Vendee Globe Finish.

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Jules Verne Trophy - GT 17 passes Cape of Good Hope. Lead takes a slight dip in tricky conditions.

Link to full article: First major cape today

 

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Necessary but interesting rules for the PRADA RR qualifying races.

 

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In the earlier Vendee update it's weird to see the finish line on the same location map after all this time and yet there are still boats rounding the Horn. Fascinating race.

 

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@Spanks Vendee Globe

Sam Davies, Alexia barrier and Ari Huusella are due to pass Cape Horn this weekend. It looks to be quite breezy. According to Andi in today's Vendee Live, this will be the first year in which the last boat in the competition has passed Cape Horn before the leader arrives in Les sables d'Olonne.

Pip Hare is finding it difficult to get through the semi-permanent cold front.

Charlie Dalin's lead has reduced to 77.4 nm with Boris Hermann in 2nd position.

I'll wait until after the 2pm position updates to do the usual VG post

 

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Vendee Globe - Dalin still leads but Burton is further North and faster

Fleet overview. 15:00 wind overlay. Louis Burton's boat in focus, top left of the fleet. For now he is bypassing the light winds that are causing compression of the rest of the front of the fleet. Dalin slowed by light winds. Hermann slowing too. Expect more position changes in the rankings of the top ten. Vendee Live mentioned Louis Burton's route far to the West of Dalin. Models don't all agree but one or two give a possibility for him to continue his outer track at speed, which could put him in the lead. Will his gamble pay off? It certainly makes the race more interesting. Jean Le Cam is just over 300 nm behind the leader and this distance should decrease with compression at the front. Will he be able to capitalise on it though?

Pip Hare is finding it difficult to get through the semi-permanent cold front.

Link to full article: News - Pip Hare 'glad to see sunrise' - Vendée Globe - En

Sam Davies, Alexia barrier and Ari Huusella are due to pass Cape Horn this weekend. It looks to be quite breezy. According to Andi in today's Vendee Live, this will be the first year in which the last boat in the competition has passed Cape Horn before the leader arrives in Les sables d'Olonne.

Rankings:

Vendee Live - "Today we welcome Marcus Hutchinson, team manager LinkedOut."

 

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Jules Verne Trophy - Gitana 17, Speed < 30 kts, lead < 870 nm but makes record reaching Indian ocean.

Link to full article: Best time ever recorded to the tip of South Africa, by way of a tribute to Benjamin de Rothschild

 

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Vendee Globe - Burton takes second from Hermann but it's close. LeDiraison gaining on Pip Hare.

Incidentally, earlier I noticed that Jeremie Beyou was on a course which would intercept that of Isabelle Joshke. They are now within visible range less than 2 nm of each other. I wonder if this will give Isabelle a little morale boost despite having to officially retire from the race.

Pip Hare's VMG is down to 1.2 kts, stuck in the windless high pressure zone that surrounds her. She's not the only sailor who is stuck in stubborn low winds though.

13.6 kts

VG reports that some of the sailors want to take a step back from the onboard reports and concentrate on the final days of racing. That is understandable when places and conditions are changing and eeking out every advantage is critical. News - All Quiet on the Western Front? - Vendée Globe - En

Vendee Flash:


Seawolves - Very interesting weather predictions.

Sea Wolves - Vendee Globe Report - Analysis of the final week! and my predictions for the WIN! + JV!​

Now a couple of videos from Pip. The first was from Wednesday, when she made use of conditions to freshen up and tackle a list of jobs requiring attention. The second is just a short time lapse of sunrise set to music but gives an impression of her ocean lounge (ETA shown in Vendee Flash)

 

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Jules Verne Trophy - Gitana attempt abandoned due to rudder damage!

Link to source: The Maxi Edmond de Rothschild abandons her Jules Verne Trophy record attempt

The lead had continued to slip and speed had dropped, despite winds suggesting it should be faster. Yesterday they were trying to slow down, afraid of going too fast. That's another blow to the team who lost their founder/owner after whom the boat was named.

 

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Wow... To be doing so well only to suffer an unrepairable breakage must be soul destroying.

 

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Vendee Globe - Less than 19 nm between Dalin and Burton! Pip gets going again!

Link to full article with more detail of Azores conditions etc News - Burton's Option Pays - Vendée Globe - En

Pip Hare wrote the following article this morning after climbing the mast. She now has wind speed for the autopilot and will be able to get more sleep. The other good news is that since she wrote the article, she has wind and is out of that pool of windless high pressure that held her back but which also gave her the conditions in which to carry out so many tasks, especially the mast climb, which will now help her a lot.

Source: News - Pip Hare has climbed her mast to repair her anemometer.....'It is still Game On!' - Vendée Globe - En

Sam Davies recorded an audio report: Audios - Vendée Globe - En
I think VG now realise the welfare benefit of these communications whether the sailor is in the competition or not. Good on them and the fans who encouraged them for that.

Sam could pass Cape Horn on Saturday night or Sunday. Alexia and Ari possibly Monday. Sam has previously said that she has been holding back a bit to preserve the boat but that as soon as she reaches the Atlantic she intends finding out what it is capable of.

11.7 kts

Rankings:

Vendee Live - "Today we welcome Giovanni Soldini, ocean record holder."

 

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Great article from Pip climbing the mast.

 

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Great article from Pip climbing the mast.

I try not to reproduce articles in full but not everyone can easily access them and that was a cracker. Linked to source as usual of course.

Stephan LeDeraison was only 10 nm behind Pip at 2pm so I hope the fixed anemometer has made the difference. As she say's it's a 21 year old boat on it's 5th Vendee Globe.

Isaelle Joschke has around two days sailing to port at 7 kts. Conditions look stable over that period. That Jeremie Beyou has only overtaken her in the past 24 hours is testament to some great sailing on her part, only thwarted by mechanical failure.

 

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Vendee Globe - Burton within 4 nm of lead. Vendee Flash & Sea Wolves

At 9 pm Louis Burton was within 4 nm of Charlie Dalin's lead. Top ten:

Here's what the shipping activity is like where the lead pack is:

Next ten:

Further to Pip's article "Bloody-minded never giving up!" , I note that she has the same article on her blog but with photos. Bloody-minded never giving up! — Pip Hare Ocean Racing. Sea Wolves (see below) also has video footage of Pip atop the mast.

Below Didac Costa are the last three currently in the South Atlantic. Miranda Merron, in the highlighted green boat, was getting 18 kts. This is more like it. Will the blue area move for her though?

At 2100 UTC, Ari Huusela was around 650 nm from Cape Horn. Sam Davies is likely to pass Cape Horn on Saturday evening.

13.6 kts

Rankings:

Vendee Flash


Sea Wolves - Videos from Ari and Boris. Florian talks about GT17 rudder but we know they have abandoned.

Sea Wolves - Vendee Globe 2020 report - Louis Burton to 2th! Gitana 17 rudder problems?! Pip in mast​

No news from Sebastien Destremau but his IMOCA yacht doesn't look as bad as expected. I thought the bowsprit might have fallen off or been discarded but it looks like it's still there.

Ship photos | AIS Marine Traffic

 

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Vendee Globe - Dalin maintains lead. Hermann catching up. Shiraishi looks set to overtake mid group. Davies approaching Cape Horn.

Will Charlie Dalin keep his lead having opened his last food bag yesterday or will hunger spur him on? He has managed to increase his lead over Louis Burton. Boris Herrmann is almost reaching 20 kts and is only 78 nm behind Dalin. Jean Le Cam heads North for better winds. There was a risk of being caught in light winds where he was.

Maxime Sorel is being held back by light winds. Armel Tripon has also slowed down. Pip Hare has managed to stay ahead of Stephane Le Diraison although he is currently faster. Kojiro Shiraishi looks likely to pass that mid group, though unlikely to catch up with Jeremie Beyou. That said, the winds look patchy and unlikely to improve much over coming days. Kojiro's foiler seems efficient in these conditions, despite the sail issues he has had. The wall of blue high pressure which Romain Attanasio is stuck in seems persistent.

Miranda Merron has quietly been making progress. Clement Giraud had said he wanted to overtake her. How sociable after travelling so many thousands of miles together ;-p ETA in todays Vendee Live, Miranda revealed that she has broken her 4 hour distance record in this boat, having travelled over 400 nm in 24 hours.

Here comes Sam Davies, due to pass Cape Horn in a few hours.

15 kts is much better from Ari who is catching up with Alexia. At that speed he might even manage to reach the longitude of Cape Horn before midnight Sunday (UTC) which is earlier than I had expected.

Rankings:

Vendee Live - "Today, we welcome Alex Pella, Class40 Route du Rhum winner"

 

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Vendee Globe - Leading four boats now within 1500 nm of Les Sables d'Olonne. Sam Davies passes Cape Horn.

Fleet overview:

Top ten plus Armel Tripon:

Clarisse Cremer seems happy enough. Romain Attanasio is trying to find a way out of the windless zone that trapped him for so long. No such issues for Jeremie Beyou who I expect to continue moving up the rankings, even if only by one place. Another fast boat has slowed dramatically as Kojiro Shiraishi hit light winds, unless he has more problems with his sails again. When that boat is working well in conditions that suit it, it is fast.
I was concerned about Pip Hare's speed but she has since reached double digits again.

Today's video's include the Weekly Recap. There's more to it than just a recap of the past week though as they tell us a bit more about some of the sailors, mindsets, tribulations, strategies etc. I've linked that first, then the Flash and Sea Wolves as usual. Andy seems to trip over his details in the Flash rankings sometimes but the latest rankings are copied below. Snippets of info from the Flash:

• Louis Burton slowed briefly this morning. Andi wondered if it was the pilot or a sail wrap.
• Armel Tripon's boat was slamming a lot in the conditions, which has slowed him down as it's uncomfortable and he is concerned about the boat.
• Pip Hare has been recovering in the boat from an allergic reaction to UV.
• Sam Davies passed Cape Horn at 16:47 UTC.

Sea Wolves includes video from:

• Ari Huusela tired but relieved as the weather has calmed down, giving him some chance to rest before the cape.
• Aboard Gitana 17 as they investigate the rudder and conclude it cannot be repaired at sea.
• On Medallia Pip explains her situation and the need for readjustment to the fact that she and Medallia can't compete with what she refers to as a drag race up the Atlantic. The more modern boats are simply too fast. That just shows how more impressive she has been. She is determined however to keep pushing and just alter her idea of what success looks like. You can see the bruises from the mast climb.

I notice that Isabelle Joshcke is less than 220 nm from her rendezvous with her support team in Brazil.

Here is Louis Burton's article this morning:

Source: News - Louis Burton '

Boris Herrmann described frustrating conditions this morning:

Source: News - Vendée Globe - En

Rankings:

Sea Wolves - Vendee Globe 2020 report - 5 Days to the WIN! Boris in good shape! Gitana 17 abandons!​

Edited Sunday for minor corrections.

 

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Vendee Globe

Jean Le Cam and Benjamin Dutreux tacked North for better winds yesterday and are now back on course with improved speeds. The others in front of them, except Dalin and Burton, have now tacked North towards the Azores, possibly hoping to benefit from local winds and currents.

Isabelle Joshke will arrive in port for repairs tonight (afternoon over in Brazil).

Pip Hare has been steady at just over 10 kts since yesterday but Stephane Le Diraison has been faster and has overtaken her in his foiler. This will annoy her greatly but there's not a lot she can do about it or the prospect of Koshiro Shiraishi overtaking her in his faster foiler. Koshiro was briefly slowed down last night.

Arnaud Boissiers has enough wind to foil now so there is no longer the chance to overtake him. Alan Roura with his compromised keel is not so quick though.

Didac Costa remains slightly slower for now. Let's hope Pip gets some better winds to help her stay in the top twenty. It is worth pointing out that other than Kojiro, the only foiler behind her is Sam Davies on her unofficial restart. But for the incident that damaged her boat Sam would have been up in that front group.

Fleet overview.

Ari has been reaching 17.5 kts and 17.5kts VMG on the spot check but his 4 hour VMG was 13.6 kts.
He and Alexia may just reach the longitude of Cape Horn by midnight UTC but should certainly have passed it sometime on Monday morning. This will be the first all Atlantic Vendee finish, when all remaining participants from the finish line to the last boat are in the Atlantic.

Sam Davies is making 12.6 kts. Although she wanted to "light the afterburners" in the Atlantic there is a lot of blue after the Falkland Islands. Vendee Live and Sea Wolves will give us forecasts but here is the +24 hour projection from the tracker wind overlay. It's a bit patchy and oppositional but better than a windless pool.

Rankings:

Now let's see what Andi and the Vendee Globe folk have for us:

News - Tunnel Vision, Cutting Out The Noise As The Finish Beckons - Vendée Globe - En

News - Benjamin Dutreux......still in PacMan mode - Vendée Globe - En

Vendee Live - "Today, we welcome Leslie Stretch - Medallia CEO, Tanguy Delamotte - skipper, and Chris Muesler - sailing writer at NewYork Times "

 

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Prada Cup - INEOS Team UK win Round Robins

Official news article here:
INEOS TEAM UK WIN THE PRADA CUP ROUND ROBINS

 

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INEOS TEAM UK jump to the PRADA CUP Final

Excellent news.

INEOS TEAM UK stays unbeaten after what was probably the closest race seen so far on the AC75s, with 9 lead changes throughout the nail biting race against Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli.

With that result, Sir Ben Ainslie’s team won their the fifth race in a row in the Round Robins. Upon finishing the ‘ghost race’ start successfully it took them to 6 points, enough to qualify directly to the PRADA Cup final.

The Italian Challenger of Record fought until the last jibe of the last leg of a race that was the perfect definition of match race which saw the top speeds exceeding the 50 knot mark for the first time in racing.

 

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Vendee Globe - Burton takes lead, Remainder of lead pack gybe North for better winds and high speeds.

Top Ten plus Armel Tripon. Vendee Flash includes video from Yannick Bestaven, determined to try new things for any possibility of advantage. For the most part the race at the front has become much faster.

Screen grab from Vendee Live shows a high pressure developing which may cause some slow down towards the end of the race. At this stage models do not agree but it's something to watch out for.

But for various misfortunes we should have had some women in the top ten. Clarisse has done really well in a non-foiler. Isabelle Joshke has arrived in Brazilian waters just off the port of Salvador. I hope the keel can be repaired within the teams time frame there and allow Isabelle to complete her journey.

In Vendee Live, Romain Attanasio finds it hard to have humour today as the frustration of being stuck without wind for 48 hours is getting to him. After a burst of speed Beyou and Boissieres have slowed down a bit. If you are looking for pip's Medallia, it's hidden by Stephane Le Diraison's Time For Oceans just 10 nm ahead of her.

Manu, Clement and Miranda meet high light winds.

It will be interesting to see how Sam Davies routes Northwards.

Although she has not been in race mode since Cape Town, perhaps now she has the target of catching slower boats ahead. That would be good to watch. She is currently making almost 14 kts.

Alexia called Race Direction to advise them that she is fine and that her very low speed was due to a windless area. Ari was saying earlier that the winds were buffeting the side of the boat, so he slowed a bit as it was uncomfortable. It's definitely looking more like a Monday pass of Cape Horn.

***ETA Alexia is moving again! At this speed she should pass Cape Horn within the next two hours!***

Ari should pass Cape Horn in the early hours (GMT/UTC) of Monday morning.

Rankings:

VG's evening summary article: News - Tumbling Dice - Vendée Globe - En

Vendee Flash


Sea Wolves is queued up for screening at 8pm but here is the link which can be used to watch it then or later:

Sea Wolves - Vendee Globe 2020 - Boris VS Yannick VS JEAN?! Spectacle with Luna Rossa VS Ineos UK!​

 

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INEOS TEAM UK jump to the PRADA CUP Final

Excellent news.

INEOS TEAM UK stays unbeaten after what was probably the closest race seen so far on the AC75s, with 9 lead changes throughout the nail biting race against Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli.

With that result, Sir Ben Ainslie’s team won their the fifth race in a row in the Round Robins. Upon finishing the ‘ghost race’ start successfully it took them to 6 points, enough to qualify directly to the PRADA Cup final.

The Italian Challenger of Record fought until the last jibe of the last leg of a race that was the perfect definition of match race which saw the top speeds exceeding the 50 knot mark for the first time in racing.

Thanks for expanding on that. I didn't have time and still need to catch up with some of the videos. Although I posted a link to Vendee Live I didn't have time to watch it. I see that Pip is on it. along with some American guests. Perhaps we will have more boats from Germany, Japan and even the USA in 2024?

ETA Wow! Leslie Stretch CEO of US company Medallia (He sounds Scottish) is really happy with how sponsorship has gone and feels it has been great for the company. He says Pip has been a fantastic ambassador for them and that it has been a huge win. Andi asks if he has a question for Pip. Leslie says lets get to the end and then go shopping for a new boat!