Vendee Globe Finish.

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Vendee Globe - Sam Davies picks up speed as winds improve!

The latest spot speed for Sam Davis is 13.2 14.8 kts. That's double what she was doing last night when wind overlays had suggested weak winds but this morning it's looking like winds are ~9 kts and improving. This suggests an earlier finish for Sam than I had expected. That's really good, although access to the channel may be a close run thing. Times adjusted to GMT.

High Tide	2:51 PM (Thu 25 February)	4.77 m(15.65 ft)
Low Tide	8:43 PM (Thu 25 February)	1.41 m(4.63 ft)
High Tide	3:05 AM (Fri 26 February)	5.07 m

Alexia barrier has been averaging 8.8 kts and is almost level with the Finisterre DST on the approach to Biscay. Waves are 4m and winds in excess of 15 kts. Sailing is upwind.

Ari Huusela appears to have a course that will take him through the Azores. He is making around 12 kts, sailing downwind in 3 m waves and 20 to 30 kt winds.

Sebastien Destremau reports that Merci is undergoing sea trials now that the main repairs have been done. There are other repairs to do but this is great progress towards the resumption of his circumnavigation. The plan here continues to be to follow him, even after the Vendee Globe 2020-21 has officially finished. He has a photo and two video clips, one in French and one in English on his website. Aboard the yacht are friends who helped him after he arrived in Christchurch with his damaged boat. This is his way of thanking them.
Bienvenue au Bureau : Sortie test pour Merci - Merci avec Sébastien Destremau

In a previous article the VG doctor discussed aspects of the race and their affect on the sailors, as well as getting used to "normal" life ashore. This follow up article is a catch up with the non-French sailors.

Getting back to 'normal' part 2, the internationals​

Source: News - Getting back to 'normal' part 2, the internationals - Vendée Globe - En

 

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Interesting to read these medical assessments, many similar stories followed by individual effects the race had on each of them.

Basically the list of things to do grows longer after each skipper files a report. Being cold seems to be a big issue leading to better heating solutions perhaps, losing weight may lead to different diet supplies, who knows what ideas the next VG will bring in.

 

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[Electromagnetic]

Interesting to read these medical assessments, many similar stories followed by individual effects the race had on each of them.

Basically the list of things to do grows longer after each skipper files a report. Being cold seems to be a big issue leading to better heating solutions perhaps, losing weight may lead to different diet supplies, who knows what ideas the next VG will bring in.

Miranda seems to have realised that she was neglecting her dietary needs early on and corrected that quickly. Pip didn't. She was so driven and determined on the performance front that she tried too hard and put effort before diet. That's not sustainable on an endurance event like this and is a lesson she will hopefully learn from. I think she knows she got the balance a bit wrong needs to pay more attention to Jean Le Cam and work smarter rather than harder.

Clement Geraud said he took a "military" like approach for his own safety and to make sure that he did not neglect his diet. Ari Huusela has been consistent in having his three meals a day and his morning coffee. The duration is finally taking it's toll mentally now I think but he is trying to stay focused on the moment rather than the finish. Alexia barrier had a fresh grapefruit every week, while they lasted. Yesterday she said that porridge wasn't "sexy" but she was eating it for strength.

Issues others had included loss of interest due to lack of meal choices, food spoiling through water ingress and problems with potable water supply. Some had to burn fuel for electricity to charge the batteries when the hydrogenerators failed. That affected their fuel budget for heat, so some layered up and did without heating the boat.

Individual physiology and activity are just that. I'm not sure that IMOCA can mandate diet but they could provide strong recommendations. Hugo Boss had monitoring for Alex Thomson's activity rate, which we didn't always have access to, as monitoring ceased at times. I'm not sure if Boris Herrmann had something similar.
This kind of data could be useful in the context of the conditions experienced and projecting worst case.

 

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More on diet.

Pip Hare's preparation was for a performance athlete. This suited her sailing which was very physical but for the diet to be effective it has to be consumed. Here is a very detailed article about the many considerations in formulating her dietary plan for the Vendee Globe: Vendée Globe nutrition: what Pip’s eating on-board — Pip Hare Ocean Racing
There is a free e-book you can sign up for: Get the Principles of Resilient Nutrition by Dr Greg Potter for free

There is also a link to her activity tracking, similar to that for Alex Thomson: Smartsheet

Sam Davies took some living vegetables. I think these were sprouting beans and similar. This seems a great idea, as there is something to tend to other than the boat, which provides some variety and nutrition.

Here is VG article on the subject from October 2016:

Food for thought: what the skippers eat​

Source: News - Food for thought: what the skippers eat - Vendée Globe - En

 

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Latest finish times from VG - requires some explanation. Sam Davies 36 nm from virtual finish.

As we can see from the map, Sam Davies is getting close to Les Sables d'Olonne. As there is no official finish line for retirees, her time will not be recorded officially. However, at 12 kts she could have crossed that line between 1730 and 1800. Perhaps it will be too late for access to the channel but this supposed arrival at Friday noon makes no sense either as the tide will be low then. A mistake?

 

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Vendee Globe - Sam Davies has to wait off coast until Friday to enter channel.

There is no official finish line for Sam and she is having to wait 15 nm from Les Sables d'Ollone. The timing for the passage up the channel has still to be confirmed.

Zooming out, Alexia barrier is now North of the Finisterre DST and Ari Huusela is getting closer to the Azores.

 

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Timing is everything . Pilot a boat for 106 days and 24,300 miles - sorry ya gotta wait til tomorrow!

 

[Electromagnetic]

Timing is everything . Pilot a boat for 106 days and 24,300 miles - sorry ya gotta wait til tomorrow!

Waiting until high tide I can understand... midday isn't high tide which is why it looked odd. Was that enough info on diet? Is there anything else we should look at?

 

[Spanks]

Waiting until high tide I can understand... midday isn't high tide which is why it looked odd. Was that enough info on diet? Is there anything else we should look at?

The diet article was very interesting I thought.

I was dabbling with the Statistics page on the VG site to see if I could post something later after the race. It's a work in progress at the mo.

 

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Vendee Globe - Sam Davies arrival (around noon). Yesterday's highlights video.


This article explains what Sam was doing, sailing off the coast.

Big Hearted Sam Davies Leaves Her Mark​

News - Big Hearted Sam Davies Leaves Her Mark - Vendée Globe - En

Very clever VG

Sam appears to be heading towards Les Sables d'Ollone with a pilot boat or similar.

Alexia was hoping to limit the number of tacks to the finish line in order to reduce pain. She has made her first tack in the Bay of Biscay

Traffic in Biscay this morning:

Ari Huusela is nearing the Azores as he tries to catch that tail of wind.

Yesterday's highlights with Alexia, Sam and Ari. Turn on subtitles. English and French available.

 

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That traffic in the Bay looks terrifying to travel through single handed.

 

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That traffic in the Bay looks terrifying to travel through single handed.

Alexia wasn't worried about it and got through okay, though some have had near misses.

 

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OOOOOPS!
Working on the update I get this nice message. Fixed in 2 minutes though.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="true"?>

-<recoveryLog xmlns="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/spreadsheetml/2006/main">

<logFileName>error079640_02.xml</logFileName>

<summary>Errors were detected in file 'C:\Users\Steve\Downloads\vendeeglobe_20210214_140000.xlsx'</summary>


-<additionalInfo>

<info>Damage to the file was so extensive that repairs were not possible. Excel attempted to save your formulas and values, but some data may have been lost or corrupted.</info>

</additionalInfo>

</recoveryLog>

 

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Vendee Globe - Live coverage of Sam Davies ascent of the channel

This should start in a few minutes or you can watch it later. ETA, there is excessive wind noise in a microphone when Sam is interviewed aboard the yacht, making it impossible to hear Andi providing the translation. We can expect a transcript later. Sam speaks in English as the noise drops. After the short interview, main audio moves to Andi. Aerial footage is shown of a sand art welcome to Sam. Apparently Sam was offered an X-ray for her broken ribs while in South Africa but she refused as she didn't want to know.

ETA - there are some connection issues during the video but Andi Robertson provides a talk over.

 

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Drone footage of arrival at the entrance of the channel.

Romain has just done a three point turn.

 

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As Andi says, there is almost no free standing room among the crowds. Fantastic welcome!
Sam has raised funds for 102 operations to save children.

A special moment for this little lad, 6 year old "Junior" from the Ivory Coast who had an operation in January.

 

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Great to see so many turn up.

 

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Vendee Globe plus Sam Davies press conference

This edition could be finished by next Sunday. However, I still intend to follow Sebastien Destremau when he sets off again from New Zealand. Posts however may be a lot less frequent after the race proper has concluded.

Alexia Barrier said she wanted to limit the number of tacks to limit the pain she is in. This is her second today. She has just over 9 kts in 2 m waves and has around 220 nm to go. She could arrive late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. Ari huusela has reached the eastern edge of the Azores. There is a vast area of light winds between him and Les sables d'Olonne. Fortunately it looks set to dissolve overnight and be replaced with usable winds. I expect Ari will continue his course until mid morning / midday Saturday when he may route direct to Biscay.

Sam Davies: "I felt like I had even more support being out of the race!"​

News - Sam Davies At Her Press Conference - Vendée Globe - En

Here is the video footage of (1) the ascent of the channel and (2) the Press Conference. There were some technical gremlins during the live footage of the passage up the channel but bear with it while Andi Roberson continues commentary until the video link is restored.
(1) Ascent of the channel - Starts at + 5 m
(2) Press Conference - Starts at + 2h 51 m 30 s