at all yet....
D

[Montello]

What a race, pleased to see Thomson in the lead, and that another Brit, Samantha Davies is the leading lady.
I hope Thomson isn't burning himself out early, seems he probably hasn't slept at all yet....
D

Thompson is hardcore and seems to love every minute of it ... an amazing character. His biggest enemy is himself and driving himself into the ground ... we don't want any repeats of the Route de Rhumb; although he's a long way from land ...

[Wimm]

My Dad sailed a lot when he was younger so these sort of events were closely followed when I was growing up at home. Since I left home sailing has slipped from my conciousness so I am far behind with the technology and the characters. On the strength of this thread my interest has been rekindled. Yesterday I watched the film about Alex called Relentless which was very interesting and got me up to speed. Unfortunately I can't figure out how to post the link from Tapatalk but it is easily found on YouTube.

[higham5]

My Dad sailed a lot when he was younger so these sort of events were closely followed when I was growing up at home. Since I left home sailing has slipped from my conciousness so I am far behind with the technology and the characters. On the strength of this thread my interest has been rekindled. Yesterday I watched the film about Alex called Relentless which was very interesting and got me up to speed. Unfortunately I can't figure out how to post the link from Tapatalk but it is easily found on YouTube.

Thanks for the suggestion to watch Relentless, a great alternative to Sunday night TV

Steve

[33mgb]

Looks good for Alex Thomson for the next few days. Hope his lead increases and he gets an easy passage through the Doldrums.

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[Ginpopy]

What is going on? Just 3,9 miles ahead... still... linkedout catching up quickly. C’mon Alex!







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[Montello]

Looks like less breeze to the west, I think Alex is less optimised for this angle. Once he gets more downwind he will really fly.

[higham5]

Seawolves , on Youtube recons its because Alex is racing his own race and plan to protect the boat. He was suprised Alex went into the lead so quickly.
Still the Southern Ocean is due soon, then it will get exciting.


https://youtu.be/zLO5o9d3Y0s



Steve

[PickleB]

The weather..http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/news/2...lantic-weather

[33mgb]

Structural issue on Hugo Boss....seems Alex Thomson just doesn't get any luck.

https://www.alexthomsonracing.com/th...eam-statement/


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[Saint-Just]

A structural issue is nothing to do with luck

[Montello]

A structural issue is nothing to do with luck

It is if it’s caused by a collision with a UFO. Thousands of containers drifting around ...

[Saint-Just]

Did he mention a collision?

[Montello]

Did he mention a collision?

Statement is the standard issue ... details to follow. Best not to assume anything or prejudge.

[Saint-Just]

I don’t know. When he collided with a UFO last time he said so.

Having said that luck, or rather bad luck, was often a disqualifying issue for people going at sea. Even more so for the captain.

[Montello]

I think it’s time to just cross our fingers and hope it’s something he can remedy and continue.

[simon-c]

He had a big broach in Theta and average boat speed has not been able to match Linked or Apivia since a couple of days after

I think Boss has been designed for the Southern oceans downwind sailing but my impression is that something has not been right for a few days

[ASW1]

TEAM UPDATE:

Ross Daniel, Technical Director at Alex Thomson Racing:

“Yesterday evening (Saturday 21st November), while Alex was carrying out a routine inspection onboard HUGO BOSS, he spotted what he believed to be some structural damage in the bow area of the boat. He immediately notified myself and the team on shore, and we provided clear instructions to allow him to carry out a full inspection of the damage.

“That inspection has revealed some structural damage to a longitudinal beam at the front of the boat. The damage appears to be isolated to that area alone. It is yet unclear what caused this damage. There have been no incidents of concern onboard the boat during the race so far.

“Together with our structural engineers and naval architects, we worked through the night to put together a full repair plan for Alex. During this time, Alex took some rest onboard in order to prepare to begin that repair work this morning.

“Alex has now put the boat into a safe position to manage the sea state in order to reduce movement onboard while he carries out the repair. He has all the necessary materials onboard, a detailed plan to follow, and a team of world class engineers advising him. We are therefore confident in his ability to complete the repair.

“Our objective is to carry out the necessary repair swiftly and effectively, in order to minimize the miles lost and resume racing again.

“A further update will follow from the team in due course”.


Fingers crossed just a blip and he can storm back in due course. Still very early days.



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[Montello]

I hope he can effect a repair and continue.

Would be gutted to see him withdraw.

[Montello]

Further update. Doesn’t sound good.

https://www.alexthomsonracing.com/th...th-this-stuff/

[ASW1]

Does seam pretty significant. I had thought it might just have been a bucket of resin and done, but clearly not the case.

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[Montello]

Does seam pretty significant. I had thought it might just have been a bucket of resin and done, but clearly not the case.

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Imagine bodging up your boat and then heading into the southern ocean.

[higham5]

Imagine bodging up your boat and then heading into the southern ocean.

Imagine working in a dark hull, with no LEV and fast reacting epoxy everywhere, pretty horrible!

[Montello]

Imagine working in a dark hull, with no LEV and fast reacting epoxy everywhere, pretty horrible!

Nasty indeed. Really hope he can effect a sound repair and continue.

[thieuster]

From the team update:

It is yet unclear what caused this damage.

... imagine repairing 'structural damage' without knowing what caused the problem, with the southern ocean ahead. I would be seriously worried. Did he hit a 'bump'? Is is the design or bad manufacturing?

M

[higham5]

Well todays update seems to be he has a series of cut shapes and he certainly sounds in good spirits. Go Go Alex

[PickleB]

Some interesting routing decisions to be made...see the tracking map and Earth Wind Map and use the controls:

	+3 h	k	forward one time step
	+24 h	shift-k	forward several time steps
	-3 h	j	backward one time step
	-24 h	shift-j	backward several time steps
	now	n	go to now (the most recent data)

[33mgb]

At least the weather conditions have slowed everybody down and the distance to the leaders won't be as big if/when Alex gets moving again

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