Vendee Globe - the Real Race

[DeepFrz]

Did anyone see the video of Jean Le Cam's arrival and especially the video he shot of the waves as he approached the finish? These guys can sail fast in just about any weather.

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

Did anyone see the video of Jean Le Cam's arrival and especially the video he shot of the waves as he approached the finish? These guys can sail fast in just about any weather.

Just watched it and I see what you mean! Le Cam seemed to be enjoying himself to the end.

Stamm finally finish and did a classy thing at the end ...

Many people had gathered along the channel to greet him, just like they had for the other Vendée Globe skippers. Stamm waited until Mike Golding started sailing through the Sables d'Olonne Channel to let the British sailor enjoy the public's warm welcome.

[Calypso52]

Does anyone have an opinion on this?

It appears to me that none of these guys is wearing a harness whilst dancing around on their decks at sea, doing 15-20 knots. Is this because if you are being dragged along at that speed you will drown instantly so they figure it doesn't matter? Perhaps they are all wearing personal EPIRBs and expect to get picked up in short order.

How about a harness rigged short enough to prevent you from going overboard? Not exactly good role models here.

[DeepFrz]

I love this picture.

http://www.vendeeglobe.org/medias/01...ur-r-644-0.jpg

[DeepFrz]

Well, as for the harnesses, Javier Sanso was one lucky man when he was thrown out of his boat a few days ago. He had no personal EPIRB. However he was in the cockpit and not crawling around on the boat. He managed to swim back to the boat, get the life raft inflated and was in the liferaft for over 12 hrs. He was dressed in ordinary clothes.

Most of the pictures you see of them sailing were taken before the start of the race or at the beginning of the race and are staged publicity pictures.

[DeepFrz]

Yesterday evening at 20h French time, Javier Sansó and ACCIONA team managed to locate the 60-foot Spanish boat. This morning, the turning maneuver was conducted successfully and ACCIONA 100% EcoPowered is now on its way to Ponta Delgada (Portugal).

They make is sound so easy. So much for my prediction...

[DeepFrz]

Alessandro figures he came within 100 meters of colliding with a cargo ship that was not broadcasting on AIS and did not answer his VHF calls.

[cwyckham]

And then there was one... I'm really going to miss this race in a few days when it's over. What's the next big race/record attempt I should be watching?

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by cwyckham

And then there was one... I'm really going to miss this race in a few days when it's over. What's the next big race/record attempt I should be watching?

Of the real big things, I think Mini comes next.

AC is well underway and methinks Clipper is getting near. There are new boats in Clipper and AC. Then there are the RR, BB, and then Class 40 events.

Then there are the records that get a couple of attempts each year.

b.

[DeepFrz]

I don't know of any other that has the coverage of the Vendee Globe. Is there another race with the same type of coverage?

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

I don't know of any other that has the coverage of the Vendee Globe. Is there another race with the same type of coverage?

VOR

b.

[cwyckham]

The Velux 5 Oceans also had pretty good coverage, and Clipper's pretty good, too. VOR's probably the best since they actually have dedicated media people on board. Tough to do that with a single handed event. Maybe if it was a small, inobtrusive, trained monkey... A Media Monkey.

[barnakiel]

The major limitation is not creating the media (just look at how creative VG participants are) but delivering the content. The price of sending video files from mid-ocean to the shore are, well, "high".

b.

[DeepFrz]

The 2012/13 Vendee Globe is finally over with Alessandro Benedetto's finish today. He did an admirable job on an old boat and finished well. He showed great poise and humor throughout the race, even after breaking a rib.

Congratulations to all the entrants in this edition of the Vendee Globe.

[barnakiel]

Alessandro speaks of very interesting things comparing a 6.5m boat to a 60' boat. It is racing, but what he says extends to cruising very well. Many CF threads touch on the same issues now and again.

b.