Vendée Globe 2016-2017

Spare foil? Install it solo? No way....

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The news is that it is installed from the deck, so is perhaps straight, or slightly curved. Perhaps a tip which could the be separately attached? Who knows, but it will keep everyone guessing.
 
I find it very dissappointing that here is a a Brit, not only partaking but, leading in what must be one of the most dangerous and exteme organised sporting events in the world, yet the mainstsream British media and press have yet to mention it. Maybe, if Alex wins, he will be awarded a column in some obscure corner of the sports pages after the well deserved antics of overpaid soccer players!
Goodness why?

It is a French event, the British Press would never cover such an event. Sailing is a minority sport and ocean racing is a tiny fraction of that minority sport and there is not a huge amount of advertising that can be generated.
 
Goodness why?

It is a French event, the British Press would never cover such an event. Sailing is a minority sport and ocean racing is a tiny fraction of that minority sport and there is not a huge amount of advertising that can be generated.

And the Americas Cup?
 
And the Americas Cup?
Well it is not a French event, so it might get some exposure in the press.

To be honest the Vendee is the only race I am interested in, purely because it is a circumnavigation, and having attended a briefing by a member of the UK America's Cup team consider this more of a flying event that a sailing one.

I don't get excited by watching any sport and don't race. I do get excited by being on the water and sailing my wee boat. However, I am one of the few individuals who won't tweak the sails to go faster if I see another sail pop above the horizon.
 
From VG site:
"British skipper Alex Thomson this afternoon completed the fastest ever passage from the Vendée Globe start line to the Cape of Good Hope in the race's 27-year history. Thomson's Hugo Boss passed the famous milestone on the tip of South Africa at 1100 UTC in seventeen days, 22 hours and 58 minutes since beginning the epic solo round the world race from Les Sables d'Olonne in France."

From HB facebook page:
"Today at 15:04 UTC, British sailor Alex Thomson smashed two more race records in the solo, non-stop, around the world race, the Vendée Globe as he reached the Cape of Good Hope in 18d 03hrs 02mins."

Good job someone knows what is going on! I'm guessing that the confusion is between Cape of Good Hope (18.47E) and Cape Agulhas (20.00E). Either way, another record has been smashed. Allez Allez Alex!
 
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From VG site:
"British skipper Alex Thomson this afternoon completed the fastest ever passage from the Vendée Globe start line to the Cape of Good Hope in the race's 27-year history. Thomson's Hugo Boss passed the famous milestone on the tip of South Africa at 1100 UTC in seventeen days, 22 hours and 58 minutes since beginning the epic solo round the world race from Les Sables d'Olonne in France."

From HB facebook page:
"Today at 15:04 UTC, British sailor Alex Thomson smashed two more race records in the solo, non-stop, around the world race, the Vendée Globe as he reached the Cape of Good Hope in 18d 03hrs 02mins."

Good job someone knows what is going on! I'm guessing that the confusion is between Cape of Good Hope (18.47E) and Cape Agulhas (20.00E). Either way, another record has been smashed. Allez Allez Alex!

He is slipping back a little now as wind speed drops, the next 2 days will be interesting if not critical.
 
I've just seen that Safran is out, another unidentified floating object! I'm wondering if they are whales? I heard recently of a Transat cruiser who hit one. Apparently there was blood and guts all around the boat.
Allan
 
I've just seen that Safran is out, another unidentified floating object! I'm wondering if they are whales? I heard recently of a Transat cruiser who hit one. Apparently there was blood and guts all around the boat.
Allan

The number of OFNI collisions in this edition of VG seems much higher than previous years. I would guess that most of the collisions are with whales since their numbers are on the rise around the world (whereas other suspects such as lost containers are likely to be on a downturn given economic slowdown and better shipping regulations and oversight).

I read on a French forum that PRB team actually did study the feasibility of having a forward looking sonar to warn of potential underwater collisions, but concluded that any system with sufficient range to allow time to react would be excessively heavy, expensive, and energy greedy.

I do wonder, however, whether it may be possible to implement a whale warning "klaxon" that could warn whales to get out of the way? Whales can hear motor boats as their sounds are within their hearing ranges and although they probably can't detect the direction the sound is coming from they can discern if the source is getting closer, giving them a chance to react. The noises made by sailing boats are probably too high frequency for them to hear which is why they don't get out of the way.
 
The noises made by sailing boats are probably too high frequency for them to hear which is why they don't get out of the way.

It seems, from some videos, that the noise a foiler makes can be similar to a whale's song. Maybe it is attracting them?

 
I've been mulling this over too. Surely it would be possible to play a repeating whale distress call through the hull that would get them out of the way. But perhaps it might exacerbate things, given the way pilot whales flock to their beached friends...
 
I don't get excited by watching any sport and don't race. I do get excited by being on the water and sailing my wee boat. However, I am one of the few individuals who won't tweak the sails to go faster if I see another sail pop above the horizon.

I did a bit of racing for a few years and I think it brings out the worst in some people. Like a lot of professional sports do. There are some exciting brief moments, like the olympic women's rugby final.

I am quite happy to sit back and occasionally watch some other creatures in a rarefied atmosphere. Like the VG.

I often tweak the sails to go slower, trying to sail in company with other boats. Nobody seems to understand.
 
From VG site:
"British skipper Alex Thomson this afternoon completed the fastest ever passage from the Vendée Globe start line to the Cape of Good Hope in the race's 27-year history. Thomson's Hugo Boss passed the famous milestone on the tip of South Africa at 1100 UTC in seventeen days, 22 hours and 58 minutes since beginning the epic solo round the world race from Les Sables d'Olonne in France."

From HB facebook page:
"Today at 15:04 UTC, British sailor Alex Thomson smashed two more race records in the solo, non-stop, around the world race, the Vendée Globe as he reached the Cape of Good Hope in 18d 03hrs 02mins."

Good job someone knows what is going on! I'm guessing that the confusion is between Cape of Good Hope (18.47E) and Cape Agulhas (20.00E). Either way, another record has been smashed. Allez Allez Alex!

I heard the comment that he had taken 5 days off this record. Enormous.
 
I often tweak the sails to go slower, trying to sail in company with other boats. Nobody seems to understand.
Brillant... thanks that has cheered me up no end.

Sport should be about participation at whatever level suits the individual.
 
As of 0800 today Alex's lead is down from 103nm to 40nm. Testing times ahead in an area of light winds.
That's quite a drop in just less than a day.
WindyTY shows a big area of light and/or adverse winds ahead.


Not good for my nerves!!

He lost a lot over night. I think he gybed but spent a bit of time running downwind at least that's how I see it on the tracker when zoomed in. Not much info coming through from Alex. Hope he's not got more problems. He seems to be back up to speed now.
 
He lost a lot over night. I think he gybed but spent a bit of time running downwind at least that's how I see it on the tracker when zoomed in. Not much info coming through from Alex. Hope he's not got more problems. He seems to be back up to speed now.

Perhaps he took the opportunity to remove the foil stub, as he said he would.
 
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