Tomahawk
Well-known member
Thoughtful..Lets hope something can be sorted. AT does look very dejected.
Vendee Globe and Alex Thomson / Hugo Boss
- Thread starter RichardS
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Thoughtful..Lets hope something can be sorted. AT does look very dejected.
cherod
N/A
thats from the 9.00 update
Black Sheep
Well-known member
Yes; wishful thinking I'm afraid. 2100 update based on 2030 positions. Dozens of plausible reasons for those tracks. Meanwhile, Marine Traffic shows vessels still headed for the area, and no good news on the VG site or on relevant Twitter feeds.
I'm hoping that by dawn, we will have a flotilla of boats standing by. A very knackered Kevin having spent an uncomfortable night hunkered down in his life raft. And a successful transfer to one of the boats.
But all evidence shows we're not there yet.
E39mad
Well-known member
And unusually Alex hasn't headed North yet but is keeping track with the fleet. Hardly lost any miles these last 24 hours.
Edit - that may have something to do with having only one working rudder on a particular tack
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Roberto
Well-known member
The underwater appendages they have are designed for average high speeds, as they have to slow down to search basically all lift becomes nil and the boat has barely any manoeuverability.
I would think the best way to approach at a sensible speed (next to nil) would be from downwind, stern-to the raft, have they got engines which can provide enough thrust while going astern? 25kt gusting, 4m waves, not sure.
And that supposes they having first located the raft.
I would think the best way to approach at a sensible speed (next to nil) would be from downwind, stern-to the raft, have they got engines which can provide enough thrust while going astern? 25kt gusting, 4m waves, not sure.
And that supposes they having first located the raft.
kof
Active member
So reading the latest, LeCam reached the raft and spoke with Kevin Escoffier but couldn't get close enough to pick him up. He then lost contact and also was unable to lock on the ais beacon due to the waves (it's an MOB). The other boats were asked to join so that one of them might be able to lock in on it.
Sauvetage de Kevin Escoffier, le point sur la situation (prb.fr)
Sauvetage de Kevin Escoffier, le point sur la situation (prb.fr)
cherod
N/A
there is an established protocol wherin they " approach with three reefs in the mainsail and engine at idle )
Buck Turgidson
Well-known member
So JLC didn't get him but broke off to start what looks like a triangle grid search. With the other boats following.
I'm very surprised that they are relying on AIS Mob. My Garmin in reach would be more useful in those conditions.
I'm very surprised that they are relying on AIS Mob. My Garmin in reach would be more useful in those conditions.
Ravi
Active member
From Black Sheep's post, perhaps the best outcome has not been reached and Escoffier has not been recovered.
One positive thought is that although the conditions are horrendous by the standards of a Med sailor, they (20 Knot winds and 5m waves) are not beyond the limits of a modern top of the range liferaft. With a PLB on board for location finding, hopefully Escoffier is not in immediate danger.
If Escoffier is in radio contact and reporting that he is not in distress, then maybe the decision has been made to attempt recovery when the conditions are more favourable in daylight. The winds are forecast to drop as low as to 10 nms tomorrow and the seastate should abate.
It would be great if he was already on board one of the vessels but, if not, then hopefully he should be OK where he is.
Thinking about how scary this incident feels to a locked-down Internet spectator sitting in warm home comfort, one can't even imagine what is going on in the minds of the other race competitors (who will be personal friends of Escoffier) and who are just embarking on a long gruelling passage around the Antarctic.
One positive thought is that although the conditions are horrendous by the standards of a Med sailor, they (20 Knot winds and 5m waves) are not beyond the limits of a modern top of the range liferaft. With a PLB on board for location finding, hopefully Escoffier is not in immediate danger.
If Escoffier is in radio contact and reporting that he is not in distress, then maybe the decision has been made to attempt recovery when the conditions are more favourable in daylight. The winds are forecast to drop as low as to 10 nms tomorrow and the seastate should abate.
It would be great if he was already on board one of the vessels but, if not, then hopefully he should be OK where he is.
Thinking about how scary this incident feels to a locked-down Internet spectator sitting in warm home comfort, one can't even imagine what is going on in the minds of the other race competitors (who will be personal friends of Escoffier) and who are just embarking on a long gruelling passage around the Antarctic.
Ravi
Active member
Here is an Internet (google) translation of the article that kof referred to.
[Please note that when the article says 'confused', this is a google mistranslation of the verb 'diverted'.]
Start of Article ....;
RESCUE OF KEVIN ESCOFFIER, UPDATE ON THE SITUATION
NOVEMBER 30, 2020
Here is what has happened since Kevin Escoffier triggered the distress beacon on his IMOCA PRB on Monday November 30 at 2:46 p.m. in the Roaring Forties, on the 22 nd race day of the Vendée Globe. Triggered immediately by the race director, the research initiated by Jean Le Cam, first to arrive in the area, is continuing with the support of three IMOCAs who were also confused.
Since Kevin Escoffier warned his shore team that a waterway had broken out in the IMOCA PRB on Monday at 2:46 p.m., rescue operations have been deployed, and they continue to grow. Before leaving the edge, Kevin Escoffier triggered the boat's distress beacon, signaled at position 40 ° 55 South 9 ° 16 East when it was activated.
In fact, Jean Le Cam was the first to be confused by the race management. At 5 pm, the skipper of Yes We Cam! arrives on the zone, guided by the race director. The positioning of Kevin Escoffier's personal beacon (AIS MOB Man Over Board) emits by HF waves and will only be detected by the competitors in the zone directed by the race director.
Jean Le Cam sails with 3 reefs in the mainsail, in order to remain mobile in winds of 20 knots, and troughs of 5 meters. Eye contact is made; the skipper of Port-la-Forêt sees the life raft, he also sees his competition partner, presumably equipped with his TPS survival suit, and a voice exchange takes place between the two men.
The time to maneuver to get back as close as possible to the raft, Jean le Cam will lose visual contact with Kevin Escoffier, in this very rough sea and in the dark. Since then, the skipper of Yes We Cam! did not cease his efforts, but could no longer locate the raft with Kevin on board and did not pick up the AIS signal whose range was reduced due to heavy seas.
In order to reinforce the research, the race director confused three skippers who were racing in the same peloton: Boris Herrmann (SeaExplorer - Yacht de Monaco), Yannick Bestaven (Maître-CoQ), then Sébastien Simon (ARKEA PAPREC) in order to facilitate the research crisscrossing the area. On site, Jean Le Cam shares information on the state of the sea, wind and currents with the DC.
At 9.45 p.m., Yannick Bestaven joined the area. Boris Herrmann is expected to arrive around 11 p.m. Sébastien Simon is expected a little later. All will respect the protocol established by the race director in conjunction with Jean Le Cam on site, ie an approach with three reefs in the mainsail and the engine unhooked. A fine grid process for the area has been established and will be carried out by the four IMOCAs who have come to provide assistance.
The PRB shore team specified that, in addition to his AIS Mob, Kevin Escoffier also had something to signal his presence in the liferaft. The day will rise tomorrow morning around 4:40 am HF in the investigation area.
Research continues.
This press release has been drawn up jointly with the Vendée Globe teams and Team PRB.
------ End of Article
cherod
N/A
yes ,, thats from the Vandee page . unfortunatly it is not the " rescue " ( as yet ) but the search for .
NormanB
Well-known member
English Version:
2200hrs UTC NEWS UPDATE
Race Direction of the Vendée Globe requested the assistance of three competing skippers, Germany’s Boris Herrmann (Seaexplorer-Yacht Club de Monaco), Yannick Bestaven (Maître CoQ IV) and Sébastien Simon (ARKEA PAPREC) to help Jean Le Cam (Yes We Cam!) in the mission to retrieve solo skipper Kevin Escoffier from his life raft after the 40 year old from Saint Malo had to abandon his IMOCA 60 PRB this Monday afternoon after activating his distress beacon.
Escoffier was racing in third place on the 22nd day of the solo non stop around the world race, at some 840 nautical miles SW of Cape Town, when his PRB got into difficulties and he was forced to take to his liferaft.
He alerted his technical team at 1346hrs UTC this afternoon, telling them he had significant amounts of water coming into the boat and immediately triggered his yacht's distress beacon. PRB was positioned at 40deg55S 9deg16E at the time the distress beacon was activated.
Race Direction of the Vendée Globe alerted MRCC Cape Town and CROSS Griz Nez who have been collaborating in a rescue operation. The skipper closest to Escoffier’s position, Jean Le Cam, who is competing on his fifth Vendée Globe, immediately responded to the request to divert to Escoffier’s position.
Guided by Race Direction Le Cam arrived on zone around 1615hrs UTC and quickly established visual and voice contact with Escoffier who was in his liferaft but he was unable to retrieve him in the big, 5m, seas and 20-25 knot winds.
As he was manoeuvring to prepare to get closer to the liferaft Le Cam lost sight of the liferaft and could not establish radio contact nor to pick up the signal from the AIS the range of which was reduced by the heavy seas.
He lost sight of Escoffier in the dying light but has continued to try and locate him, Le Cam is communicating regularly with Race Direction and the rescue authorities. The three other skippers are now in, or are approaching the search area. The positioning of Kevin Escoffier's personal beacon (AIS MOB Man Over Board) emits HF radiowaves and will only be detected in the local zone.
The four skippers will follow a protocol established by Race Direction in coordination with Jean Le Cam. They will approach with three reefs in the mainsail and the engine idling. A grid search area for the zone has been established and will be carried out by the four IMOCAs who are set to provide assistance.
The PRB shore crew said that besides his AIS Mob, Kevin Escoffier also means to signal his presence in the liferaft. Daybreak tomorrow morning is around 0340hrs UTC in this zone and the search will be ongoing.
This press release has been drawn up jointly with the Vendée Globe and Team PRB.
2200hrs UTC NEWS UPDATE
Race Direction of the Vendée Globe requested the assistance of three competing skippers, Germany’s Boris Herrmann (Seaexplorer-Yacht Club de Monaco), Yannick Bestaven (Maître CoQ IV) and Sébastien Simon (ARKEA PAPREC) to help Jean Le Cam (Yes We Cam!) in the mission to retrieve solo skipper Kevin Escoffier from his life raft after the 40 year old from Saint Malo had to abandon his IMOCA 60 PRB this Monday afternoon after activating his distress beacon.
Escoffier was racing in third place on the 22nd day of the solo non stop around the world race, at some 840 nautical miles SW of Cape Town, when his PRB got into difficulties and he was forced to take to his liferaft.
He alerted his technical team at 1346hrs UTC this afternoon, telling them he had significant amounts of water coming into the boat and immediately triggered his yacht's distress beacon. PRB was positioned at 40deg55S 9deg16E at the time the distress beacon was activated.
Race Direction of the Vendée Globe alerted MRCC Cape Town and CROSS Griz Nez who have been collaborating in a rescue operation. The skipper closest to Escoffier’s position, Jean Le Cam, who is competing on his fifth Vendée Globe, immediately responded to the request to divert to Escoffier’s position.
Guided by Race Direction Le Cam arrived on zone around 1615hrs UTC and quickly established visual and voice contact with Escoffier who was in his liferaft but he was unable to retrieve him in the big, 5m, seas and 20-25 knot winds.
As he was manoeuvring to prepare to get closer to the liferaft Le Cam lost sight of the liferaft and could not establish radio contact nor to pick up the signal from the AIS the range of which was reduced by the heavy seas.
He lost sight of Escoffier in the dying light but has continued to try and locate him, Le Cam is communicating regularly with Race Direction and the rescue authorities. The three other skippers are now in, or are approaching the search area. The positioning of Kevin Escoffier's personal beacon (AIS MOB Man Over Board) emits HF radiowaves and will only be detected in the local zone.
The four skippers will follow a protocol established by Race Direction in coordination with Jean Le Cam. They will approach with three reefs in the mainsail and the engine idling. A grid search area for the zone has been established and will be carried out by the four IMOCAs who are set to provide assistance.
The PRB shore crew said that besides his AIS Mob, Kevin Escoffier also means to signal his presence in the liferaft. Daybreak tomorrow morning is around 0340hrs UTC in this zone and the search will be ongoing.
This press release has been drawn up jointly with the Vendée Globe and Team PRB.
zoidberg
Well-known member
Make no mistake, it is not just an uncomfortable night ahead for the man. With air temp around 11 Celsius and water at 14 C, even in a survival suit, Escoffier is in a full-on 'survival situation'. By morning light, around 0330hrs, incipient hypothermia will certainly be an issue.
The scene is almost 600nm from Cape Town/Ysterplaat air base. The proper S&R Authority for the Region is South Africa, and they have Hercules aircraft capable of getting into the overhead and 'possibly' providing some search and direction assistance, if not take on-scene command. Much depends on the state of readiness and training of aircrews for this role.....
The scene is almost 600nm from Cape Town/Ysterplaat air base. The proper S&R Authority for the Region is South Africa, and they have Hercules aircraft capable of getting into the overhead and 'possibly' providing some search and direction assistance, if not take on-scene command. Much depends on the state of readiness and training of aircrews for this role.....
Kukri
Well-known member
If Escoffier was out of sight of Le Cam before dark, with the AIS MOB out of range due to wave height, the chances of his being sighted at dawn are very poor indeed. If he has parachute flares as well as hand helds and if the wind is not too strong he might try a pair at nautical twilight.
glynd
Active member
parachute flares, from a life raft in 5m seas?
Sandy
Well-known member
2020 is proving not to be a good year.
I hope that Kevin Escoffier is found quickly at first light and not drunk all the champagne, in true Raphael Dinelli tradition, before he gets picked up.
I hope that Kevin Escoffier is found quickly at first light and not drunk all the champagne, in true Raphael Dinelli tradition, before he gets picked up.
Sandy
Well-known member
You need to time it so you are at the top of a wave. The will to live allows you to do lots of things you would not think possible.
Ravi
Active member
Do you really think that it is a 'survival situation' if he is in a stable liferaft, out of the wind, in a survival suit with an air temperature of 11 Celcius? 11 Celcius was approximately the temperature that my Granny liked to keep her house at - much to my discomfort.
If the life raft is stable and safe, what is the risk? Not temperature, in a survival suit at 11 degrees! More likely overheating!
If he is not in the water and in a safe raft and has flares, a radio, a PLB and a good lifeboat ration of chocolate, and all the wonders of modern technologies are doing their job then he should be OK. If the liferraft and all the gizmos do what they say they will do in the adverts, then he should be fine.
Ravi
Active member
Raphael Dinelli? Champagne?
[EDIT]. After some googlong ......
"
Pete ....[Goss]....sent what may have been his last fax to his wife to explain what he was about to do and immediately turned round to rescue the Frenchman. He battled for two days to reach the near-dead Dinelli, who was extremely lucky to survive 48 hours in a freezing life raft.
Pete now became nurse to Dinelli, who suffered from hypothermia and was so stiff with cold he could not move for days. Pete made him sweet tea and gave him physiotherapy while he made his slow recovery. The pair became firm friends, vowing to sail together and toasting their future on New Year’s Eve with a bottle of champagne Dinelli had had the incredible foresight to bring aboard!
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Skellum
Well-known member
Good News - Escoffier now safely aboard Yes We Cam! Doubtless being refreshed from JLC’s wine cellar. Good job by all concerned.