Vendee Globe and Alex Thomson / Hugo Boss

pyrojames said:
Do you remember Team Philips?
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Sorry, no I don't. I am not a racer and do not normally follow. However, Alex and his can do attitude (and previous bad luck) has hooked me in.
The failures to me. as an engineer, are design /construction. Yes Alex may be aggressive, he is racing, the boat should take the stresses.
I am hooked to this race, with divided loyalties, I would like Alex to win, Sam to get a podium and Pip Hare as Patron of the Visually Impaired Sailing Association to achieve a good result with a non foiler.
 
cherod said:
seems a bit silly that they cant just remove these things when they start to break up.
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His ?team manager? was interviewed on the excellent Vendee (English) daily programme and said that they could not cut it away inside the hull, (where the actual fractures happened), because the carbon is 5-6 inches thick there and they don't have any tool on board that would allow him to cut it.

Could it be that the on board power tools (he seemed to be using a cordless jigsaw to cut the tip) just don't have a long enough blades? What price a B&Q handsaw on board? !

He did also mention that the complete foil is extremely heavy. (I think he said 200 or 300 kg. ) If so, it would make it difficult to recover the entire thing on board. If so, cutting it away in incremental sections from the outboard end would surely get around that problem

Incidentally, he reckons that this handicap will 'only' cost between 3 and 5 knots on the STDB tack. Port tack sailing unaffected. he al;so mentioned additional complications with new considerations for ballasting.

As you can tell, my recollections of the detail of what he actually said are vague, but I can recommend the daily update programme.
 
E39mad said:
Yes I have seen that but it does not explain why he was so slow around the middle of the day today.
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Perhaps the puzzle of the intermittent slow speeds from HB might be related to scheduled inspections of the damage in the hull. I imagine that one might not want the boat running downwind at 20 knots when you are crawling around the hull and can't get back on deck quickly. Personally, I wouldn't even think about nipping below to get a biscuit at half that speed.

It would seem judicious to schedule in frequent inspections - at least until they are confident that there is no further risk.

That would explain the sudden reduction of speed for 20-30 minutes periods.

Unless, he is heaving to to make a cuppa or visit the heads like us mere mortals!
 
Ravi said:
His ?team manager? was interviewed on the excellent Vendee (English) daily programme and said that they could not cut it away inside the hull, (where the actual fractures happened), because the carbon is 5-6 inches thick there and they don't have any tool on board that would allow him to cut it.

Could it be that the on board power tools (he seemed to be using a cordless jigsaw to cut the tip) just don't have a long enough blades? What price a B&Q handsaw on board? !

He did also mention that the complete foil is extremely heavy. (I think he said 200 or 300 kg. ) If so, it would make it difficult to recover the entire thing on board. If so, cutting it away in incremental sections from the outboard end would surely get around that problem

Incidentally, he reckons that this handicap will 'only' cost between 3 and 5 knots on the STDB tack. Port tack sailing unaffected. he al;so mentioned additional complications with new considerations for ballasting.

As you can tell, my recollections of the detail of what he actually said are vague, but I can recommend the daily update programme.
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i didnt mean cutting it up ,, i meant removal and storing it somewhere if it is worth keeping or just ditching it if it is not,, but to be lumbered with the blody thing is crazy
 
Ravi said:
Perhaps the puzzle of the intermittent slow speeds from HB might be related to scheduled inspections of the damage in the hull. I imagine that one might not want the boat running downwind at 20 knots when you are crawling around the hull and can't get back on deck quickly. Personally, I wouldn't even think about nipping below to get a biscuit at half that speed.

It would seem judicious to schedule in frequent inspections - at least until they are confident that there is no further risk.

That would explain the sudden reduction of speed for 20-30 minutes periods.

Unless, he is heaving to to make a cuppa or visit the heads like us mere mortals!
[/QUOTE


20 or 30 minutes to dive down an check the bilges ?? , 2 or 3 more like it , its not the bloody queen mary ,,, longer yes if he has to do anything
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dont know if anyone else has seen the vid ( on youtube ) of the Linkedout guy cutting at his foil ,, sure puts a bit of laminating in the fore peak into perspective .
 
“People must be thinking oh heavens Le Cam is old, but at the moment it is all OK. The boat is from 2007 and it doing so well and I am getting on well with it. The issue about being old is that the older you are the more experience you have. The more silly things you did when you were younger the more you learn what not to do. There are plenty of older people who have lots of great talents and good values who end up without a job after 50. In my case here I am over 60, and so it is a shame for all these other people who cant get jobs because they are ‘older’. But you get daft young people and silly older people alike. If I had to employ someone I would prefer to get an older smart experience person than a younger one who is maybe not so smart.” Le Cam. Patron saint of oldies.
 
Ravi said:
Perhaps the puzzle of the intermittent slow speeds from HB might be related to scheduled inspections of the damage in the hull. I imagine that one might not want the boat running downwind at 20 knots when you are crawling around the hull and can't get back on deck quickly. Personally, I wouldn't even think about nipping below to get a biscuit at half that speed.

It would seem judicious to schedule in frequent inspections - at least until they are confident that there is no further risk.

That would explain the sudden reduction of speed for 20-30 minutes periods.

Unless, he is heaving to to make a cuppa or visit the heads like us mere mortals!
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Sorry but his speed was not slow just for one moment period but over a 4 hour period where he did around 35 miles whereas others around him were doing 60 - 75 miles over the same period. Look at the miles done over 24 hours and he is way down on those around him but now hopefully up to full speed.
 
E39mad said:
Sorry but his speed was not slow just for one moment period but over a 4 hour period where he did around 35 miles whereas others around him were doing 60 - 75 miles over the same period. Look at the miles done over 24 hours and he is way down on those around him but now hopefully up to full speed.
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It's all out there. No secrets.
Update from Ross Daniel, Technical Director at Alex Thomson Racing:
“Yesterday evening, Alex decided to take advantage of the light conditions to further reinforce the repairs that he has done onboard HUGO BOSS in order to increase the safety factors before he enters the Southern Ocean.
“To do this, he had to slow the boat down slightly so that he could work in relatively stable conditions. With the new weather front crossing the fleet today, which will carry them south, Alex knew that last night would be his last opportunity to complete this reinforcement.
“This morning we’ve been able to take a good look at the work that Alex did overnight. It looks good and we are very happy with what he has been able to do.
“Alex is now back into racing mode and is preparing for the Southern Ocean”.
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dgadee said:
“People must be thinking oh heavens Le Cam is old, but at the moment it is all OK. The boat is from 2007 and it doing so well and I am getting on well with it. The issue about being old is that the older you are the more experience you have. The more silly things you did when you were younger the more you learn what not to do. There are plenty of older people who have lots of great talents and good values who end up without a job after 50. In my case here I am over 60, and so it is a shame for all these other people who cant get jobs because they are ‘older’. But you get daft young people and silly older people alike. If I had to employ someone I would prefer to get an older smart experience person than a younger one who is maybe not so smart.” Le Cam. Patron saint of oldies.
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" old " ?? he is only 60
 
Something not right on HB. 2100hrs update course is all over the place and speed way down. Looks like he's heading for Capetown??
 
From a few minutes ago;

TEAM STATEMENT:

At approximately 7pm UK time this evening (Friday 27th November) Alex notified the team on shore of damage to the starboard rudder of HUGO BOSS.

The team immediately advised Alex to disconnect the rudder to regain steerage. He now has control of the yacht with one rudder, and is safe and in no danger onboard.

The team is working to assess the extent of the damage.

A further update will be released tomorrow.
 
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