The Ocean Race (ex-Volvo, ex-Whitbread)

capnsensible said:
Now Guyot have turned back to Cape Town with Hull problems.
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Delamination of the hull floor. Not great really. Malizia have lost their c0 over the side and had to cut it in half to retrieve it. This leg is going to be an endurance special. To finish first, first you must finish.....
 
dunedin said:
And another one with problems already - major crack in the mast
Team Malizia finds a crack at the top of their mast during Leg 3 Of The Ocean Race
The boats seem to be less reliable than the same type used in the Vendee Globe - does the crew add weight and drive harder, both serving to over stress the fabric
Soon going to be like GGR with not enough boats to fill a podium
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Looking at photos, a halyard has ripped the mast exit fitting out and stripped down the mast. Linked to previous halyard lock failure and sail over the side?
 
dunedin said:
And another one with problems already - major crack in the mast
Team Malizia finds a crack at the top of their mast during Leg 3 Of The Ocean Race
The boats seem to be less reliable than the same type used in the Vendee Globe - does the crew add weight and drive harder, both serving to over stress the fabric
Soon going to be like GGR with not enough boats to fill a podium
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Incredible carbon fibre repair at the masthead in the Southern Ocean - Team Malizia's Will Harris completes gruelling mast repair at sea
 
Wansworth said:
But doesn’t seamanship come into it,selecting a suitable craft to race in the roaring forties,let’s hope it only material damage
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Well these Open 60s - complete with carbon hulls, swing keels, hydrofoils and twin rudders - have to date been statistically shown to have a much better success rate in surviving the Southern Ocean than the long keeled, slow GGR boats.
However, the extra weight of more crew and stores, plus the ability to drive them harder is putting new and even greater stresses on these boats. It’s a matter of throttling back - to 20 knots or so! - and balancing how fast they can push without breaking things.
These guys are demonstrating huge seamanship (Ellen McArthur learnt her skills racing these boats) - but in racing mode can’t just potter.
Quote from one of the racers. - “you have to throttle back all the time as the acceleration down the waves is ridiculous. Even in 10 knots of wind, we're doing more than 30 knots down the waves, so we've got to reduce sail area, and do everything to slow the boat down,"
"If everyone just sailed with three reefs in the mainsail and the [small] J3 headsail, you'd probably get to Itajaí OK. It's almost a matter of finding the balance of how much you ramp up the speed, versus how much do you slow it down compared with the boat's full potential
 
dunedin said:
Well these Open 60s - complete with carbon hulls, swing keels, hydrofoils and twin rudders - have to date been statistically shown to have a much better success rate in surviving the Southern Ocean than the long keeled, slow GGR boats.
However, the extra weight of more crew and stores, plus the ability to drive them harder is putting new and even greater stresses on these boats. It’s a matter of throttling back - to 20 knots or so! - and balancing how fast they can push without breaking things.
These guys are demonstrating huge seamanship (Ellen McArthur learnt her skills racing these boats) - but in racing mode can’t just potter.
Quote from one of the racers. - “you have to throttle back all the time as the acceleration down the waves is ridiculous. Even in 10 knots of wind, we're doing more than 30 knots down the waves, so we've got to reduce sail area, and do everything to slow the boat down,"
"If everyone just sailed with three reefs in the mainsail and the [small] J3 headsail, you'd probably get to Itajaí OK. It's almost a matter of finding the balance of how much you ramp up the speed, versus how much do you slow it down compared with the boat's full potential
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So the sailing round the world race is basically the old thinking of speed being the only denominator which is normal in mankind theses days,Anywayluckyits relatively calm to fix the mast head problem.
 
Wansworth said:
So the sailing round the world race is basically the old thinking of speed being the only denominator which is normal in mankind theses days,Anywayluckyits relatively calm to fix the mast head problem.
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Well “race” and “speed” do generally go together.
But aside from this race, where speeds are very high, there is reasonably statistical evidence that a moderate degree of extra speed can be safer in the Southern Ocean than the slow GGR boats - going faster reduces the number of waves that overtake, reduces their impact slightly, and means less time spent in the danger zones.
 
dunedin said:
Well “race” and “speed” do generally go together.
But aside from this race, where speeds are very high, there is reasonably statistical evidence that a moderate degree of extra speed can be safer in the Southern Ocean than the slow GGR boats - going faster reduces the number of waves that overtake, reduces their impact slightly, and means less time spent in the danger zones.
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If you gave me the option between being in the Southern Ocean in a new, covered cockpit IMOCCA with live satellite feed showing the weather and a boat capable to put myself in precisely the best sector of a system and have the boat controls managed my a state of the art autopilot OR be sat exposed in the cockpit of a 35ft, 50 year old boat with no outside weather info and at the mercy of the luck of the draw... I think I know exactly what would offer the safest, most enjoyable and most memorable trip!

It would be the IMOCCA all the way!
 
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