Vendee Globe 2016 - Bon Voyage!

[Tricolor]

@Polux, That took a long time...

This event changed its Polar and with this Polar change his use of predicting software..

Originally Posted by Tricolor

He lost a Foil...

Here is Alex's account of what happened..

"Having had pretty quick night where the boat was sailing high averages and ...........

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[Polux]

Originally Posted by Tricolor

..

This event changed its Polar and with this Polar change his use of predicting software..
..

You mean I was right in predicting that Alex had made the best choice in what regards choosing a route more to the South? Apparently yes since he is gaining on everybody and that has nothing to do with a diference regarding having lost a foil and another better routing (due to that) but with bigger wind pressure.

If any of the fastest boats on foils were on the place he is they would be making just a bit more speed, as it is, having Alex more wind pressure he manages to be slightly faster than the others and I believe that will continue to be so on the next hours. Great sailing and a bit surprisingly, great routing strategy by Alex.

[Tricolor]

You forgot to qoute the first sentence of my reply. So you cannot be right as you denied the fact that he lost a foil. You are able to talk out a bend in railway tracks..... not impresses me though.

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[SV DestinyAscen]

Riou hit something overnight and broke his swinging keel mechanism. Abandoned. C'est la vie dans vendee globe.

[Polux]

Originally Posted by SV DestinyAscen

Riou hit something overnight and broke his swinging keel mechanism. Abandoned. C'est la vie dans vendee globe.

Really sorry for him. He was making a great race, probably his last Vendee Globe. He was the only one racing that had already won the Vendee.

To win this race it is needed not only to be one of the best solo sailors around, have a great boat (a recent competitive one) and to have luck or at least not to have bad luck. Not easy to reunite all those conditions

Les explications de Riou:
J17 : La réaction de Vincent Riou suite à l'annonce de son abandon / Vendée Globe - vidéo Dailymotion
That is incredible, he had that problem 24 hours ago and keep on pushing and only give up when the problem become more and more seriouse. We can sense the disappointment on his voice and his last words are for the ones that have followed him and supported him, almost crying he says he is disappointed for what have happened and to have disappointed them. My kind of guy

[Pelagic]

I am so sorry for Vincent....he is my Vendee hero.

Perhaps it is like this now on every RTW race....you hit many UFO's until one wins and the boat is damaged!!

Thank you Vincent for keeping up with the front runners...you will be missed

[Snowpetrel]

Looks like seb also hit a UFO and damaged his rudder today http://www.gitana-team.com/a-1231/av...-de-rothschild

Sure slowed him down for a few hours. It will be interesting to see if it hurts him to much in the long run, prehaps he has swapped rudders for now but then he will have to swap back every time he gybes... Watching intently, its turning into a very exciting race!

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[Polux]

And Alex and Hugo Boss, foil broken or not continued to gain miles over their pursuers due to the best choice in routing (more to the South). But that is going to change unless he changes course.

Very dificult choice ahead, just after passing Cabo da Boa Esperança (Good Hope) there will be much more wind near the coast and almost no wind on the course he is following.

The others are better positioned now for the next days. Will Alex maintain the course or will he dive for the coast?

Cheers for the last, the Spanish Didac Costa that in an old boat, leaving four days after all the others, is almost catching the last boat that leaved 4 days earlier....and I bet he will catch some more if he can keep is boat going till the finish.

[Pelagic]

Another UFO takes a front runner out

[Polux]

News - Damage to Safran, Morgan Lagravière forced to retire - Vendée Globe 2016-2017

It seems to me that he give up too easily. Hard to understand that they don't have at least a spare rudder. You cannot change a foil but changing a rudder is not that dificult on those boats.

[Polux]

Looking at the race, as I said previously, next days are going to be very interesting. I said that Alex could do two things, continue on the same course and lose miles, or dive for the cape and lose miles anyway.

He dived for the cape, lost half the advantage he had but it is in my opinion the one that is in better position for the next hours....the two next days are not going to be easy in what regards routing for none of the three boats on the head of the race. It will be interesting.

[barnakiel]

I think one factor is the speed. Go faster make more damage than the older generation that sailed slower.

I think another factor is project management. Next stop Australia. So if you have a strong reason to retire, do it now that you can get to RSA and recover the boat to Europe without further cost.

Morgan says beyond repair so that's about that I think.

b.

[Polux]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

I think one factor is the speed. Go faster make more damage than the older generation that sailed slower.

I think another factor is project management. Next stop Australia. So if you have a strong reason to retire, do it now that you can get to RSA and recover the boat to Europe without further cost.

Morgan says beyond repair so that's about that I think.

b.

Sure all very rational but the will to finish the race is something irrational. I remember a guy that on a Vendee repaired his broken boom with bits and strange parts he collected aboard or another one that keep racing without a keel (when another in similar circumstances abandoned) finishing the race.

Remember also a Class 40 that broke a rudder and keep on racing, dismounting the surviving rudder and mounting it on the other side every time they changed tack.

Also remember a guy that on a baja motorcycle race finished the race after making 150km with a flat front tire, most of the time on the back wheel. There are races that are not only about winning but also about finishing, no matter how.

It seems to me that spirit is becoming lost with the new generation of racers. The boat with the broken rudder was not in danger, only handicapped.

[barnakiel]

I think I can remember (who?) (was it Hamilton???) actually pushing his bolid the last couple of meters to the finish line.

Maybe that's the whole difference - he did 99.99% of the race and so pushing to the finish was the best solution.

The boats are but 30% into the game and the hardest part is still ahead of them. Imagine the mess should he go under one rudder and then losing it ...

Project management. Risk assessment. Making decisions by a team with the technical director having their vote rather than the skipper.

The skipper can be tired and make the wrong decision too. Adrenaline. Lack of sleep. etc.

How many left in the game now? 25?

b.

[Jim Cate]

Sure all very rational but the will to finish the race is something irrational. I remember a guy that on a Vendee repaired his broken boom with bits and strange parts he collected aboard or another one that keep racing without a keel (when another in similar circumstances abandoned) finishing the race.

And also remember Alan Nebauer, in Newcastle Australia during the '94-'95 BOC race. He was dismasted 600 miles W of the Horn, continued under jury rig to the Falklands where he had a second hand mast, flown by RAF flight from GB, awaiting him. Got it stepped and sorta tuned, set out for Uruguay where the next leg was ready to start. But on the way, he hit a UFO and busted most of his rudder off. Organized a substitute to be readied, and got it mounted on the day scheduled for the next start. The Wx deteriorated to t he extent that the organizers delayed the start one day, and Alan was able to start with them... and sailed a good leg to the finish. All this on a very limited funding program. His support "team" was his wife Cindy and his brother Mick (when in Sydney) and also in Sydney, Ann and I. Shows how desperate he was!

At any rate, Pollux is right... sometimes determination and desire can get you through the hard spots that would cause others to quit.

JIm

PS For that feat (rounding the cape under jury rig) Alan was awarded his second OUtstanding Seamanship award of the race. The first was for rescuing Josh Hall from his sinking yacht on the way to Cape Town. Pretty good stuff IMO!!