Vendee 2020

[MicHughV]

In past Vendee's the last run up the Atlantic has often played havoc with podium finishes...this is the first time so many Vendee boats have all rounded Cape Horn in a 24 hour period. Be in the wrong place at the wrong time.....poof....a 600 mile lead is gone...no telling at this point.....likely no telling till France is in sight...now that would something....a half dozen boats finishing within sight of each other....

Not so long ago, Boris video'd 5 boats within eyesight....13,000 miles into the race...could we see this again???

[MicHughV]

well, Isabelle has moved into 10th place (for now)...I guess that speaks for itself...

[MicHughV]

the Vendee leaders have sailed into a hole....I can hear the cuss words from here...Charlie doing 2 knots.......the peloton moving up...

[psk125]

Isabelle's problem is that her systems depend upon valid information from her anemometer and AWI sensors to determine optimal headings for the best VMG. She doesn't have these any more, since they blew off. When she's awake, she can pull the strings and make things happen, but she needs to sleep too. That is why she sounded so depressed in her video outlining these problems. She's going to do her best, but she now lacks several of the tools that were helping her before.

[MicHughV]

well, she must be doing something good...is now in 9th place....'jes sayin'...doing 17 knots...

[Yellowtulip]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

well, she must be doing something good...is now in 9th place....'jes sayin'...doing 17 knots...

Of course. She’s doing lots of things right. She’s a very good sailor.

[MicHughV]

I think Isabelle will improve on her 9th place...gear malfunction or not...

[barnakiel]

Sure having no wind data, no keel canting and damaged C2 does not help her.


But I think she will fix 2 out of 3 problems. Maybe all. She is very handy (most of them are, but not all).


Today she was sailing extremely well, so perhaps she has already fixed some stuff.


I was not aware she is such a tough person. As the race went on and I watched more onboard videos only then I started to understand her strength.


So my bet is she will fix things, and move up in rankings.



b.

[MicHughV]

Barn... I gotta with you on that. Watched a video of her rounding the horn...she was happy as a lark...enormous spirit...enormous git-go....all in all, a pretty amazing gal.

I'm betwixt and between on the value of a canting keel....I can see both sides.....for me...the fixed keel is somewhat an advantage....it provides the best up wind performance...and the least amount of stuff that can go wrong...when canted it needs either foils or daggerboards...

Her current performance seems to indicate a fixed keel is not hampering her..

The Slog up the Atlantic will likely require a fair amount of sailing to weather, and likely not see the wind velocities of the Pacific...

We're bound to see some position changes on this leg.....

It ain't over till it's over....I expect to see Isabelle in the lead pack...

[ironman]

I'm surprised to see that Boris went down from 3rd to 11th place over the last week. Why's that?

[Franziska]

He ripped his mainsail between 2 and 3rd reef line...

Originally Posted by ironman

I'm surprised to see that Boris went down from 3rd to 11th place over the last week. Why's that?

[ironman]

Of course - he was quick in fixing it but the compactness of the peloton made for the drop in position. Just seeing he's catching up again, though.

[MicHughV]

Yannick has put the hammer down....426 nm leap over next boat...he's gonna be tough to catch now...if the doldrums don't snag him, he will be hard to chase down...

Boris now in 9th....back up to speed again...

still not willing to pick a winner yet...

[psk125]

Pip having to replace a rudder looks like it is going to keep her busy for a good bit. She has to cant the boat over and hopefully not have to swim. Her rudders aren't transom-mounted... At least she has a replacement one.

[MicHughV]

I was wondering how that was going to be done....removing the rudder also leaves a big hole in the boat.
Shoving in a new rudder from the bottom is one thing...but it has to be held in place so that is doesn't drop back out.
It could also float away or drop away....
I'm sure the rudder is not light either...

I'm sure her shore crew will figure something out...but at this point in time ???

In her last video, Pip looked a bit distraught...a good rest will certainly go a long way here...where she is at is not a place to have a nervous breakdown...c'mon, Pip !!!

The shaft appears to be the problem.....I wonder if that could be beefed up without removing the rudder.. ???