Vendée Globe 2016-2017

Vendee 13 February
Eric Bellion was the 9th competitor to cross the finish line and achieved that just before 1800 this evening on the 99th day of the race. The 40 year old skipper who had only sailed two, separate weeks solo before he started the longest, toughest single handed race there is exceeded all expectations, perhaps most of all his own, as he crossed the finish line in ninth place. He is the first rookie, Vendée Globe first timer, to finish this edition of the race.

He spoke of the technical problems which he overcame during the race. He fixed his engine and his hydrogenerators, sails and most notably of all replaced his rudder in the face of a building storm.
He told again how he knew he just had eleven hours to complete the repairs before the next, huge low pressure would hit him, a fix which might normally take two or three shore crew to complete. He struggled for hours to remove the broken blade before finding a solution. The solitary nature of the race did not bother him so much as the sudden and ongoing requirement to make all decisions, small and large, by himself. Solo. And that was what weighed most heavily on his shoulders. He said the last few days with no energy, no engine and winds to 70-73kts were the hardest part of the race for him.

Arnaud Boissieres (10th) passed Conrad Colman today and is currently doing 9 knots and has logged 230 miles today. Favourable winds but a bumpy sea (3m waves) may produce a 250 mile day tomorrow. He could reach the finish late Thursday afternoon.

Conrad Colman (11th): No further hard news on Conrad's situation onboard his dismasted boat, but he is now drifting NE and is 14 miles to the good and is now 718 miles from the finish line. It is understood he has repaired the carbon fibre boom and 'cooked it off'. I do not think he has effected the jury rig yet (and the VG website is silent on this) because he has both favourable current and wind and is drifting towards the finish line at 0.9 knots. However the wind will shift from the SW to SE soon which will then drive him away from the favoured track he is currently on. If he can get a useful jury rig set up he could theoretically secure 15th place, with a 'fair wind', I am assuming 100 mile days 4 knot+ average. If he achieves much less than that he could still secure 17th. There of course remains the issue of onboard electrical energy with ineffective hydrogenerators and not much solar at this latitude/season on this ambitious fossil fuel free attempt.

Fabrice Amedeo (12th) is currently doing 9 knots, He is now well North of Madeira and has covered 230 miles, is 99 miles behind AB and will have similar wind conditions as him tomorrow, so probably a 250 mile day too. He will pass Conrad around 0800 tomorrow morning. The model suggest a finish maybe Friday afternoon.

Alan Roura (13th): is currently doing 5 knots out to the West of the Azores and heading NE to get around the Azores HP system. He has covered 246 miles today and is 573 miles behind FA.

Rich Wilson (14th) currently doing 9 knots heading almost due North and has covered 219 miles today, now 517 miles behind AR. The model suggests a 260 mile day tomorrow?

Didac Costa (15th) is currently doing 8 knots and has covered 188 miles today and is 226 miles behind RW. DC is tracking North too, but confused winds for him for most of tomorrow, so probably another 180 mile day.

Romain Attanasio (16th) is currently doing 8 knots, has covered 138 miles today and has fallen back to 91 miles behind DC. No doubt he will continue to mirror DC and maybe a 150 mile day tomorrow.

Pieter Heerema (17th), is currently doing 3 knots only covered a frustrating 96 miles snared in the expanding Doldrums and is now 757 miles behind DC. He should escape overnight and manage a 180 mile day tomorrow.

Sebastian Destremau (18th), is currently doing 8 knots and has covered 187 miles today, just South of Salvador and still clawing his way up the Brazilian coast. He is now 1118 miles behind PH. The model suggests he may turn in a 250 mile day tomorrow. After that the equator and the Doldrums spreading West to meet him! But see my post (#1518) above about a stop for repairs, in 3 days or so.

Stop Press (Conrad Coleman's Facebook):
Fresh news from Foresight Natural Energy: Conrad has made some reinforcements in the boom to make sure the repair holds. He's happy with his work. He's finished working on the rigging (cables and lines that will hold the boom up) and is starting to cut the bottom of his mainsail that he saved after the dismasting so that it can be used as "a mainsail" on the boom with his storm jib. He'll work during the night to try to make the most of the favourable weather that should push him in the right direction until Friday at least.
 
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I suppose in a race of this sort, problems and disasters are inevitable but it seems so cruel that some of those still battling, especially the "guy at the back", are getting really bad luck.

For Conrad and Sebastian, I really really really hope they make the finish.

In a perverse sort of sense of loyalty I feel those two, and any others who have disasters befall them in the final stages, deserve to make the finish even more than the "winners".

And let's not forget the "fallen" from weeks ago. Heroes - every single one of those who set-out - all of them.

Come on guys, no more failures, please.
 
Robert Wilson said:
I suppose in a race of this sort, problems and disasters are inevitable but it seems so cruel that some of those still battling, especially the "guy at the back", are getting really bad luck.

For Conrad and Sebastian, I really really really hope they make the finish.

In a perverse sort of sense of loyalty I feel those two, and any others who have disasters befall them in the final stages, deserve to make the finish even more than the "winners".

And let's not forget the "fallen" from weeks ago. Heroes - every single one of those who set-out - all of them.

Come on guys, no more failures, please.
Click to expand...

It seems cruel, doesn't it? I suppose that because they take so much longer, their boats are subject to the same stresses for longer. The longer you're out there the higher the probability of failures, perhaps.
 
StormNorm said:
It seems cruel, doesn't it? I suppose that because they take so much longer, their boats are subject to the same stresses for longer. The longer you're out there the higher the probability of failures, perhaps.
Click to expand...

I think you are absolutely right, but of course it is actually more stresses for longer.

As of the latest update it appears Conrad is not yet underway with a jury rig. Fabrice Amedeo Appears to be heading over to Conrad's position, maybe to get VHF contact - but maybe for a visual and morale boost.

I am very disappointed with the VG website very sparse updates. Their last Video update was Nanda's homecoming (Day 94 and we are now Day 100).

Stop Press This taken from the Facebook page of Conrad Coleman (posted around 1047hrs):

News are good this morning, Conrad is still working on his mainsail to get a piece of sail to attach to the boom, his sailmaker training is proving to be quite useful. Conditions have improved a lot, the seas are calm, sun is shinning and it helps with doing the repairs. Hopefully he will be able to put up the jury rig this afternoon. Time on board goes a lot faster than on land ;-) Stay tuned for more infos!
 
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Interesting picture from Facebook

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Vendee 14 Feb
Day 100

Note most of the stuff I write here is based on the data on ww.gis.ee (windytv) and usually from the 2200 (French time) data set each evening and by definition is a snapshot in time - so as far as speed and course may not be truly representative. I tend to round figures up. BUT it must be remembered the wind data is a model and differs from the reality sometimes quite radically as commented on many times by Rich Wilson in particular.

Eric Bellion's homecoming video (in English but emotion needs no translation) :

Arnaud Boissieres (10th) is currently doing 10 knots and has logged 249 miles today, with the finish line 356 miles away. Wind strengths will decrease throughout the next 24 hours but happily less wave action (1.5m) , so probably a sub 200 mile day tomorrow. He could reach the finish late Thursday afternoon but maybe slipping to Friday morning

Fabrice Amedeo (11th) is currently doing 11 knots and covered 193 miles and is 280 miles behind AB. It looks as though Fabrice deliberately altered course to close Conrad at around 0800 this morning and may have been within visual or hailing distance of him( the VG website is silent on this). It would have been a great morale boost for Conrad if he did. The model suggests something like a 220 mile tomorrow and with the finish line 636 miles away, a Saturday finish is likely.


Conrad Colman (12th): Conrad drifted a net 12 miles towards the finish line today which is now 706 miles away. He spent most of the day 'sailmaking' and rigging the repaired boom as a stump mast. The latest data set shows Conrad drifting away from the finish line at 0.4 knots (contrary to what the model suggests should be happening) , so probably not with any sail(s) up, however see note below from his Facebook page (posted after this data set). All should become clearer, in terms of how effective the rig is, this time tomorrow.

Conrad Coleman's Facebook entry time around 20:48
We just got a call from a very happy skipper. Even though his computer is down at the moment and he can't send pictures or emails (working on it later) the boom is up with a sail on it. Conrad will put up the jib during the night. Long long day but determination and patience pays off and he's got a "mast"!!

Alan Roura (13th): is currently doing 6 knots now North of the Azores, he should be able to make more Easterly tomorrow morning. He has covered 194 miles today and is 502 miles behind CC, he should cover around 260 miles in the next 24 hours. Probably an early Sunday morning finish.
Quote from AR on VG Website:
Alan Roura commented today: "It’s horrible. Yesterday when I looked ( at the routing predictor), I thought it was going to be Saturday morning. If I do well, I’m now looking at Sunday morning. It’s long. The weather has been unpleasant since Cape Horn. On the one hand I’m thinking of the finish, but on the other I’m trying to put it to one side, as there are so many complications. It’s incredible to be here with this boat. The race isn’t over, so I need to remain focused until the finish. I’m proud to have been through all this with the boat. I’m still eating well. I brought enough for 120 days. In the south I didn’t need to dive into the reserves. But now there aren’t any sweets or chocolate left. Thanks for me reminding me it is Valentine’s Day. My girlfriend will have my present this weekend. She doesn’t want flowers, but is waiting for me." (Ooo er missus)

Rich Wilson (14th) currently doing 7knots heading North East towards the Azores and has covered 279 miles today, now 433 miles behind AR. The model suggests a 300 mile day tomorrow?
Quote from RW on VG Website:Rich Wilson, still sees a complicated weather pattern for his approach to the Bay of Biscay, but is now expected between the 20th and 21st February. It is still not clear how a low pressure system generated off the NE coast of the North America will evolve mid Atlantic. It appears to stall and so how much he will be able to use the favourable downwind and reaching conditions is not entirely clear.
Video 3 mins of RW
Didac Costa (15th) is currently doing 6 knots and has covered 262 miles today and is 271 miles behind RW. DC is tracking North, reasonable winds for him for most of tomorrow, so probably a 280 mile day. Quote from DC on VG Website
"When I was trapped in a high pressure I took the chance repir the FR0 (Fractional Code Zero) first. This sail had suffered a lot in the passage of the Doldrums and I knew there were a couple of holes, but I had not seen a cut of 5 meters in its upper part when I hoisted it at night. As I have not the required materials for such a repair and due to the greater need for a relatively small sail for the North Atlantic lows, I decided to try to repair a sail that I broke before passing Cape Horn: the MDTK (blast reacher), that has plenty of cuts and delamination. I had to try, even if I only can use it for a few hours before finally it gives up. I used almost all the material left on board to repair sails: cuben fibre cloth, Dr. Sails, sikaflex, everything and after 10 hours of work I hoisted the sail to furl it properly and then I discovered a new cut in the foot* of it. It was dark and I had no strength enough to lower it again so I hung myself with my harness and put a last patch juggling with the sail. I did what I could. We will see how long it will last. My routing takes me on a bit of a detour to the North but we will see because the situation changes with each download of meteo files. The forecasts are unreliable in the centre of the high-pressure systems. In fact* Rich (Wilson), who is in front of us, told me yesterday that he was stuck for hours when the forecast predicted 15 to 18 knots of stable winds."

Romain Attanasio (16th) is currently doing 8 knots, has covered 138 miles today and has fallen back to 91 miles behind DC. No doubt he will continue to mirror DC and maybe a 150 mile day tomorrow.

Pieter Heerema (17th), is currently doing 8 knots covered 254 miles and is now, finally, clear of the Doldrums and is 728 miles behind DC. He should achieve a 260 mile day tomorrow.

Sebastian Destremau (18th), is currently doing 11 knots and has covered 233 miles today. He is now 1061 miles behind PH. The model suggests he may turn in a 250 mile day tomorrow. I believe he still intends to stop for repairs in a couple of days.
 
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Conrad Colman successfully set a jury rig now fashioned from the bottom of the mainsail of Foresight Natural Energy. According to his team he has not yet managed to set a foresail but intends to.

He has covered about 30 miles overnight and currently making 3 knots (SOG) but at the last data capture he is heading NW so VMG now negative. Wind looks as those it may shift from SE to SW in a couple of hours which will be in his favour.

Note: Dismasted 4 days ago 720 miles from finish and then drifted. Now underway and 716 miles from the finish.
 
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Good to see that Alex won the Liontrust Sporting Hero of the Month (January) award beating Roger Federer and Wayne Rooney.

Alex Thomson 44%

Roger Federer 43%

Wayne Rooney 13%
 
Giblets said:
Good to see that Alex won the Liontrust Sporting Hero of the Month (January) award beating Roger Federer and Wayne Rooney.

Alex Thomson 44%

Roger Federer 43%

Wayne Rooney 13%
Click to expand...

Good Result.
I am glad that Roger Federer appeared in that list otherwise Alex would have been damned by faint praise.
 
Vendee 15 Feb
Day 101

Arnaud Boissieres (10th) has less than 137 miles to make it to the finish line of his home port of Les Sables d'Olonne. The wind has died during the course of the day and he is now down to 6 knots but he has managed to cover 221 miles today. He looks set to endure a slow final day in a wide high pressure ridge and at worst case is expected to finish Friday morning entering the channel around 1000hrs.

Fabrice Amedeo (11th) is currently doing 6 knots and covered 226 miles and is 280 miles behind AB. The model suggests fading winds so something like a 180 mile tomorrow and with the finish line 417 miles away a Saturday finish is likely.

Conrad Colman (12th): Well Conrad is underway with his jury rig set up and covered 49 miles since last night but most of it to the NW and away from the finish line. However he has, within the last 4 hours, picked up a favourable wind and is now pointing in the right direction (026 deg) and making 3 knots (made good). The finish line today is now 723 miles away.
Conrad now has a working computer and has been able to send some test e-mails. Technically he is still in 12th place but will be watching his screen and a succession of his competitors overtake him over the next week. I suppose lighter winds all round will perhaps give him an advantage, in terms of being overhauled. See weather notes and jury rig at the foot of this post.

Alan Roura (13th): Is currently doing 14 knots. He has covered 219 miles today and is 279 miles behind CC. Stronger winds for him tomorrow, so he could cover around 260 miles in the next 24 hours. Probably a midday Sunday morning finish.
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Rich Wilson (14th) currently doing 12 knots heading North East to pass through the Azores and has covered 207 miles today, now 435 miles behind AR. Stronger winds tomorrow and the model suggests a 320 mile day, but RW is a conservative sailor, so probably less than that. The finish line is 1437 miles away and he is now predicted for a late Tuesday finish.

Didac Costa (15th) is currently doing 10 knots and has covered the most miles of the field, 293 miles today and is 306 miles behind RW. DC is still tracking North, stronger winds for him for most of tomorrow, so probably a 320 mile day.

Romain Attanasio (16th) Has been caught up in light airs and is currently doing 7 knots. He has covered 191 miles today but has fallen back to 229 miles behind DC. Stronger winds for him and maybe a 300 mile day tomorrow.

Pieter Heerema (17th), is currently doing 9 knots, covered 246 miles and is now, finally, clear of the Doldrums and is now 662 miles behind RA. He is now in 15-20 knot NE’ly trade windHe should achieve a 270 mile day tomorrow.

Sebastian Destremau (18th), is thirty or forty miles from the coast of Brazil and making 10 knots. He has covered 254 miles but the finish is a long 3620 miles away. He is now 986 miles behind PH. I believe he still intends to stop for repairs around lunch time tomorrow at Fernando do Noronha, to attend to the leaky stern drive. So now forecast for miles tomorrow,


Lifted directly from the weather pages of the Vendee Globe website:

Weather notes and Jury rig

The constraints for Conrad Colman who is now sailing*with his jury rig *are multiple. He has to avoid the light wind zones*where he*would be unable to move forward with his*reduced sail area. Sailing at less than 90° to the wind is not really recommended. The sail plan is not suitable and it could put too much strain on the rig*when the wind strengthens. In the lighter winds, the tacking angles*would be catastrophic. If we summarize the specifications, the ideal, under a jury-rig*is to sail in moderate winds*at an angle which is above 90 degrees.

For Conrad Colman, we do not know at what*speed he*will progress when the*wind is stronger. We can however guess*that he will try to avoid the southern part of the Bay of Biscay where the wind will be light and blowing from the East from Saturday. His*strategy could therefore be to sail northward to position himself north of the Azores high and the associated ridge (in blue on the chart). He could*then sail*in westerly winds*which will strengthen over the next few days and will push him*towards the finish line in Les Sables d'Olonne by the end of next week.
 
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Vendee 16 Feb
Day 102
Quote from VG Website:
"IT AIN'T OVER 'TIL IT'S OVER

Vigilance is required all the way to the finish line of the Vendée Globe. Solo skippers often talk of the last miles being the most difficult and the most stressful. After finishing in ninth place on Monday night Eric Bellion confirmed that he was on the point of giving up within 48 hours of the finish line because he was exhausted, had no power and could not hoist his mainsail because of a twist in his halyard.*"


AB (10th) has less than 17 miles to make it to the finish line. He is currently doing 2.3 knots having covered 120 miles today in very light winds, he must think the Gods are against him with the wind at 310 and 5 knots - exactly the wrong direction. Not sure if the tidal window for the canal will be 'open' when he crosses the finish line.

Fabrice Amedeo (11th) is currently doing 9 knots and covered 183 miles in light winds and is 223 miles behind AB. The model suggests similar if not lighter winds tomorrow so something like a 15 0 mile tomorrow and with the finish line 240 miles away a Saturday afternoon finish is likely.
Quote from VG Website:
"During the night I passed north of the TSS off Cape Finisterre. There were a lot of cargo vessels around there. There was one that was coming straight for me. I was only doing four knots, as there was no wind. I called him on the VHF, but he didn’t answer. Even though I launched a safety alert. I called up the maritime centre to inform them that I was ten minutes away from a collision. The ship finally passed several hundred metres behind me. It was the biggest scare in my Vendée Globe."

Conrad Colman (12th): Well Conrad is 12th for the moment only. He has made good progress closing the finish line by 78 miles (an average of 3.25 knots) with 648 remaining. He is wholly dependant on moderate and favourable winds and the very best outcome, based on today, is a further 9 days at sea, it is likely to be more than that.

Alan Roura (13th): Is currently doing 13 knots. He has the most miles of the field today with 348 miles covered and is only 7.4 miles behind CC at the last data set (so in actuality has overtaken CC already). Good winds for him tomorrow, so he could cover around 340 miles in the next 24 hours. Probably a early evening Sunday morning finish.
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Rich Wilson (14th) currently doing 11 knots passed West and close to Horta/Azores heading North East to pass through the Azores and has covered 252 miles today, now 538 miles behind AR. Good winds but fading later probably a 220 mile day tomorrow. The finish line is now less than 1200 miles away and he is now predicted for a late Wednesday afternoon finish.

Didac Costa (15th) is currently doing 11 knots and has covered 306 miles today and is 266 miles behind RW. DC's routing prediction is suggesting those on the South Coast of Ireland may see him! Slightly stronger winds for him for most of tomorrow, so probably a 320 mile day. The extended northerly route suggests a Wednesday finish. It may be a close run thing with Rich Wilson.

Romain Attanasio (16th) Has been caught up in light airs again and is currently doing 3 knots. He has covered 190 miles today but has fallen further back to 359 miles behind DC. Stronger winds for him and maybe a 250 mile day tomorrow.

Pieter Heerema (17th), is currently doing 7 knots, covered 289 miles and is now 627 miles behind RA. He is still in 15-20 knot NE’ly trade wind and should achieve a 270 mile day tomorrow.

Sebastian Destremau (18th), Off the NE coast of Brazil and now languishing in what appears to be extended Doldrums and just South of the Equator, making -0.4 knots. He has covered 215 miles today and is now 973 miles behind PH. He seems to have decided to cancel his pit stop to effect repairs to his sail drive.
 
Erratum for yesterday's entry for Romain Attanasio where I said he covered 1910 miles, clearly a typo and should have read 190 miles.

Vendee 17 Feb 2017
Day 103
Taken from the VG website:
After a slow final night at sea in very light airs as he waited to arrive after sunrise, Arnaud Boissières crossed the Vendée Globe finish line at 0826hrs UTC this Friday morning to take 10th place in the non-stop solo round the world race. It is the third time in a row that the skipper, who has made his home in Vendée Globe’s start and finish port of Les Sables d’Olonne, has completed the race 28 days 16 hours 48 mins 23 secs after the winner. Boissières’ elapsed time for is 102 days 20 hrs 24 minutes and 9 seconds. In reality he sailed 28,155 miles at an average speed of 11.4 knots.
In brilliant sunshine and spring-like weather, the crowds turned out in huge numbers this morning to welcome local hero Arnaud Boissières into the harbour in Les Sables d'Olonne. After an emotional passage into the dock, he moored his boat, La Mie Câline up at the pontoon and answered some questions about his race.
"I was right to wait until this morning. It’s a huge satisfaction. I haven’t got to grips with it yet. Over the past couple of days, I have relived the whole project in my head. I’m pleased to have finished tenth. For me that’s a huge victory. For me and all those who have supported me since the start, the partners who joined in gradually after 2013. Today is a day for sharing. There are lots of people here to welcome me. They want to shake my hand. When things weren’t going well I kept thinking of these people. This was the hardest of my three Vendée Globe races. Because I hadn’t sailed so much on this boat as on my previous ones. So I felt like I wasn’t doing things right. The boat wanted to accelerate. I let her go and now she’s like me, tired."

Fabrice Amedeo (11th) is currently doing 9 knots and covered 159 miles in light winds, which will continue tomorrow. He has 86 miles to go to the finish so, all being well, an early morning finish tomorrow morning.

Alan Roura (12th): Is currently doing 9 knots. He has covered the most miles of the field again today with 318 miles covered and is 252 miles behind FA. With 338 miles to go and messy low winds ahead, which will force him further North than desirable, it will probably be a sub 170 mile day for him and probably a late evening Sunday finish.

Conrad Colman (13th): A really good day for Conrad, with excellent progress under jury rig, closing the finish line by 94.8 miles (an average of 3.95 knots) and at these speeds the figures after the decimal point are much more important! He has 553 miles remaining, but it is going to get messy. The weather is going to cause him to contour the top corner of Spain, but for tomorrow at least, he could clock another 90 miles. He is wholly dependant on moderate and favourable winds and the very best outcome, based on today, is a further 8 days at sea, it is however likely to be more than that.

Rich Wilson (14th) currently doing 9 knots and has covered 252 miles today, now 361 miles behind CC. Reasonable winds tomorrows probably a 280 mile day. The finish line is now less than 914 miles away and he is now predicted for a late Tuesday afternoon finish.

Didac Costa (15th) is currently doing 12 knots and has covered 299 miles today and is 281 miles behind RW. DC's routing prediction is suggesting those on the South Coast of Ireland may see him! Reasonably strong winds for him for most of tomorrow, so probably a 320 mile day. The extended northerly route suggests a Wednesday finish. It may still prove to be a close run thing with Rich Wilson.

Romain Attanasio (16th) Is currently doing 10 knots and has covered 215 miles today, but has fallen further back to 423 miles behind DC. Difficult routing choice for him with stronger winds to the North tomorrow.

Pieter Heerema (17th), is currently doing 8 knots, covered 311 miles and is now 654 miles behind RA. He is still in 15-20 knot NE’ly trade wind and should achieve a 270 mile day tomorrow.

Sebastian Destremau (18th), Off the NE coast of Brazil and stalling just 2 deg South of the Equator and currently making 2.9 knots. He has covered just 86 miles today and is now 1109 miles behind PH. It is predicted to be a bit better tomorrow but probably a sub 160 mile day.
 
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