Vendee 2020

[MicHughV]

I saw a report that sez Pip had actually "practiced" replacing a rudder some time before the start of the race...but I simply can't see how this will be done without getting in the water...in the southern ocean no less...she pulls this off, my respect and admiration for her will quadruple....c'mon, Pip !!!!!

On the other hand, what is Sebastian up too ?? he is down to doing 2 knots and seems to be heading for Tasmania again..????

[psk125]

Her video today, along with an article outlined the situation. She's waiting for a calm period to attack the problem. This may take several days. Today she said she had leftover swells from the 40 knot wind she'd had all night, (They looked to be about 12') and now it was down to 30 knots during the day. She lowered her main and was jogging along at less than two knots with the port tiller unattached...waiting. She has to drop the old rudder with the cracked stock out and get the new one in. It appears the rudders float, so need to be weighed down to get them under the stern and to the rudder tube. They apparently practiced the maneuver in Les Sables d'Olonne, but at the dock. Conditions off Cape Horn are not likely to be as placid.

[Yellowtulip]

Pip’s done it! The new rudder is in and she’s back up to 15 knots!

[MicHughV]

I saw she is back up to speed. Havn't heard the latest, but that will likely all come out today. Marvelous job !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Yellowtulip]

Boris Herrman is going well. He’s in full racing mode now having held back a little in the Southern Ocean. He’s aiming for a top-five finish which he’ll achieve if he can maintain speed. But the doldrums are still ahead. We may get a 10- or 12-boat fleet race from the Equator to the finish.

[MicHughV]

I tend to agree, that it will be a drag race to the finish, we may see several boats finish on the same day, within hours even....the doldrums will be the great equalizer, make a wrong guess here and you are toast.....get lucky and bring home the prize...

[MicHughV]

I think the Vendee folks have given up on Sebastian...they will read out all the boat placements, except for him.....

[mvzenith]

Congrats to Pip that is a huge undertaking!! Just curious has anyone seen pictures of the damage done to Hugo Boss Rudder i have been following pretty closely but haven't seen anything yet. i noticed that the boat has left cape town and headed back.

[MicHughV]

back on it's own keel....or carried on a freighter ???

[DDabs]

Alex and crew are sailing her home.

[MicHughV]

Boris has got the hammer down...and the pack is closing in as well....even the non-foilers, Jean et all, are all steaming along.....gonna be a tight finish...after all these miles...to be so close...incredible...

[MicHughV]

more damage....Isabelle out.....broken keel ram....apparently, the keel is just free to swing around now..not clear what she is going to do.....looks to be heading to Cape Town...I read where the keel won't drop off....but ??? Bummer, I was really rooting for her, she has been sailing a remarkable race. Would have loved to see her on the podium.

I've come to the opinion that if I were in this race....I'd nix the canting keel.....gimme a fixed keel...no foils..no daggerboards.....something solid that can take a full-on impact from an UFO....but that's me....

The women in this race have done a remarkable job though.......my hat off to all of them !!!!

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

...I've come to the opinion that if I were in this race....I'd nix the canting keel.....gimme a fixed keel...no foils..no daggerboards.....something solid that can take a full-on impact from an UFO....but that's me....

If you were in the race just to participate than that would be an OK strategy however when there are so many boats with the high tech appendages, which are clearly faster (until they break) you will never win.

None of the boats which break will win, but if any of them complete the race, one of them will win, not the bullet proof boat which has a better chance of finishing, but is slower.

These people want to win, not just participare.

[MicHughV]

Ha, the old saying about the Vendee is very true....in order to win....you have to finish...

Past Vendee's have had a very high rate of attrition...

At this point in time, there are 5 non-foilers in the lead pack...that speaks for itself...the lead non-foiler is only 200 some nm behind the leader...given that Jean has a 16.15 time advantage, that would also put him in the top 3. All this, after 20,000 plus miles.

A canting keel is a great device...until it isn't...but it also requires foils or daggerboards.

The fact that it is moved all the time, gives rise, in my opinion, to possible failure, not the keel itself, but the means to move it. There is tremendous hydraulic pressure involved and these boats take a brutal pounding.

Hugo Boss, a state of the art boat, didn't make it past Cape Town. Ok, not a keel failure, but a hull failure, which is indicative of the unrelenting pounding these boats take.

Taking all this into account, yes, I think I would opt for a fixed keel, but that's me

[jmh2002]

Originally Posted by wingssail

If you were in the race just to participate than that would be an OK strategy however when there are so many boats with the high tech appendages, which are clearly faster (until they break) you will never win.

Originally Posted by MicHughV

At this point in time, there are 5 non-foilers in the lead pack...that speaks for itself...the lead non-foiler is only 200 some nm behind the leader...

No, it doesn't really, as this year there have been particularly unusual weather conditions which mostly account for that situation.

I'd also refer to my post on page 30 where Guillaume Verdier, much more of an expert than any of us here, discusses this in more detail:

Originally Posted by jmh2002

Guillaume Verdier: “On the Vendée Globe, we cannot say that foils are not useful”

https://www.tipandshaft.com/en/ameri...re-not-useful/