Baffled - Big winds hit Mini fleet

[jimi]

Report says -
"Big winds brought chaos to the Mini Transat fleet just hours after the start of the second leg from Lanzarote last night. In winds reaching 30kts there were many casualties including a dismastings for Ghrislain Gendron (102- Ville de Bandol), Frédéric Duthil (265 - All Mer) and Francis Hueber (404- Shaitan Ensieta Ecole d'Ingénieurs Brestoise). Duthil and Hueber are currently heading towards closest island of Gran Canaria under jury rig where they will join Gendron. Jacques Valente (355- Action innocence) is also heading for the island with gear problems."

Surely if these boats can't cope with 30 knot winds they should'nt be crossing the Solent never mind the Atlantic!


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[tome]

Amazing! I presume there must have been some big confused seas running for all this carnage - 'winds reaching 30 knots' isn't exactly Southern Ocean conditions.

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[DeeGee]

Is it the boats or the helms? This is the sort of thing EllenM did, and she describes her (first?) Mini Transat as starting with 52 boats, and many of them suffering damages after the start. I If things are gonna break that's when they're gonna break. (She finished 26th, so at least 50% made it all the way, and I suspect she wasn't last).

The Mini T is a vital step in the ladder for would-be AroundAlone, Vendee, TheRace etc etc. They have to get sponsorship and it only comes by achieving the steps in the ladder. You or I might not want to do this, but they do. Don't be so quick to dismiss them, it is a bit like an F1 race - you need to survive the start to survive the race.

Of course, I could take the view that these boats reinforce Marchaj's case - but these are NOT cruising boats, they are racing and borderline.

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[bedouin]

I think the mini transats are some of the most frightening boats about. Built like an out-and-out racer but often on a very tight budget, and without the size of a 50' or 60' boat to give the extra stability and safety.

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[Jacket]

Given that each year, many of the retirements are due to rig failure as a result of getting it wrong with the running backstays, I'm always amazed that the rules don't insist on swept back spreaders. Given the boats almost never sail on a run, the loss in performance would be minimal, as you'd only be lossing a small amount of tweakability in the rig, and in return you'd have a much stronger rig.

To be fair, many of the early retirements aren't due to major failures, but to non-critical items such as the bowspritts. I guess, so early on in the race they feel its quicker to stop and make repairs, rather than sail the whole race without a spinnacker.

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[StephenSails]

I don't know whether you have ever sailed a Mini or have even ever seen one - these boats are as about extreme as it gets when it comes to yacht design and actual sailing.

These skippers are very brave guys who have poured so much blood and sweat to getting to the start line, let alone competing - there is a lot to play for and 30 knots of sustained wind speed in the Atlantic is a lot when you are pushing these extreme 21 foot boats beyond the limits.

The race has a reputation for being extreme and dangerous- it is just that, so please don't be baffled.

The rigs are the weak spots really as the French have made a right muddle of the rules, you are allowed a carbon hull, but not a carbon rig - this was supposed to be to save money - I think they got it the wrong way round, they will allow carbon masts in the next race in 2005. These boats are very safe other than the rig issues, they are supposed to be self righting with loads of positive buoyancy, they carry extensive safety kit and there are several mother ships that escort the fleet across to Brazil.

Its a fantastic race, it is extreme and that's what its all about.

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[Twister_Ken]

Damned young whippersnappers, sailing what look like International 14s on steroids, with lids.

Rushing about spearing innocent lobsters with bits of mast.

I blame their parents.

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[jimi]

Its god that they can arrange to have the maximum wind strength right at the start as a sort f eliminatin f the weakest round!

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[StephenSails]

They are also likely to be the sailing super stars of the future....joining past Mini Transat sailors Ellen Macarthur, Mike Golding, Sam Davis etc etc..

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[Romeo]

can anyone post a picture of them? nm

?

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[StephenSails]

Re: can anyone post a picture of them? nm

Here is a picy of my mate Jakes mini being launched at Bosham Quay earlier this year, sadly he didnt make it in to the race this time round, so we are now looking for sponsors for next time if you know of anybody!?

http://www.jakejefferis.com/site/pictures/mediapress/mini242-Bosham.JPG

Cheers

Stephen

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