Vendee Globe Starts Today, Facts, Video, Discussion

[Polux]

Originally Posted by admiralslater

Just checked the web site Armel making 6-7 at about 1 degree ,Alex 10-12 at 44 degrees . the distance is down to 98 miles . What a race . I am a multihull guy but these boats are outstanding.

I don't like the kind of division that there is on this forum between monohull sailors and cat sailors. We are all sailors and nobody better than these guys to reinforce that statement: Armel is as much a multihull sailor as a monohull sailor, the same with Beyou the 3rd. They race indifferently with one type of boat or another.

Few can do it at the same time, meaning doing some races in monohull others in multihull on the same year, but the two best French solo sailors have two boats each, a monohull and a multihull, provided by their Sponsors and do that.

One of them is Armel that you have here on his multihull beating a record 3 years ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRTJwQ1OtGk

[meatservo]

If money was not a barrier, I would own on of each!


meatservo

[Polux]

Originally Posted by toddedger

I think Alex would be happy to get in the same weather on the same route and try to track him down with boat speed. As good as Armel is he could easily find a parking lot and watch Alex fly right by. ...

Not sure if I understand you. That is what Alex is doing for almost a week and it is not given results. They are on the same weather system, they get basically the same conditions with some hours of interval and Alex is not winning over Armel, that seems to me, is controlling Alex.

Some days ago, when they entered the same weather system Alex closed to 50nm and Alex basically followed Armel trying to gain in speed.

Armel went away when was out of the high and then they maintained about the same distance, between 200/300nm.

Now Alex is still closing on Armel that is without wind and is at about 100nm but some more hours and Armel will be out of the high pressure zone and Alex will be inside and soon Armel will be 200nm away.

Alex tried but by now he should have understood that he will not catch Armel that way, that he is resisting to his pressure in a very effective way. Off course he can continue to try and hope Armel breaks something on the boat or he will have to try a different routing on the Açores high.

Then we will see if Armel will try to cover the move or if he will be absolutely confident that other routing, than not the one Alex is following, is better. Anyway Armel will have the choice about the routing and if Alex wants to try another one will only have the 2nd choice (that eventually can prove better).

I would say that if Armel has a choice he will try to maintain Alex on the same course he is following. That's the way he can control him.

Anyway great battle between those two and a great race for both.

[admiralslater]

Originally Posted by Polux

I don't like the kind of division that there is on this forum between monohull sailors and cat sailors. We are all sailors and nobody better than these guys to reinforce that statement: Armel is as much a multihull sailor as a monohull sailor, the same with Beyou the 3rd. They race indifferently with one type of boat or another.

Few can do it at the same time, meaning doing some races in monohull others in multihull on the same year, but the two best French solo sailors have two boats each, a monohull and a multihull, provided by their Sponsors and do that.

One of them is Armel that you have here on his multihull beating a record 3 years ago:

I agree with you 100% ,the division is stupid . the way these guys switch between different boats is amazing . next they probably will sailing moths or something.

[SV DestinyAscen]

Originally Posted by admiralslater

I agree with you 100% ,the division is stupid . the way these guys switch between different boats is amazing . next they probably will sailing moths or something.

Most people are dogmatic and over confident that their experience is generalizable so monohull and multihull amateurs make false assumptions about things they have no real experience with.

These guys are more like test pilots or formula one drivers - they have mastered the art, but also have the cognitive function to know the mechanics behind it. Put them in any plane, car, boat etc and they'll very quickly detect the peculiarities and be able to write it down for you.

[Polux]

Originally Posted by admiralslater

I agree with you 100% ,the division is stupid . the way these guys switch between different boats is amazing . next they probably will sailing moths or something.

Yes, you are talking about Bruno Peyron one of the most accomplished sailors ever. Just look at his list of accomplishments:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lo%C3%AFck_Peyron

Only on the last years, already over 50 years of age among other races he won a circumnavigation race on a IMOCA monohull, the more important French solo Transat on a maxi trimaran and beat with a crew the absolute circumnavigation record. Besides that Peyron sailed in the 33rd America's Cup (2010) as part of the Alinghi Team, in the roles of 'floater' in race 1 and relief helmsman in race 2.

He had time for discovering the Moth in 2012?. Here is him training:

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

And had so much fun with it (at over 50) that decided to make the world championship. Obviously with one year of occasional training and in a sailing sport were cat agility is needed he was not among the first but not also among the last

Many other French sailors are both masters on monohulls and multihulls, like Franck Cammas, that won the VOR and hold the circumnavigation absolut sail record (on a trimaran) before being beaten by Peyron.

[Polux]

Finally Armel is out of the hole while Alex is struggling to come out. Alex closed to 67nm the distance before that happened.

Now Armel is doing 2k more than Alex and is already at 90nm.

However it seems that Armel had a better passage trough the high pressure and even if Armel is going to increase that distance it will remain smaller than what they had before entering on the doldrums, I would say about a 200nm diference.

Contrary to what the Vendee Headquarters had said I don't see two possible routes to Les Sables, at least without other being much worse and I believe they will remain on the same course.

The wind ahead is also better, with some delicate sailing on the next 72 hours, passing by the a narrow way between high pressure zones and with good wind after that for a spectacular arrival at the finish line.

On the headquarters they seem not to be sure about that narrow passage to exist at all and they have better wind information, so they may be right. Anyway it is a very delicate and unstable weather pattern ahead.

They should be both exhausted since sailing with very weak and unstable winds through the night is by far what is more exhausting for a solo sailor. They change tack several times and possibly Armel, that got weaker winds had been hand steering a lot of time, when the wind was very low and the apparent wind fundamental to keep the boat going. Not much time for closing eyes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQCvDTPr1aQ

They say about all this on the headquarters:

"British sailor Alex Thomson was this morning within 70 miles of arch rival Armel Le Cléac'h following a miserable 24 hours in the Doldrums for the Vendée Globe leader.

Frenchman Le Cléac'h has managed to coax his IMOCA 60 Banque Populaire VIII to a pitiful average speed of just four knots over the last day as he wallows in painfully light winds around 250 miles north of the Equator.

Thomson, on the other hand, has racked up an average speed of nine knots in the same time – far from fast given the pair's sleigh ride through the Southern Ocean but crucially more than twice as quick as Le Cléac'h. At the 0400 UTC ranking Thomson's Hugo Boss was just 67 miles adrift of Banque Populaire, although the Frenchman had a four-knot speed advantage over the 30 minutes prior to the position report.

In the past 48 hours Le Cléac'h has lost more than 100 miles to Thomson, largely due to the widening of the Doldrums. It is likely that the leading duo will exit the Doldrums today, but their route north is less than clear thanks to a big depression building to the west of the Canaries. With an ETA in Les Sables d'Olonne tentatively pencilled in for January 17, a thrilling finish is on the cards for this eighth edition of the Vendée Globe."
News - Le Cléac'h on the 'go slow' as Thomson closes in - Vendée Globe 2016-2017

[admiralslater]

as of 7.00am gmt +6 there was only 2 knots difference in VMG . with this small difference they come out the hole pretty close together.

[Polux]

Originally Posted by admiralslater

as of 7.00am gmt +6 there was only 2 knots difference in VMG . with this small difference they come out the hole pretty close together.

Alex is still coming out even if he had a better passage. According the router installed on windy on the next 4 hours Armel should win 14nm over Alex and the distance between them should increase to 104nm. Than the distance should stabilize.

[Bleemus]

Alex picked up 2 miles in last four hours despite being in lighter winds. Armel should gain in the short term but Alex will be on his foil, amazingly, all the way to the finish if you believe the long range forecast. Should be a real nail biter!

[SV DestinyAscen]

Originally Posted by Bleemus

Alex picked up 2 miles in last four hours despite being in lighter winds. Armel should gain in the short term but Alex will be on his foil, amazingly, all the way to the finish if you believe the long range forecast. Should be a real nail biter!

Nothing against Armel but if AT wins it the butthurt whining and accusations of cheating/lying about broken foils will be so absurd. One thing I can't stand about French nationalism is whenever a foreign competitor expectedly gets good results or overcomes something, they go from admiration to suspicion in a heartbeat. Not everyone is a bloody Lance Armstrong.

[Bleemus]

Originally Posted by SV DestinyAscen

Nothing against Armel but if AT wins it the butthurt whining and accusations of cheating/lying about broken foils will be so absurd. One thing I can't stand about French nationalism is whenever a foreign competitor expectedly gets good results or overcomes something, they go from admiration to suspicion in a heartbeat. Not everyone is a bloody Lance Armstrong.

There is evidence of the broken foil in the aerial shots taken by the French Navy. No case against him.

[SV DestinyAscen]

Originally Posted by Bleemus

There is evidence of the broken foil in the aerial shots taken by the French Navy. No case against him.

Course not but there were accusations already when Hugo boss gained on him during the course of a week. I've stopped watching the French coverage because the focus is so focused on supposed superiority of Armel. Blah blah blah. Guy is a quiet stoic and they inject all this nationalistic drama around him.

[Bleemus]

Originally Posted by SV DestinyAscen

Course not but there were accusations already when Hugo boss gained on him during the course of a week. I've stopped watching the French coverage because the focus is so focused on supposed superiority of Armel. Blah blah blah. Guy is a quiet stoic and they inject all this nationalistic drama around him.

Are they claiming that Alex used his engine? LOL!

[SV DestinyAscen]

Originally Posted by Bleemus

Are they claiming that Alex used his engine? LOL!

Nah it was more like perhaps his foil wasn't really damaged or he was using it to trick his competitors. My general disagreement with the tone of the coverage is not much credit is given to the sailor of Hugo Boss for overcoming his foil issues and sticking with it to chase Armel down, while Armel is basically claimed to be better sailor and all that nonsense and somehow his boat is that much worse than a crippled Hugo boss.