Vendee Globe Finish.

Electromagnetic · 18 Jan 2021

Vendee Globe - Sebastien Destremau update

I tracked the boat down to Lyttleton Harbour, Canterbury. There is a webcam but of the inner harbour. It was night and so the lights make it hard to make much out beyond the foreground. Meanwhile Sebastien has updated his blog, along with the promised video.

Thankfully a safe end to an amazing adventure. Well done to Sebastien for persevering so long but also for realising when to stop.

Incidentally, along from the harbour is the Thornycroft Torpedo Boat Museum: Torpedo Boat Museum on NZ Museums

Behind the harbour to the east is the soldiers memorial:
Lyttelton cemetery soldiers' memorial | NZHistory, New Zealand history online

ETA harbour where Merci is moored:

Spanks · 18 Jan 2021

Electromagnetic said:
Prada Cup - American Magic to miss out on round robins. All efforts to get it ready for semi finals.

American Magic to miss rest of Prada Cup round robins after capsize chaos
3:01AM • SOURCE: 1 NEWS

American Magic will miss next week’s Prada Cup round robin action so they can focus on fixing their boat in time for the America's Cup challenger event’s semi-finals.

American Magic to miss rest of Prada Cup round robins after capsize chaos

Analysis: Peter Lester breaks down moment and aftermath of American Magic's capsize
11:22PM • SOURCE: 1 NEWS

The extent of damage to American Magic's AC75 may be more than meets the eye despite the giant hole visible after yesterday's dramatic capsize.

Analysis: Peter Lester breaks down moment and aftermath of American Magic's capsize

From the article:

With the boat safely back on land, American Magic is now repairing the boat with a focus on being back on the water in time for the semi-finals which kick off on January 29.

As a result, Hutchinson confirmed the Americans would not race next weekend in the third and fourth round robins meaning they will enter the knockout stage winless after losing their first four races over the weekend.
“If I insisted we raced next weekend, I’d have to manage a mutiny,” Hutchinson said “In all seriousness, it’ll be a big effort to get the boat to go sailing for the semi-finals and we have a realistic timetable.”

Hutchinson joked the boat may not be as beautiful when it returns to the water but they aim to keep it as fast as it was yesterday before the crash.
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A bit tongue in cheek here but do they make up the rules as they go along? I'm all for allowing boats to continue unofficially a la Sam Davis but It does seem strange to miss a complete event and yet obtain a bye to get into the semi-final.

Spanks · 18 Jan 2021

Electromagnetic said:
Incidentally, along from the harbour is the Thornycroft Torpedo Boat Museum: Torpedo Boat Museum on NZ Museums

Interesting link thanks. This thread has been a great learning experience.

1885 Thorneycroft torpedo boat.

sniper_bob · 18 Jan 2021

Spanks said:
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A bit tongue in cheek here but do they make up the rules as they go along? I'm all for allowing boats to continue unofficially a la Sam Davis but It does seem strange to miss a complete event and yet obtain a bye to get into the semi-final.

The winner of the round-robins gets a bye to the finals. The semi-finals are a knock-out for the RR 2nd and 3rd places to see who gets a place in the final. The winner of the final becomes the AC challenger.

Spanks · 18 Jan 2021

sniper_bob said:
The winner of the round-robins gets a bye to the finals. The semi-finals are a knock-out for the RR 2nd and 3rd places to see who gets a place in the final. The winner of the final becomes the AC challenger.

Explained beautifully thanks.

Electromagnetic · 18 Jan 2021

Vendee Globe - Le Cam and Dutreux caught in Doldrums
Jules Verne Trophy - Gitana 17 ahead by 564.3 nm

Vendee Globe - This just goes to show why we should beware of trusting the wind overlay, as the reality on he ocean surface can be quite different. Benjamin is at a full stop! No wind at all. The top seven are all through and racing ahead. The forecast suggests winds will improve for Jean and Benjamin by 21:00 UTC.

Pip Hare is happier after a hellish time in which the boat took a hammering. She writes about it in the amazing blog entry linked below. She has managed to make use of the winds to cover quite a bit of distance and intends crossing the front ahead of her.

Clement Giraud has some wind again. Nice conditions now for Sam Davies, Alexia Barrier and Ari Huusela.

Rankings:

Feeling my way through the darkness

Feeling my way through the darkness — Pip Hare Ocean Racing

Lyttleton Harbour - it's hard to make out Merci moored up on the far pier.

Jules Verne Trophy - Gitana 17 ahead by 564.3 nm

Spanks · 18 Jan 2021

Gitan 17 racking up the miles. 564nm is huge at this point.

Electromagnetic · 18 Jan 2021

Spanks said:
Gitan 17 racking up the miles. 564nm is huge at this point.

As Florian was saying that could be wiped out by a period in the Doldrums. A greater advantage would be better.

Electromagnetic · 18 Jan 2021

Vendee Globe - Le Cam and Dutreux out of Doldrums. Vendee Flash. Sea Wolves.
Jules Verne Trophy - Gitana 17 extends lead to 631.9 nm
Prada Cup - American Magic Press Conference video

Atlantic overview

Foilers seem to be going well at the front. Maxim Sorel is still going well and catching up with Jean Le Cam and Benjamin Dutreux. I suspect that the windless zone is further North than the wind overlay suggests. Armel Tripon is putting distance between himself and Clarisse Cremer. He is obviously keen to get in to the top ten at least.

Although Pip says she made a mistake in choosing her route after the Falklands, she still has better VMG than the three boats in front and the three behind. She is clearly making the most of the conditions while also looking after the boat and seems to be getting the balance right now.

Light winds have found Clement Giraud again which must be frustrating but Miranda Merron is doing fine. Conditions have changed again between Point Nemo and Cape Horn as the three boats try to stay in the green and amber areas while avoiding the the developing storm in front. This is due to intensify and sweep down in to the polar area over the next 24 Hours.

Vendee Globe official article anticipates the last few weeks of the race.
News - Climbing Home to A Final Battle - Vendée Globe - En

Jules Verne Trophy

@Spanks - This is more like it. The going looks good for now.

Prada Cup - American Magic press conference 18th January.

Electromagnetic · 19 Jan 2021

Jules Verne Trophy - Gitana 17 now 741.4 nm ahead

Link to full news update: At high speed ahead of the low-pressure system

Electromagnetic · 19 Jan 2021

Vendee Globe - Charlie Dalin has 110 nm lead. Next three within 3 nm of each other.

Fleet overview

Top 11 - Dalin is 110 nm in front. Behind him Seguin, Ruyant and Burton Jostle for 2nd place. Tripon is almost twice as fast as Sorel as he makes the most of the winds he has before the Doldrums. There are 257.7 nm between them and the distance will reduce further today.

It's much calmer where Pip Hare is now but I think she will take that, having lost much sleep and no doubt acquired a few bruises. I expect she will be attending to any issues on the boat today before arriving at the front, which thankfully seems to have eased off a lot.

Cousin, Merron and Giraud making progress. Davies, Barrier and Huusela take their time, avoiding the nasty stuff in front, looking after their boats until they pass Cape Horn in the next five or six days.

Rankings

Articles:
Dutreux on the Doldrums News - Benjamin Dutreux 'I thought I was out.....' - Vendée Globe - En
Morning race summary: News - Fast and low or high and slower? - Vendée Globe - En
After nominally travelling together in the Pacific, Giraud now want's to overtake Miranda Merron.
News - Clement Giraud 'I am trying to catch Miranda' - Vendée Globe - En

Spanks · 19 Jan 2021

Strong wind for entering the 40th parallel

“The wind will lift considerably as we bend eastwards and we’ll end up on a downwind point of sail by the end of the day,” explained Franck Cammas yesterday. “Next, the wind will pick up considerably as far as South Africa. The visibility will change ahead of the front, even though the sea state will remain fine for quite a long time, which will enable us to post some very fine average speeds by exploiting the boat’s true potential. We’re flat out and we need to be to tackle this section. The next few days are all about striking a balance. We mustn’t be too quick or too slow to keep nicely ahead of the front. We must remain in a sector where the wind strength and direction is right. To achieve this, we need to constantly adjust the Maxi’s speed and course according to the speed and direction of the front, which is propelling us towards the Southern Ocean.”

The crewed 24-hour distance record has been held since 1 August 2009 by Pascal Bidégorry and the men of Banque Populaire V. This was achieved during a North Atlantic record attempt and they covered 908.2 miles at an average speed of 37.84 knots; a fabulous time which still stands today even though it has been under threat on several occasions since.

Electromagnetic · 19 Jan 2021

Vendee Globe - Vendee Live; Jean Le Cam leaves the Doldrums

Vendee Live - "Today, we welcome Albert II, Prince of Monaco and Pierre Casiraghi, founder of Team Malizia and vice-president of Yacht Club de Monaco"

It's a while since we checked Jean's Twitter. He has just left the Doldrums some hours ago.

End of the Doldrums! No hasty prediction for the moment, as Jean said yesterday "Everything is possible for the classification! We always ask you to predict what we can not predict. And it is never over before crossing the line d 'arrival ... "That's it!

Prior to the Doldrums he was making 17 kts.

#YesWeCam full N at 17 knots. This night Jean refined his course and the passage of the island Fernando de N. took to leave it on trib. without approaching too closely to avoid the winds and without deviating too much so as not to lengthen your route. 8th he reduced his gap by 47 mi # VG2020

While in the Doldrums he took the opportunity to do some maintenance to prepare his motor. There are many more tweets documenting his voyage at https://twitter.com/jeanlecam

Electromagnetic · 19 Jan 2021

Vendee Globe - Will Tripon overtake by the direct route?
Jules Verne Trophy - G17 leads by 841.9 nm

Dalin leads officially. 2&3 and 5&6 swapped places but they are so close they may swap places a few times. I'm more interested in what's going on further back. There is no indication yet of Jean Le Cam (higlighted white boat) breaking from the pack. His disadvantage is lower speed compared to foilers, where conditions suit them. He has the converse advantages in light winds and heavy seas. We will have to wait to find out how he plays to his advantage, if he does and the conditions permit.

Armel Tripon (black boat) is now within 200 nm of Maxime Sorel. His VMG is excellent. I could be wrong but it looks very probable that he is going for the direct route. His boat has fared surprisingly well through lighter winds and the more direct approach seems to have worked very well for him. I had thought he could take 10th but now I think he may be about to play the wildcard and get much further up the scoreboard. This will be a big surprise to some when it happens. As I say, I could be wrong but definitely one to watch.

Below we have Clarisse Cremer at the top, going steady. Isabelle Joshke is in the transparent white and red boat heading for Brazil. The Three Amigos (black, yellow, red) are moving but not efficiently. All are foilers...
Currently Kojiro Sharaishi is fastest in this section but he is 500 nm behind Pip Hare and has to take a longer route to catch up with the Three Amigos or risk losing foil lift. Pip Hare has no such concerns but it will be interesting how she deals with the converging winds when she crosses the cold front. She may take a line similar to Jeremie Beyou then tack Westwards

The trailing three are in no hurry for obvious reasons. Some of the winds in the overlay are 45 kts plus. And the rest. The plan seems to be patience and skirting he edge of this system as it descends out of the way.

Rankings:

This evenings VG summary article gives some idea of the mood of some competitors who are seriously enjoying themselves. It also explains the ranking system.

News - Race is Wide Open But Many Happy Returns - Vendée Globe - En

Vendee Flash and Seawolves - I'll catch up with these later but here they are. ETA short vid from Pip. Andi's comment after Clarisses short vid made me laugh, as I wasn't expecting it.

Jules Verne trophy - Excellent progress

Electromagnetic · 20 Jan 2021

Vendee Globe - Closing Doldrums behind main group offer opportunity. Pip Stung by man-o-war.
Jules Verne Trophy - G17 leads by 951.7 nm

Dalin hast 127 nm lead. Chasing group A - Burton, Ruyant and Hermann are within 5 nm of each other. Chasing group B - Seguin and Bestaven are just over 4 nm from each other. Le Cam has passed Dutreux to 8th position. There are still only 10 nm between them. Jean is just over 350 nm from the leader.

Yesterday I was expecting Armel Tripon to take the more direct North Easterly route. That was before the Doldrums started to heal up along the West, which he has taken advantage of with no let up in speed. Clarisse Cremer and Romain Attanasio also seem to be benefiting from improved conditions at the moment.

It will be interesting how compression affects placements as the leaders reach the next wall of high pressure.

Pip Hare is crossing the cold front so while her speed is an okay 9kts her VMG is around half that. On top of her other troubles she believes has been stung by a Portuguese Man o' War. News - Pip Hare....in the wars with a man o'war - Vendée Globe - En

Rankings

Vendee Live - "Today, we welcome Ian Walker, British sailor double Olympic silver medalist." Ian went to university with Miranda Merron. Pip is still smiling despite the pain. She wants to do another Vendee Globe but thinks Medallia has probably done enough of them now.

Link to full article: Riding on the back of the depression

Spanks · 20 Jan 2021

Incredible average speeds on Gitana.

Poor Pip -Aren't PMOW stings supposed to be very painful? I hope she has some boo boo cream

Electromagnetic · 20 Jan 2021

Spanks said:
Incredible average speeds on Gitana.

Poor Pip -Aren't PMOW stings supposed to be very painful? I hope she has some boo boo cream

They should pass the Cape of Good Hope on Thursday morning. Pip said it's like a chemical burn so she is tring to keep it clean.

Electromagnetic · 20 Jan 2021

Vendee Globe - Hermann 2nd. Dalin's lead reduces. Tripon slows down. Hare pointing South East.
Jules Verne Trophy - Gitana 17 939.7 nm ahead having slowed a little.

Compression starts as leaders reach the next wall of high pressure.

I wonder if the complex cold front is being problematic or is Pip having to keep the port side up? ETA, I hope Pip is okay after that nasty sting.

Electromagnetic · 20 Jan 2021

Vendee Globe - Tripon (11th) 170 nm behind Sorel (10th)
Jules Verne Trophy - Lead reduces 40 nm but still ahead by over 900 nm for now - They are trying to slow it down! Apparently all it wants to do is accelerate!

Armel Tripon (black boat below) did not break to the East as I expected, as the Doldrums healed from the West, negating that possible advantage. He is gaining nonetheless and is only 170 nm behind Maxime Sorel.

I was briefly concerned about the direction Pip Hare was taking but she is back on track again. The winds have weakened as she expected. She isn't over the cold front yet but now it's complex and light airs that have replaced the constant Eastwards stream.

Isabelle Joshke has been sailing towards Brazil for ten days. She is sailing at around 7 kts, a speed at which she is happy that she is not putting the loose keel under stress. She will meet her team and they will see what can be done in five days. Presumably if they can repair the keel, she can continue her journey, unofficially and at a somewhat less leisurely pace. Isabelle is making the most of the peace as she knows she will soon be in a busy town. You can watch her in French on Vendee Flash, linked further down the post.

The transparent red boat leading Alexia Barrier and Ari Huusela to Cape Horn is Sam Davies. It's nice that she has been on Vendee Live twice recently, thanks to viewer requests.