Vendée Globe 2016-2017

Andrew E said:
Conrad playing with his drone again...

16806673_10158264881190187_370359430475397829_n.jpg

Image from https://www.facebook.com/VendeeGlobe/photos/pcb.10158264895105187/10158264881190187/?type=3&theater
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That's a LOT larger than I thought his "main" would be. Surely he has a good chance of finishing? - if his food and power last out
 
Robert Wilson said:
That's a LOT larger than I thought his "main" would be. Surely he has a good chance of finishing? - if his food and power last out
Click to expand...

Yeah I was surprised it is a pretty ritzy jury rig.
Conrad is of course a zero fossil fuel boat (unlike Rich Wilson who is minimal fossil fuel - I think RW has used something in the order of 30 litres so far - less than 3 litres a day!!) and now that he (Conrad) is getting up towards 5 knots should be able to get some wiggly amps out of his hydrogenerator and into his batteries which must have suffered in the days following the dismasting.
I think all the competitors will be running low on food to the extent that there will be less choice and less 'treats' for those who have not mastered deferred gratification!

Conrad has some difficult weather and choices from Sunday onwards and some of the routing predictions look a bit f'n hairy for a jury rigged boat, I know I would be extremely reluctant to get into lee shore situations even with a ritzy jury rig.
 
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Interesting blog on Conrad Coleman's Facebook page about the design and construction of his new rig and particularly the mainsail. it seems his experience working in a sail loft in Cowes paid dividends.
 
Roger is referring to this which I lift directly rom the VG website, for convenience, the last two sentences are pretty telling too, considering he is unlikely to back much before next Saturday.

> News > From Conrad Colman
News
FROM CONRAD COLMANSATURDAY 18 FEBRUARY 2017, 07H18
This dismasting and jury rig experience has been so intensly emotional and such a challenge for my resolve I barely know where to start in telling the tale.
I guess it makes sense to go back nearly 8 years to August 2008. It was a stifling hot summer on the south coast of England where I was racing at Cowes week, the biggest regatta of the season with nearly 1000 boats on the water at a time. I was racing as jib trimmer on a matched set of 52 foot yachts as part of the GBR yacht racing academy but instead of going to bar with my crew after sailing I went to the sail loft to work the late shift.
At the time, Medina Sail Care was precariously perched on the edge of the water and on the second floor over an outboard mechanic's workshop. It was, and still is, run by Gerry, a warm natured South African who's everybody's friend in the small community of Cowes and who reguarly takes young guys under his wing if they're ready to work until 3am to learn the trade.
Amedeo at Nine for 11th Amedeo at Nine for 11th Amedeo Writes His Own Vendée Globe Story. 11th Place. Amedeo Writes His Own Vendée Globe...
Photo sent from the boat Foresight Natural Energy, on February 17th, 2017 - Photo Conrad ColmanPhoto envoyée depuis le bateau Foresight Natural Energy le 17 Février 2017 - Photo Conrad ColmanPhoto by drone of the boat refitted under the sun
Sunburned customers would arrive after a day's sailing, their celebratory beers on their breath and a wet spinnaker under their arm. Plooof. The sodden mass fell to the floor sending a tidal wave of salty water across the floor. "Can you fix that for tomorrow morning?". We eyed the dripping tatters that once had been a proud sail. We always could but first had to wash it with fresh water, hang it up to dry, clean it with acetone, stick down new cloth with doublesided tape before sewing it all down. Nothing sticks to wet, salty sail cloth.
All of this to say that when I had to make a new mainsail for my jury rig, I was in for quite a challenge. I didn't have acres of floor space, fresh water, sewing machines or a second pair of hands! Because there was no way to build up the reinforced corners of the sail that would take the sailing loads I had to "find" a ready made sail within the scraps of my old main. Turning the sail 90 degrees I could use the reinforcements for reef 2 for the head and the tack (top and bottom corners at the front of the sail) and another existing reinforcement bacame the new clew (back corner). The bottom of my new sail was thus the back edge of the old mainsail.
I spread out the new edges as best I could, rubbed the salt off with my clothes, laid down long rows of double-sided tape and then taped over the seam again for security. Reinforcements went on for where it would be tied onto the boom (mast), I cut out a batten pocket from another piece of the sail and glued it down with flexible epoxy (Thanks Dr Sails!). It sounds simple but it took me a whole day. As the forecast is thankfully for mainly running and reaching until Les Sables I spent a little extra time to make a square head for the main that gives me a little extra surface area. I think its the only square headed main in the history of jury rigs!
I was working in such a cramped space that I never saw the whole sail at once until the mast was up! Thats also because I tied the main to the mast instead of making a halyard to hoist it after the new mast was in place. That added a lot of weight when I had to put the whole lot on my shoulder to help hoist it vertically but with such a small sail I don't think I'll need to take a reef in the coming days!
In comparison, the storm jib was easy. Simply unfurl, change the luff cable and hoist. So nice that the IMOCA rule requires us to have a such a tiny sail (19.5 square meters). Its almost as if they had this use in mind becuase I have only ever seen the storm jib in use on these boats when the mast has come down!
Now all I need to do is make it to Les Sables before I turn into a skeleton! I'm already down to powdered soup and life raft biscuits but thats a topic for another day.
 
Vendee Globe 18 Feb
Day 104
Fabrice Amedeo (11th) Lifted directly from the VG Website: After 103 days and 21 hours Fabrice crossed the line at 0923 GMT. Sharp, focused and looking a little thinner, Fabrice Amedeo, finished his Vendée Globe in 11th place and had sailed 27700 miles at an average of 11.1 knots. He was desperately low on energy having had very little to eat for the last 15 days, confessed he had been light headed and fell over at one point through lack of energy, but the skipper who stepped away from his desk at Le Figaro to do the solo round the world race has fulfilled his dream.

" I never thought of giving up. Once or twice I thought I had to be careful because the race got away from me a bit escaped me at the Kerguelen when the halyard got entangled in the mast, or when the* mainsail was torn." 
*
" Basically DIY is not my strong point. I discovered myself. I discussed it with the technical team a few days ago. I had to change the mainsail cars for example. An hour and a half later* I called the team and told them it was done. Everyone was surprised, maybe me most of all!* This was a a real learning in this area. Every day I did things I thought were out of my reach. This is also the magic of Vendée, see what can be imposed in adversity.
But it is in the head, mentally, that the Vendée Globe is the hardest. When you're in the middle of the Pacific, 15,000 miles from the finish and for three days your are slowed in a high because you're blocked by the Antarctic Exclusion Zone you have to hold it together. You just cannot crack."

Alan Roura (12th) Is currently doing 4.6 knots and has covered 137.4 knots today and is 200 miles from the finish. A cruel and fickle day ahead tomorrow for Alan who will struggle to cross the finish line by close of play tomorrow.

Conrad Colman (13th) Has had a fantastic day - Is currently doing -0.3 knots and has covered 137.4 miles (Average 5.73 knots) today, is 216 miles behind AR and 416 miles from the finish. A difficult day tomorrow, when he may struggle to achieve 60 miles, (and the rest of the week looks really difficult - low and contrary winds). The model suggests he may cross the finish line Saturday 25th where he could at best secure 16th place.

Rich Wilson (14th) Is currently doing 13 knots and has covered the most miles of the field today at 297 miles. He is 207 miles behind CC and is 623 miles from the finish. The model suggests around 220 miles tomorrow and he may cross the finish line late Tuesday.

Didac Costa (15th) Is currently doing 1.5 knots and has covered 227 miles today, is 399 miles behind RW and 1022 miles from the finish. The model suggests maybe 330 miles tomorrow and he may cross the finish line Wednesday.

Romain Attanasio (16th) Is currently doing 10 knots and has covered 271 miles today, is 357 miles behind DC and 1397 miles from the finish. The model suggests maybe 350 miles tomorrow and he may cross the finish line Thursday.

Pieter Heerema (17th) Is currently doing 9 knots and has covered 288 miles today, is 703 miles behind RA and is 2082 miles from the finish. The model suggests maybe 250 miles tomorrow and may cross the finish line Sunday (26th) - it will be close between him and Conrad.

Sebastian Destremau (18th) still 2 degrees South of the Equator and lolling about in the Doldrums where he is currently doing 0.2 knots and has only covered 43.4 miles today, is 1278 miles behind PH and is 3360 miles from the finish.
Hopefully better progress tomorrow and maybe 180 miles.
I think he gave up on anchoring to carry out repairs but may well have carried out repairs today in the Doldrums -
'Welcome to the Office:'

The model suggests he has around 2 weeks to endure to get to the finish line

Older News:
Arnaud Boissieres coming home on the 102nd day (16 Feb):
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5ccafo_d102-arnaud-boissieres-arrival-vendee-globe_sport

From the YBW website:
Alex Thomson confirms 2020 Vendée Globe bid
by Katy Stickland17.02.2017

After getting permission from his wife, British skipper Alex Thomson has announced that he will challenge for the 2020 Vendée Globe

Alex ThomsonGosportPortsmouthVendee Globe
17 February 2017
Alex Thomson has confirmed he will be taking part in the Vendée Globe in 2020.
The 42-year-old*sailor came second in the round the world yacht race last month, beaten by his French rival,*Armel Le Cleac’h by 15 hours, 59 minutes and 29 seconds.
Speaking on BBC South Today, Thomson admitted that he asked his wife’s permission first before deciding if he would compete again.
“I was third last time, second this time, so there’s only one way to go isn’t there?” he said.
“But, to do it is a huge commitment and we’re seeing if we can get the sponsors and the team back together because the most important thing in the Vendée is the people, and I’ve been very fortunate to work with some very talented people,” he continued.
“If we can get the right team we can challenge,” he stressed.
Asked if he would be doing the challenge in the same HUGO BOSS, Thomson said it would depend on a possible race rule change in April.
He admitted that he was “not back into normal life yet” following the gruelling challenge and that he found his arrival in*Les Sables d’Olonne, France quite “daunting” after 74 days*alone at sea.
“It is quite daunting when you’re on your own for so long and then the thought of thousands of people arriving, and it was very daunting but quickly I got into it,” he said.
Last weekend, Thomson was welcomed home to Gosport with a Parade of Sail. Thousands of fans turned out to show their support.
He said competing in the*Vendée Globe was tough on his family, but modern day communication did make it easier.
“My son, Oscar was quite upset at the first two weeks of the race and his school gave me a little cuddly turtle called Speedy so I thought I would do some little videos,” he explained.
“So every week I did a little video, kind of educational, to try and make him and his friends laugh,” added Thomson.
Next month, Thomson will be heading out to the Caribbean with his wife and children to enjoy a sailing holiday.
*
 
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Vendee Globe 19 Feb
Day 105

7 competitors heading home and all in the Northern Hemisphere. The week ahead will see most of them home. Put your hand down at the back Seb!


Alan Roura (12th) Is currently doing 7 knots and has covered 132 miles today in light winds and is frustratingly less than 70 miles from the finish. Nothing but light winds ahead but should cross the line in the early daylight of tomorrow morning.

Quote from Alan from the VG website:
"Twelfth. It's funny because basically I found a racer inside of me. I am more than proud of this position.* With this boat which is now 17 years old I dont think we could realistically have expected to do much better. To finish as first of the 'older generation' boats that just seems a bit nuts to me, a bit unreal. But really it* feels like a great victory. Sailing with Eric (Bellion), Cali (Arnaud Boissières), Fabrice (Amedeo) and Rich (Wilson) is such a great honour. I have absolutely no regrets, I have raced like I have always sailed. I did not want to change my way of doing things. This is not the time nor the race to try and make myself into another sailor. I think I do not realize yet what is really happening. Tomorrow I will be on land. I will look at my boat, the Superbigou in the marina and say: We made it my friend! We did it ! "

Rich Wilson (13th) Overtook Conrad about an hour again to move up into 13th place. He is currently doing 10 knots and has covered 237 miles. He is 318 miles behind AR and is 387 miles from the finish. The model suggests he may cross the finish line late Tuesday.

Conrad Colman (14th) Is currently doing 3.7 knots and has covered 50.4 miles (Average 2.1 knots) today, is now 13 miles behind RW and 400 miles from the finish. A difficult day tomorrow, when he may again struggle to achieve 60 miles, (and the rest of the week looks really difficult - low and contrary winds). The model suggests he may cross the finish line Saturday 25th where he could at best secure 16th place.

Quote from Conrad on the VG website:
"I might not be going very fast but I'm certainly keeping busy here on Foresight Natural Energy. Indeed, never have I worked so hard to go so slowly! The problem is that I am sailing upwind in light winds which is never a recipe for breathless speed and certainly not now! Going downwind on a slow boat, the wind pushes against the windward side of the sail and the sails could just as easily be a barn door or my grandmother's sheets.... anything to catch the wind.

Going upwind however its all about flow, flow over both sides of the sail. With sails of the correct shape the wind accelerates more on the outside of the sail than the inside and the resulting pressure differential sucks the boat along. Ideally the jib also pre-accelerates the wind for the mainsail so the their combined thrust is greater than the sum of their individual contributions. To this end I have been stringing up bits of rope all over the boat to alter the direction of pull in the sheets for both sails to try to create the most harmonious shapes possible. I might only be doing 3-4 knots but thats a third of what I would be normally doing in these conditions and I have a lot less than a third of the normal sail area.

Aside from trimming the sails, I am sponging the inside of the boat to get out all the water I can (lighter =faster) and polishing the Solbian solar panels because they're my only source of 0 emissions energy now that the boat is too slow to generate power with the hydrogenerator function of the OceanVolt motor. I'm still hoping to be able to finish the race as 0 emissions but that means that the boat is on an electrical diet that is as severe as my food diet!"

Didac Costa (15th) Is currently doing 5 knots and has covered 261 miles today, is 390 miles behind CC and 790 miles from the finish. The model suggests he may cross the finish line late afternoon Wednesday.

Romain Attanasio (16th) Is currently doing 11 knots and has covered 257 miles today, is 354 miles behind DC and 1144 miles from the finish. The model suggests he may cross the finish line early evening Thursday.

Pieter Heerema (17th) is currently doing 8 knots and has covered the most miles of the field today with 280 miles, is 759 miles behind RA and is 1903 miles from the finish. The model suggests he may cross the finish line early Sunday evening (26th) - it will be close between him and Conrad.- anything could happen in a week.

Sebastian Destremau (18th) crossed the equator this morning, and still troubled by the Doldrums where he is currently doing 2 knots and only covered 117 miles today, is 1350 miles behind PH and is 3253 miles from the finish. He should emerge from the Doldrums in 12 hours or so and could clock up a 180 mile day tomorrow. The model suggests he has around 2 weeks to endure to get to the finish line

Seb at the Equator 'Welcome to the Office' (You cannot keep a good man down)

Older News:

Fabrice's arrival video.
 
Vendee Globe 20 Feb
Day 106

And then there were 6!

Quoted directly from the VG website: The 23 year old Swiss sailor who is the youngest of the 29 solo skippers who left Les Sables d’Olonne on November 6th, Alan Roura, crossed the finish line of the Vendée Globe this Monday morning at 0812hrs UTC to take 12th place. Sailing one of the oldest boats in fleet for this eighth edition of the non-stop solo round the world race, Roura’s finish reflects his exceptional drive and tenacity and belies the very tight budget which the young sailor ran his programme on. The sailor who turns 24 on 26th February is the youngest skipper to finish the race since it was first contested in 1989. Race rookie Roura’s elapsed time for the 27,700 mile course is 105 days, 20 hours 10 mins and 32 seconds.* He actually sailed 28,359 miles at an average speed of 11.16 knots.

Homecoming video (English version):

Rich Wilson (13th) is currently doing 11 knots and has covered 254 miles. He is 135 miles from the finish which he may reach around 1500 tomorrow, Tuesday.

Short video from Rich Wilson -

Conrad Colman (14th) Is currently doing 2.6 knots, due North of A Coruna and very close to the coast, and has covered 87.7 miles (Average 3.65 knots) today, is now 195 miles behind RW and 330 miles from the finish. He has a horrible couple of days ahead of him (light winds and on the nose) and will struggle to clock 60 miles tomorrow. The model suggests he may cross the finish line Saturday 25th where he could at best secure 16th place. But having said all of that, Conrad has more immediate and pressing challenges - food and power 'BRING ME SUNSHINE' - see end note.

Didac Costa (15th) Is currently doing 7 knots and has covered the most miles of the field at 284 miles today, is 180 miles behind CC and 510 miles from the finish. Probably a 320 mile day tomorrow. The model suggests he may cross the finish line early evening Wednesday.

Romain Attanasio (16th) Is currently doing 10 knots and has covered 222 miles today, is 436 miles behind DC and 946 miles from the finish. Probably a 330 mile day tomorrow. The model suggests he may cross the finish line late evening Thursday/early hours Friday.

Pieter Heerema (17th) is currently doing 11 knots and has covered 228 miles, is 766 miles behind RA and is 1712 miles from the finish. Probably a 250 mile day tomorrow. The model suggests he may cross the finish line in the early hours of Monday morning - it could be close between him and Conrad depending how fickle the winds are.

Sebastian Destremau (18th) still troubled by the Doldrums where he is currently doing 6 knots and has only covered 122 miles today, is 1435 miles behind PH and is 3147 miles from the finish. He should escape from the Doldrums soon and could clock up a 200 mile day tomorrow.

End note:
Quoted direct from the VG website about Conrad Colman :
Tenacious New Zealand skipper Conrad Colman is fighting an incredible battle to finish the Vendée Globe after the mast of his Foresight Natural Energy crashed down on the night of Friday 10th February. Since he managed to set a jury rig four days later, he has sailed half of the 730 miles he had still to make to the finish line to Les Sables d’Olonne. But every mile has been a battle. He has only emergency food rations left and only enough power for four more days if uses the absolute minimum of power. But the tough Kiwi battler is committed to finishing the race with no emissions, using only renewable energies generated on board.

He spoke to Vendée Globe HQ today for the first time since he lost the mast while racing in 30-35kts, conditions which were manageable compared with the biggest of the storms Colman came through in the Pacific. He has dropped from tenth to fourteenth but speaks today of hoping to finish in five more days of sailing. He will have to endure a couple of days of light winds midweek but is then hopeful that a new depression later in the week will give him some faster downwind and reaching conditions to get to the finish line. Meantime he is low on energy and needs sunshine for his solar panels to work better. “I am almost clear of the TSS and so I am almost clear of the cargo ships. It feels a bit like I am crawling across a highway. Other than that it is going OK right now.” Of his feelings after the accident he said: “It was unbelievable when it happened. I felt like I had been through so much at that point. It has not been an easy Vendée Globe at all. I don’t think such a thing exists but my one seems to have been particularly difficult. I felt I was in the clear. I was in a crazy depression but I had been through the eye of the storm, the wind was as forecast. I was reaching in 30kts which, after everything I have been through, felt pretty negligible. I had the J3 small jib and two reefs in the main which was the right kind of sail plan for the conditions. Then when it all fell down about my head I could not believe it. I felt like I had failed, the stewardship of my boat, and the stewardship of my race. It was heartbreaking. There are the emotions of ‘my race is over’. There is the stress of the mast and sails that have just gone over the side cost more than my house, and I have already got a mortgage on my house and so it is pretty terrifying. Emotionally, financially, in every scenario it felt like the pits.”
But he immediately knew he wanted to fight on, he had come too far and gotten too close to home, and committed too much of his life: “It is all about finishing. I called my wife, I called Race Direction and said I did not require assistance. I was not going out. I was going to wait and see what happened. I curled up in a ball and went to sleep. I was numb to what had happened. That was, of course, after cutting everything away. Then metaphorically and literally a new day dawned. I felt like I have come all of this way and I was driven by anger and bloody mindedness, stubbornness, to not be beaten on the doorstop of the race. I launched into the repairs. That was a big job. The boom is attached to the deck rather than the mast, specifically for the reason that it can be used as a jury rig, had snapped. And so I had a nine metres long pole which weighs between 80 and 100 kilos fractured on the deck. So I had to build a pile of sails to align it and then glue it back together. The conditions were still horrendous with a four or five metres swell breaking over the boat. But I was into a productive mindset. I was doing something about my scenario. And the fact that the conditions on deck were dangerous just ignited another level of energy and passion in me, to make feel like I could fight through this problem. People have been very supportive in their messages and e-mails to me. They are astonished by the energy that I can bring to bear, and the innovative solutions I can come up with. The jury rig is just a very visible manifestation of how I have been behaving since the start of the race. I had the keel ram come unscrewed when I came down through the Doldrums and that could have stopped my race right there. I found a solution with the tools I had to do something you can normally only do in a big workshop.”
He has next to no food left: “I started out with 100 days of food and now I am at 105 and it took a lot of energy to prepare the jury rig and now I am down to a couple of packets of powdered soups and am eating from the liferaft spares. That means less than 700 calories a day...In the European winter out here that is very little, especially when I am working on deck so much trimming the sails.”* He has four days of stored power if he uses an absolute minimum. “I have 350 watts of solar panels on the cabin top which we installed just a few days before the start of the race. My preparateur Cyril looked at me aghast when I added another item to the job list just a few days before the end. But that is what is keeping my race alive at the moment. At 3.5kts I cannot use my electric motor as a hydrogenerator, that is the only thing that is keeping me going at the moment. To be making electricity from the engine I need to be doing seven knots which is of course double what I am doing now. At the moment I am estimating I have five days of sailing left and in that I will have a couple of really light days in the middle of Biscay and then there a depression coming and I am hoping to make good time towards the end of the week towards Les Sables d’Olonne and hopefully I might then reach the threshold of boat speed when I can actually charge with the hydrogenerator. At the moment I am nervously watching the energy tick down and at the moment things don’t really add up, I have – I think – five days of sailing through the water and four days electricity left and so I am really hoping that I can find a solution. Or, that the skies clear because it is grey.”
 
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I'm amazed at Conrad's fortitude, extraordinary. The lack of food, conditions etc would break us lessor mortals!
Just let us all pray that the prevailing SWlies kick in soon to blow him home, watching his progress is as exciting as watching Alex was!
 
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doris said:
I'm amazed at Conrad's fortitude, extraordinary. The lack of food, conditions etc would break in lessor mortals!
Just let us all pray that the prevailing SWlies kick in soon to blow him home, watching his progress is as exciting as watching Alex was!
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You are exactly right on all counts. It is gripping stuff.
The real shame is the lack of media coverage in the U.K. A five minute update each day would, I feel sure, make good 'telly' and garner sufficient interest to underwrite the costs of production - and maybe inspired the Alex, Conrad and Sebs's of the future.
Even the Vendee Globe media team have not exploited the greatest drama of the race - this lot still racing home.
 
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doris said:
I'm amazed at Conrad's fortitude, extraordinary. The lack of food, conditions etc would break in lessor mortals!
Just let us all pray that the prevailing SWlies kick in soon to blow him home, watching his progress is as exciting as watching Alex was!
Click to expand...

His tacking angles don't look too bad for jury rig if you ask me.
 
Vendee Globe 21 Feb 2017
Day 107 ( Please note the 'end note' and the 'old news' at the foot of today's entry).

Then there were 5

Rich Wilson: American skipper Rich Wilson crossed the finish line of the Vendée Globe solo round the world race off Les Sables d’Olonne on the west coast of France this afternoon (Tuesday 21/02) at 1250hrs UTC. From the fleet of 29 boats which started the 27,440 miles singlehanded race from Les Sables d’Olonne on Sunday November 6th, Wilson and Great American IV secure 13th place in an elapsed time of 107 days 00 hrs 48 mins 18 secs. He actually sailed 27,480 miles at an average speed of 10.70 knots.

Wilson, at 66 years old the oldest skipper in the race, successfully completes the pinnacle solo ocean racing event for the second time. He improves his time for the 2008-9 edition of the race, 121 days and 41 minutes by a fortnight, thereby achieving one of the key goals which drew him back to take on the race for a second time. Whilst racing he also delivered a daily, multi faceted educational programme to over 750,000 young people in more than 55 different countries around the world, another of the fundamental reasons Wilson returned to the Vendée Globe. He becomes the fastest American to race solo non stop around the world, beating the 2004-5 record of Bruce Schwab of 109 days 19 hours. See more at the end note.

Didac Costa (14th) Is currently doing 5 knots and has covered the most miles of the field at 267 miles today, and 243 miles from the finish. The model suggests he may cross the finish line around 1900 Wednesday.

Conrad Colman (15th) Is currently doing 3.1 knots, due North of Viveiro and tacked just 4 miles from the Spanish coast, and has covered 51.8 miles (Average 2.16 knots) today. He is now 35 miles behind DC and 278 miles from the finish. Conrad has a horrible couple of days ahead of him (light winds and on the nose) and again will struggle to clock 60 miles tomorrow. It may be Thursday before the breeze backs into the NW then W which should allow better speeds in a more direct course towards the finish line. The model suggests he may cross the finish line Saturday 25th where he could at best secure 16th place.

Romain Attanasio (16th) Is currently doing 11 knots in moderate SW'ly winds and has covered 239 miles today, is 431 miles behind CC and 709 miles from the finish. Probably a 300 mile day tomorrow. The model suggests he may cross the finish line Thursday/early hours Friday.

Pieter Heerema (17th) is currently doing 12 knots and has covered 230 miles, is 839 miles behind RA and is 1548 miles from the finish. Probably a 250 mile day tomorrow. The model suggests he may cross the finish line in the early hours of Monday morning - it could be close between him and Conrad depending upon how fickle the winds are.

Sebastian Destremau (18th) still trying to escape the Doldrums, is slowly pulling North into a gradually increasing NE'ly trade wind, he is currently doing 6 knots and has covered 195 miles today. He is 1445 miles behind PH and is now under 3000 miles from the finish. He could clock up a 260 mile day tomorrow.

End Note

Day 107
News
RICH WILSON
TUESDAY 21 FEBRUARY 2017, 15H15
Direct lift from VG Website:
The crowds were out again in Les Sables d'Olonne this Tuesday afternoon to welcome home Rich Wilson, who just completed his second Vendée Globe. He said that at the age of 66, it was very exhausting. The race will be remembered by him for being extremely grey, but he has some fine memories too of communicating with his fellow competitors.

"It’s great to be back. To see France and all the French people here. It was great to see Eric (Bellion) and Alan (Roura) here. They were my brothers in the south. We talked almost every day by e-mail.* In this race I think there was a lot more communication between the skippers than in 2008-2009 – Koji, Fabrice, Nandor, Stéphane and Didac who was chasing me. We talked about everything in the world. It was a little bit harder, because I’m older. The boat was easier because of the ballast tanks. You can use the ballast rather than put in a reef all the time, which is what I had to do on the other boat. What distinguished the race for me was that it was grey all the way. Across the south and then all the way up the Atlantic. Grey. Grey. It was so depressing. Four or five days ago, the sun came out for twenty minutes and I leapt out and stuck my face and hands under the sun. It was grey and just for so long. That was hard."
"I found all the calms that exist in the Atlantic. It was never-ending in the Atlantic. Eight years ago, I said never again. But now it’s too difficult. This is the perfect race course. The most stimulating event that exists. My goal was to finish this race and to work for SitesAlive, which has 700,000 young people following. What is fantastic about this race is the support of the public with all the people here. I remember the first time, someone said, if you finish the race, you’re a winner. I think that is correct. I could give you a quotation from Thomas Jefferson. When he was ambassador to France, he said everyone has two countries, their own and France and I think that is true."

"The Vendée Globe is two Vendée Globes. It is very long. The oceans, the capes. It’s all very hard. But the other Vendée Globe is the one ashore. The welcome that our team and I have had here. It’s incredible. I felt older. I am 66! My thoughts go out to Nandor who finished two weeks ago at the age of 65. We sent back data each day concerning me and the boat. Each day, I did an average of 12,000 turns on the winch. But it was hard."
"The worst thing was it was so grey. I had a map of the stars with me but I couldn’t use it. The best thing was communicating with the others. We’re a real community." *

The hugely experienced American skipper who is a lifelong mariner and a native of Boston, Massachusetts, adds to a remarkable catalogue of achievements under sail over an extraordinary career spanning nearly 40 years, including three record passages including San Francisco to Boston in 1993, New York to Melbourne in 2001, and in 2003 Hong Kong to New York.
Wilson crossed the finish line on a cool February afternoon, emerging from the grey skies of the Bay of Biscay, with scarcely a rope out of place. His Great American IV returned to Les Sables d’Olonne in almost exactly the same, near perfect condition as they left in early November. Wilson has dealt competently with a range of small technical problems, notably gripes with his autopilot system, his hydrogenerator system and some modest sail repairs. To finish two Vendée Globe races with both of his boats in great condition is testament to his impeccable seamanship, his ongoing focus and discipline to stay within the prudent protocols he sets himself, looking to achieve high average speeds and sail very efficiently while keeping the skipper and his boat safe. The efficiency of his actual course, that is how direct a route he sailed, is almost exactly the same as that of race winner Armel Le Cléac’h – sailing around 27,450 miles and is only bettered by the fourth to sixth placed skippers Jéremie Beyou, Yann Eliès and Jean Le Cam who sailed around 300 miles less.

Wilson is in no way a crusader looking to prove a point about the capabilities or achievements of older solo racers or athletes. Suffering from asthma since he was an infant, he has also considered age a mere number but strove to be as fit and strong as he could be prior to both races. ‘I am not ready for the pipe and slippers. Age is just a number.’ Wilson said many times before the start. That said his success today will be a huge inspiration to older people around the world to pursue their dreams and follow their passions. His boat for this edition of the race, an Owen-Clarke design which raced to seventh with Dominique Wavre in 2012-13, is faster but more physical than Great American III.
Along the route Wilson has told the story of his race with clarity and passion, his educated and inquisitive mind ensuring topics have remained interesting and informative with a broad appeal to all ages. A former maths teacher he has graduate degrees from Harvard Business School and MIT and a college degree from Harvard. He enjoyed regular communication with many of the other skippers in the race, most of all Alan Roura, the Swiss 23 year old youngest racer who finished yesterday.


Old News

Alan Roura's Press Conference of 20 Feb ( taken from the VG Website):

“When I set off I thought I’d break something or finish last and in fact I found everything I was looking for. It’s like Christmas and birthdays for ten years have come all at once. I haven’t yet come to grips with what is happening. I dreamt of this moment when I was small.”
“She’s an old boat and I don’t have that much experience of ocean racing, so I feel really proud. This is a victory for the team and the sponsor, for us all, but with this great finish, this is my victory.”
“I wanted to share what I really felt throughout the round the world voyage. I didn’t want to hide anything. I talked about how I was feeling down at times to show that it isn’t always that easy. But when you want it do it, you can. I think I managed to make people dream and feel good this winter. Seeing so many people in the entrance channel was the reward for that. It proves that a lot of people were following and a lot of Swiss people. There were lots of good moments and lots of bad moments. Even before I finished, I knew I wanted to come back again for the 2020 Vendée Globe. This is the greatest and hardest thing in the world. 105 days alone in 4 square metres without anything.”

“The finest moment was Cape Horn, because every sailor dreams of that. The sight of that rock will stay with me. You keep saying you have done the hardest part. The Pacific is harder than the Indian and the Atlantic was the worst part with the trade winds being difficult with lots of calms off Brazil. It was long and hard on the nerves.”

“When we set out we didn’t have to time to do everything we wanted. There was the collision with an unidentified floating object. I pulled the winch off its base, but the boat is magical. She is incredible and will remain Superbigou.”
“Eric (Bellion) and I got to know each other. We were waiting for a low together just after Christmas and thought we might as well chat. Even if we were racing against each other we created relationships with Cali, Rich, Eric and Fabrice that will stay with us. They have the same desires, the same passions.”
“The Atlantic was quite intense with a series of islands. I had a communications problem, so didn’t have all the weather files and I didn’t know where the others were, but I saw Enda and Didac and Destremau near me, so I thought then I’d go for it. I took a southerly option, which allowed me to leave the Atlantic behind. People talked of a long swell and surfing, but the south was very tough. In the Indian, you think of everything that happened in previous races. The Pacific was even worse. It was the ocean that frightened me the most, but that I did best in.”

“We hadn’t planned it, but we saw that we were close together at Christmas, with a huge low ahead of us. We weren’t there to win the Vendée Globe but to have a story. We all eased off. It wasn’t something we talked about, but we were all there together. On New Year’s Eve I was at the furthest point from land and I said to myself that now wasn’t the time to break anything. It was the next day that I hit the UFO and the rudder stock broke and water started coming in. It is a bit complicated to explain, but I managed to get the rudder in place. That’s when you can say that you are a real sailor.” *

“It’s not easy every day. You are all alone. Even in prison, you see other people. Here we have three months in a cell, like being inside a washing machine, but it’s so fantastic. You wonder when you’ll ever be able to experience that again. Being alone is hard, but that’s why we do it.” *

“The Mini is the best school for ocean racing. I hadn’t done that many races before, just like Eric Bellion. The Vendée Globe is a race for sailors, rather than ocean racers. *I don’t see myself as a professional racer. It is simply my passion. Your career can stop from one day to the next. You have to rely on sponsors. Even the most experienced find it hard to find a sponsor. I didn’t take part because I was the youngest, but because I got this boat.”

***
 
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