Vendée Globe 2016-2017

As of this morning, Seb is near the Falkands...
I hope he has sufficient food to keep well fed... There is an ocean full of fish, but they don't swim gast enough to spin for them...

Otot, he can slow down for an hour and catch some lunch.... assuming he has some fishing lures etc...
 
Key points for the last 24 hours.

1. Louis Burton (7th) 546 miles from the finish and under no pressure with Nandor Fa (8th) more than 1500miles behind him. LB is the first VG 2016 skipper to encounter brisk conditions in the Bay of Biscay and while he could get to the finish at midnight on Wednesday he may take his foot of the pedal to hit the Thursday morning tidal window.Burton’s objective is to enter the legendary channel of Les Sables d’Olonne during the Thursday morning tidal window.

2. Nandor Far (8th) covered only 219 has he struggled to escape the Azores anticyclone ridge which is evolving from West to East which suggests he is going to struggle onwards for a further 12 hours at least before he picks up more stable winds. The model then shows he is going to have a very windy and bumpy ride to the finish - maybe Monday 6th Feb.

3. Eric Bellion (9th) achieved the best mileage of the field today covered 333 miles today and is now 636 miles behind NF. He has 36 hours of good winds ahead before he hits the Azores anticyclone ridge.

4. Conrad Coleman (10th), in comparison covered 233 miles and has fallen 313 miles behind EB. In explanation - quoting the VG website 'Colman is having to work hard to balance his sailplan upwind. Left with just a small foretriangle and full mainsail he is very much looking forward to the breeze building which would require him to take in a reef, making for a more even balance'.

5. Arnaud Boissieres (11th) leads the group of 4, which has stretched out further - due again to the slow progress of Rich Wilson (14th) who covered 215 miles. RW currently flopping about at 3 knots, is now 733 miles behind AB and has challenging low winds again tomorrow, probably for another 18 hours.Rich Wilson talks about the frustrations that King Neptune presents in this fascinating video - https://youtu.be/77u2lf6AzaM ( I have left this link from yesterday in because it is still very relevant and some may not have seen it.

6. 358 miles behind RW, Didac Costa (15th) and Romain Attanasio (16th) are about 8 miles apart, but not within visual, while covering 201 and 188 miles respectively today. The Remora model suggest light and changeable airs for the next 12 hours.

7. Pieter Heerema (17th) - had a slower day than yesterday with 191 miles achieved and is now 600 miles behind RA. It looks like he will have a similar sort of day tomorrow with lighter airs for around 12 hours. The consolation at 35S - at least it is tee shirt weather.

8. Sebastian Destremau (18th) had a good 300 mile day and is now due East of the FI. He is 1287 miles behind PH and a mere 6577 miles from the finish.
 
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Is Hugo Boss returning to Gosport on Saturday? Presumably a flotilla will be in the Solent to welcome him / her back?

Tempted to escort her out of Portland. Well, at least wave as she flies past going at least 10 knots faster :)
 
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Leaving Portland at about 1 then :)

If the weather isn't too hideous I'm gonna try to be on the water - plan to escort her to the harbour entrance, cheer and wave her off into the distance.

Then back to the bar.

Anyone nearby is welcome to join me on Ellida. 2 hrs round trip I reckon.
 
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Sorry, is it Saturday or Sunday he's due back? I might be tempted to head out on the water if it's Saturday.

P.S Need to post this on the mobo forum aswell as they can probably escort him through the Solent.
 
Have just spoken to AT Racing who advise that the return to Gosport may be postponed until the weekend 11/12 due to the forecast wet and windy weather over this coming weekend which may put off loads of people coming out to view. They will be posting details up on social media and be sending out emails to those who have subscribed on the AT web site very shortly.
 
Key points for the last 24 hours. (5 in the North Atlantic, 7 in South Atlantic).

1. Louis Burton (7th) had a stonkin 400 mile day and is now only 79 miles from the finish line. Still in winds of 16 knots and on a beam reach, he appears to have reduced sail to bring his speed down to 11 knots and with a projected eta of 0300 GMT is likely to slow down further to hit the Thursday morning tidal window (0600).

2. Nandor Far (8th) covered only 175 miles and with 1900 miles to go he has good winds forecast ahead and maybe Monday morning 6 Feb will see him across the line.

3. Eric Bellion (9th) had a good day achieving 372 miles made good. He has 24 hours of good winds ahead and looks as though he may avoid the worst of the Azores anticyclone ridge.

4. Conrad Coleman (10th), covered 312 miles and is 315 miles behind EB. He has good winds ahead for the next 48 hours.

5. Arnaud Boissieres (11th) covered 266 miles (crossing the equator about now) and leads the group of 4, which has stretched out further - due again to the slow progress of Rich Wilson (14th) who covered 164 miles and is now 914 miles behind AB. Must be really frustrating for RW but he looks as though he has 72 hours of better winds ahead.

6. 350 miles behind RW, Didac Costa (15th) and Romain Attanasio (16th) are about 45 miles apart, still jockeying for advantage while creeping up on RW.

7. Pieter Heerema (17th) - had a slightly better day than yesterday with 248 miles achieved and is now 506 miles behind RA. He could move up the field in the days ahead - which would be nice. However he has a challenging low wind situation 48 hours ahead.

8. Sebastian Destremau (18th) had a 267 mile day. He is 1288 miles behind PH and a mere 6300 miles from the finish. He has a slow 12 hours ahead in a wind hole.
 
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From VG Website: After a gnarly final night at sea in winds of 20-25kts Louis Burton is poised at the Ile de Ré only 12 or so miles from the finish line of his Vendée Globe. The 31 year old solo skipper from Saint Malo is on schedule to cross the finish line between 0830hrs and 0900hrs this morning to secure his seventh place. It is a breezy, squally morning in Les Sables d'Olonne and so Burton will not hang around at all before entering the channel.

LIve feed on Facebook

He crossed the line at 0747 GMT - the livestream on Facebook would not run on my iPad grrrrrrrr.
 
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Hugo Boss finished the race in 2nd place and thus race over for AT. I do not believe they will see refitting the starboard foil as a priority.
 
Thanks for that Andrew.

Key points for the last 24 hours.

Louis Burton, the youngest Skipper of the race finished 7th this morning around 0745. Those that are keen, get fell in previous (so they say) and he is the first skipper to be signed up for the 9th VG and Bureau Vallée 2, the boat which has just won this Vendée Globe, awaits him.

Nandor Far (8th), covered 237 miles today and is on course to take a remarkable eighth place on Tuesday afternoon on the Spirit of Hungary IMOCA which he designed and built himself. After the youngest skipper to finish he will be the oldest yet. Quote from VG Website 'I am sitting here and making the routing, downloading the latest GRIB files and looking to Les Sables d’Olonne. It is still very frustrating, very light and hard to stay moving. I have been trying to escape from this high pressure system for three days. I am fighting for every single mile. I had time enough to check everything on the boat. I have done all the last checks and took out the water in the different compartments, a few unnecessary litres of water. I checked all the screws. There was one screw (bolt) in the rudder which was loose and I fixed it. Now I cant wait to get back and see my wife and my beautiful girls.' It is projected that he will have good winds for the next 48 hours.

Eric Bellion (9th) covered the most miles today (357 miles) - quote from VG Website 'I’ve just had a tricky period sailing in the strong trade winds blowing at 28-35 knots. For several days I haven’t seen the sun. It wasn’t very comfortable reaching like that and was particularly bad for the boat. It’s hard to stand up and you easily get injured. Each movement is hard. I wasn’t expecting it to be so hard in this part. This third part is the hardest. The wind eased a bit during the night. It’s now down to 20-25 knots and the seas are smoother and the sun is out'.
Currently doing 5 knots and is now 597 miles behind Nanda Fa. Looks like he will hit the Azores anticyclone ridge in 12-18 hours and it may take him 12 hours to extricate himself.

Conrad Coleman (10th) is currently doing 15 knots has covered 336 miles and is 294 miles behind EB, and may have the easier transit through the ridge.

Arnaud Boissieres (11th) is currently doing 13 knots has covered 241 miles and is 446 miles behind CC. Good winds ahead for the next 48 hours.

Fabrice Amedeo (12th) crossed the equator this morning at 0822. He is currently doing 12.2 knots has covered 284 miles and is 45 miles behind AB. Good winds ahead for the next 48 hours.

Alan Roura (13th) is currently doing 13 knots and has covered 312 miles today and is 393 miles behind FA. Maybe a slower day tomorrow as the wind stalls as he approaches the equator, which he may cross in 20 hours.

Rich Wilson (14th) is currently doing 8 knots and covered 234 miles today , he is very firmly the back marker of the 'Group of 4' , 487 miles behind AR and 880 miles behind AB. The winds look a bit better for Rich for the next 24 hours.

Didac Costa (15th) is currently doing 11 knots and has covered 245 miles today and is 351 miles behind RW. Similar winds for him tomorrow.

Romain Attanasio (16th) is currently doing 6 knots and has covered 235 miles today and is a mere 18miles behind DC.Similar winds for him tomorrow.

Pieter Heerema (17th) is currently doing 10 knots and has covered 183 miles and is now 550 miles behind RA. It looks like an equally challenging and low achieving day for him tomorrow.

Sebastian Destremau (18th), is currently 10 knots and has covered 1274 miles today and is now 900 miles behind PH. Difficult routing and winds ahead for SD tomorrow.
Quote from VG website 'We have had a lot of good downwind sailing since the Horn, but now for a few hours we have been upwind, but it shouldn’t last too long before 900 miles or so of downwind sailing to get to the Equator, which is good, as sailing upwind in these boats is not that pleasant. I have to get my engine started to recharge my batteries and to move the ballast and to do that I have to pull on a cord like a lawnmower. It takes a lot of work with the sails and then adjusting the engine. It takes between 30 minutes and 90 minutes to get it started. With the solar panels and the hydrogenerators, I’m more or less self-sufficient, but I need the engine to adjust my ballast. So I don’t have to deal with that problem that often. And we’re heading north and progressing well and the boat is in good condition.'
 
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