RDR fleet carnage...stronger boats needed?

[Iain C]

Deliberately on a separate thread so as not to detract from the main RDR thread.

Does anyone else think that the top end RDR boats just need to be a bit tougher? I think we can forgive Charal...it's a very new boat and a steering issue can probably be put down to teething issues. But I just find it very disappointing that so many of the top end boats are seemingly not fit for purpose...the Ultime class seems to be a bit of a joke with major platform bits snapping off all over the place, and now Sam Davies' IMOCA is starting to delaminate. As have so many boats beforehand.

I get that this is supposed to be top end racing, and although the conditions seem pretty full on, I would not say that they are totally crazy. Oh, and guess what, if you are going to head out that way from Biscay in November, it might get a bit spicy.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the top end stuff, and this current generation of foiling IMOCA is simply staggering. I met Alex last year, and he explained that the thickest piece of carbon between the keel and the bowsprit was just 2.6mm. Well, no wonder Sam is delaminating if the boats are that thin.

I've heard Alex talking about selecting the lightest alarm clock, the lightest food, and seen the video where the Ultime skipper grimaces about the weight of the polycarbonate windows in the steering pod so he can see where he's going.

I have a Fireball, 22 years old now, but still competitive. It's built to minimum weight and has to carry correctors to be "legal", and there's also a maximum weight of correctors allowed to ensure that the weight and strength is in the structure of the hull and not the lead under the thwart. The boat could probably be made today to be at least 25kg lighter, but as part of the attraction of Fireball racing is that the boats can be thrashed way up into the 30 knot range with breakages being rare, the class has avoided that route. I also had an old Cherub...it was a boat that had been built to an old rule set from glass and kevlar, and had been substantially modified to bring it more in line with the newer rules carbon boats (bigger rig, wider racks, twin trapeze etc) and as a result was a shocking 18kg overweight...on a 50kg rule! But...we won a nationals with it and came 3rd at another, on the basis that it never broke and the windier it got the harder we drove it.

I just wonder if some of the RDR classes had more emphasis on seaworthyness and durability, it might just make a more interesting race. And if a slightly heavier stronger boat took another 2 days to get there so be it, I'd rather see more racing and more finishers.

Interestingly I see the positively ancient IMOCA FaceOcean AlcatrazIT (which I have sailed) is still chugging along...and even with lordy knows how many Vendees under her belt now, I bet she makes it. Admittedly with a fixed keel she's about 50% slower than the modern kit, but perhaps a compromise might be in order?

Thoughts?

 

[flaming]

Actually, I think if you look at it the newest boats in the IMOCA fleet are generally fairing best. Excluding Charal, which as you say can be put down to a teething issue, the most up to date boats are pretty much all still going I think. Pretty sure Sam is the newest boat to retire, though I'm not all that up to speed with the history of all the boats. Since the IMOCA fleet went to OD masts and OD keels, the rate of failure in those parts has been extremely low. Can't actually think of one off the top of my head.
Delam issues are another matter. And far from ideal... But I think the class is going the right way. Part of me wonders if Sam's issues were at all related to having to push her boat that little bit harder than Alex etc because it's a slightly slower boat. Alex said yesterday he backed off a lot in the worst of the weather to protect the boat.

The big tris are another matter, and there seems to be a bit of an issue with sea state... Could it be history repeating itself...? It was of course a demolition derby of a RDR that did for the ORMA 60 class.

Maybe the big boys will stick to fully crewed RTW stuff.

 

[dunedin]

Let’s see how it pans out overall.

Clearly single handed sailing of enormous flying hydrofoils in the Ultimate class is more than pushing the boundaries of technology. They are “Boldly Going” into completely new territory - and if even one gets there the first time it will be a stunning achievement. Like taking a Formula 1 car round the old RAC Rally stages and winning.

The IMOCAs are also hugely advanced, and with such a big fleet, the winner will have to lots of risks - design, build and sailing - to beat the rest.
But as we are seeing the IMOCAs seem to have at least as good a record (higher percentage finishers), if not better, in the challenging Southerrn Ocean than the long keel older boats in the Golden Globe race. Upwind in a Biscay Gale is a different challenge, but let’s wait and see the actual rate and compare to the other classes, and the dwindling GGR MABs.

 

[Foolish Muse]

You should remember that in the early round the world races, on average one person died per race. You can see that with the rolls and injuries, we have nearly reached that state in the Golden Globe and they haven't even gotten to Cape Horn yet. There is a reason why the races moved to more modern and safer boats over the years. The GG founders seemed to have forgotten history.

As for the RdR, even in my singlehanded tips book I mentioned that I believe multihulls are beyond the abilities of a singlehander. They can flip in an instant and do not come back up again. In a previous race, with normal weather, 50% of the multi's flipped and required rescue.

I strongly believe that it no boat should set out unless the skipper can make it back to shore on his own in all but the most extreme cases. And a 50% failure rate is certainly not extreme, whether that be for the old style boats of the GG or the multi's in the RdR. When a boat lost it's mast in the Singlehanded Transpac, the skipper phoned in and the Race Committee Chair said this: "You're a singlehander. Figure it out."

 

[Foolish Muse]

Refer to my posting above and read below from JLVDH. Now this is a singlehanded sailor in the greatest tradition:

"I had plenty of time to think about my situation during these four days of escaping the storm (220 miles lost to the North)." My mast is now extremely precarious due to my capsize. If I stop to make a repair, it will be only temporary. For Matmut to continue sailing, it will need more or less long to change to a new mast.

So I decided, to save my soul (dixit Moitessier), to continue my route non-stop and head for Les Sables d'Olonne.

As soon as the sea will allow it I will climb in the mast to secure it as best as possible with what I can use onboard. If I get dismasted, I have like all competitors a jury rig that will allow me to reach a port in full autonomy. I am no longer in racing mode but in safe mode. This is not the first time I will attempt to bring home a damaged boat. And if by miracle I get to Les Sables d'Olonne, I do not care about the ranking, at least I will have tried. I cross my fingers and thank all those who help me in this adventure.