Vendée Globe 2016-2017

Vendee Globe 26 Feb
Day 112

Frustrating times

Pieter Heerema (17th) is playing a waiting game -waiting (probably until Tuesday), for the storm to subside in the Bay and of course the 8 metre + waves to moderate in the shelving towards Les Sables.

Currently doing 6.5 knots, 400 miles West of Porto and now 703 miles from the finish, which he has closed by 250 miles during the last 48 hours, he is currently hopeful of reaching the finish on Thursday.

Sebastian Destremau (18th) currently doing 7 knots at 23.25N, and now 2089 miles from the finish, he has covered 361 miles in the last 48 hours. Heading due North in NE'ly tradewinds of around 20kts, it must be quite uncomfortable. He is expected back in Les Sables d'Olonne, roughly March 7 to 9th. Seb has a nasty high pressure ridge to the north of him which looks quite messy.
 
Sebastian and Pieter are now both on my laptop screen when I load up Gis.ee/Windy.
What a change from hunting all over to find each of the fleet!
Yippeee!

Come on the pair of you, what amazing fortitude to keep battling on when all others are ashore and tucking in to proper food etc.

I bet Sebastian will feel even more alone when Pieter crosses the line tomorrow(?)
 
Vendee Globe 27 Feb
Day 113.

One frustrated lurking around the corner and the other now less than 2000 miles from the finish

Pieter Heerema (17th) Currently doing negative 3 knots VMG (steering 162 degrees), 350 ish miles West of Vigo and now 593 miles from the finish. He has closed the finish, by about 100 miles during the last 24 hours, having spent part of the day 'Hove To'. He is still, very much, playing the waiting game -waiting (probably until Tuesday), for the storm to subside in the Bay and of course the 7 to 9 metre + waves to moderate in the shelving waters towards Les Sables. In any case, the final stretch is going to be rough, as after the winds ease tomorrow, another front is expected to cross the Bay of Biscay on Wednesday afternoon and the seas will remain rough. However, by Thursday the sea state should be calmer. Quote from Antoine Mermod, the team manager “He is itching to finish and get back to Les Sables, but today, he had no other choice but to wait for more manageable seas. He is planning to round Cape Finisterre tomorrow some time between 1000 and 1500hrs and should be some way off the coast." He is currently hopeful of reaching the finish on Thursday. “Pieter is feeling fine and knows that this is the only reasonable solution,” added Antoine.

Sebastian Destremau (18th) currently doing 6 knots at around 26N/1000 miles West of the Canaries, and now 1933 miles from the finish, he has covered 193 miles in the last 24 hours. Heading almost due North in moderating NE'ly tradewinds of around 16kts. Seb has a nasty high pressure ridge to the north of him which looks quite messy and he will probably have a sub 200 mile day tomorrow and less for the following few days. He is expected back in Les Sables d'Olonne around 9th March.

Oh, by the way, rather surprisingly (nice surprise) the Sunday Times did a very nice piece in the main section about Conrad Colman.
 
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NormanB said:
Vendee Globe 27 Feb
Day 113.

One frustrated lurking around the corner and the other now less than 2000 miles from the finish

Pieter Heerema (17th) Currently doing negative 3 knots VMG (steering 162 degrees), 350 ish miles West of Vigo and now 593 miles from the finish. He has closed the finish, by about 100 miles during the last 24 hours, having spent part of the day 'Hove To'. He is still, very much, playing the waiting game -waiting (probably until Tuesday), for the storm to subside in the Bay and of course the 7 to 9 metre + waves to moderate in the shelving waters towards Les Sables. In any case, the final stretch is going to be rough, as after the winds ease tomorrow, another front is expected to cross the Bay of Biscay on Wednesday afternoon and the seas will remain rough. However, by Thursday the sea state should be calmer. Quote from Antoine Mermod, the team manager “He is itching to finish and get back to Les Sables, but today, he had no other choice but to wait for more manageable seas. He is planning to round Cape Finisterre tomorrow some time between 1000 and 1500hrs and should be some way off the coast." He is currently hopeful of reaching the finish on Thursday. “Pieter is feeling fine and knows that this is the only reasonable solution,” added Antoine.

Sebastian Destremau (18th) currently doing 6 knots at around 26N/1000 miles West of the Canaries, and now 1933 miles from the finish, he has covered 193 miles in the last 24 hours. Heading almost due North in moderating NE'ly tradewinds of around 16kts. Seb has a nasty high pressure ridge to the north of him which looks quite messy and he will probably have a sub 200 mile day tomorrow and less for the following few days. He is expected back in Les Sables d'Olonne around 9th March.

Oh, by the way, rather surprisingly (nice surprise) the Sunday Times did a very nice piece in the main section about Conrad Colman.
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Thanks for all your excellent reports.

So pleased for Pieter Heerema . Thought he might pack it in a few weeks ago but looks like he's going to finish.

My OAP hero.
 
LONG_KEELER said:
Thanks for all your excellent reports.

So pleased for Pieter Heerema . Thought he might pack it in a few weeks ago but looks like he's going to finish.

My OAP hero.
Click to expand...

Thank you.:encouragement:

Vendee Globe 28 Feb
Day 114.

Making a bee line and lolling about.

Pieter Heerema (17th) has finally embarked on a course to take him through the Bay and onwards to Les Sables, after waiting patiently for the storms to pass through. Currently doing 7.6 knots, 280 ish miles West of Coruna and now 449 miles from the finish. He has closed the finish, by about 144 miles during the last 24 hours. He is hoping for a late Thursday finish. Quote from Pieter on the VG website: “The sea state is very rough and the wind further south than predicted, which means I can’t bear away to avoid the waves. I’m halfway against the waves, which is slowing me down. I hope that the wind will come around to the right to get a better angle and to make it more comfortable, because it is hard for the boat.” “I still have an ETA for sometime in the afternoon of 2nd March. At the moment I don’t have the speed, but I’m hopeful I’ll catch up a little later on.*I’m a happy man. I’m looking forward to ending this trip. But things have been going well over the past few days and the weather hasn’t been too bad. But I’ll be happier once I’m in port.”


Sebastian Destremau (18th) currently doing 0.7 knots at around 29N/ 800 miles West of the Canaries, and now 1818 miles from the finish, he has covered 115 miles in the last 24 hours. Heading almost due North and further into a region of no/low winds due to the high pressure South of the Azores he will probably have a couple of 100 mile days ahead of him. He is expected (usual caveats apply) back in Les Sables d'Olonne around 9th March.
 
Vendee Globe 1 Mar
Day 115

One Loitering - One Lolling

Pieter Heerema (17th) has been hugging the North Coast of Spain for most of the day waiting for storm conditions to ease before he gybed towards Les Sables. He has in fact turned in the last few hours and is now doing 6.5 knots heading 038 degrees. He is now 229 miles from the finish which he has closed by 220 miles during the last 24 hours. Pieter is hoping for a late Thursday finish, but he will need to be at the canal entrance before 2130 to have sufficient water to get to the berth.

Sebastian Destremau (18th) almost becalmed today covering a mere 50 miles. It looks as though he may have struck out early to past East of the Azores and is currently heading 065 degrees doing 2.6 knots. He is now 1768 miles from the finish and is expected (usual caveats apply) back in Les Sables d'Olonne around 9th March. But he is not out of the woods yet, with the High Pressure ridge to the North of him. Let's hope he managed to catch some fish - he is running out of food.
 
Oh dear - looks like things may be prolonged until tomorrow for Pieter. He certainly won't meet the tidal window to enter harbour tonight (unless he is able to ramp up his speed considerably) and on current progress may not cross the finish line until the early hours of Friday morning.

Seb threw me a dummy last night and has reverted to heading West of the Azores. He has very mixed results on the fishing front which you can assess via this video which has only been uploaded in the French language version:

From the Office:
 
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Vendee Globe 2 Mar
Day 116

So close for Pieter but another night at sea beckons and Seb heads for a wind hole

Pieter Heerema (17th) after hugging the North Coast of Spain for most of yesterday Pieter finally gybed to head for Les Sables at 1730 (yesterday) when he was just five miles from Galicia. But, he was critically troubled by light winds and could only manage 8 knots until this afternoon when picked up his skirts this afternoon and then managed to accelerate to 14.5 knots. However he has missed the evening tide to enter Les Sables by such a frustratingly small margin of about 30 minutes. Currently proceeding at 13 knots, he is now just 10 miles from the finish which he has closed by 219 miles during the last 24 hours. Pieter needed to be at the canal entrance before 2130 (French time) to have sufficient water to get to the berth, so another night at sea for him.


Sebastian Destremau (18th) Covered a mere 63 miles today and is currently heading 340 degrees ( to skirt West of the Azores) doing 2.4 knots (VMG) and is now 1711 miles from the finish. He is not out of the woods yet, with the High Pressure ridge still to the North of him. I am not sure why he did not stick to the Eastern route which, from the model, looks the more favourable. Expected (usual caveats apply) back in Les Sables d'Olonne around 9th March, which will make it 125 days at sea. With food running out and about to enter a wind hole, no doubt he will be getting the fishing line out again, lets hope he catches something more substantial this time.
 
Stop Press

Taken from the VG website ( after I had composed and posted the above).

Dutch skipper Pieter Heerema brought his No Way Back across the finish line of the Vendée Globe at 2126 hrs UTC this evening (Thursday 2nd March) to finish in seventeenth place. Heerema, at 65, completes this epic eighth edition becoming the first skipper from the Netherlands to complete the Vendée Globe. His elapsed time is 116 days 9 hrs, 24 mins and 12 secs. He sailed 29,747 miles at an average speed of 10.65 knots.
 
Another great achievement.
He may not have been competitive, but he deserves the greatest respect for safely bringing home his boat, despite all the technical troubles he endured
 
westhinder said:
Another great achievement.
He may not have been competitive, but he deserves the greatest respect for safely bringing home his boat, despite all the technical troubles he endured
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+1000

"And then there was one"
C'mon Sebastian.
I wonder how he feels now that he is the last one out there? Certainly his last few video posts have shown him upbeat and joking, but he still has nearly 1700 miles to go, and he's short on food.

I hope he can stay out of trouble .
 
Vendee Globe 3 Mar
Day 117

Seb is still racing!

Sebastian Destremau (18th) Has spent most of his day extricating himself from very low winds but for the moment seems clear and now in strengthening winds. Still heading to leave the Azores to his East, he is currently enjoying 18 knots of SW wind and making good 11.5 knots with 151 miles covered today. He will be in good winds all day tomorrow and by next report should be NW of the Azores. The VG website is indicating an arrival date for Seb of 10th March, but it is feasible for him to get back on the 9th.

Old News
PIeter entering harbour at Les Sables this morning:

A look back at Pieter's race and the press conference:

Link to VG website


If you are in the market for an IMOCO 60 - Pieter really wants to sell his.
 
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Andrew E said:
I believe the food situation for Seb is becoming pretty desperate. The fishing thing is no joke for the camera.
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I do not disbelieve you at all and it probably is very grim, certainly extrapolating on from Conrad's situation with raiding the life raft stores - but where have you been reading about Seb's actual food situation - link?
 
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