john_morris_uk
Well-Known Member
I don’t know about the French Navy but no RN ship I served on stopped when launching or recovering the sea boat. Slowed down a bit maybe?
Vendee Globe and Alex Thomson / Hugo Boss
- Thread starter RichardS
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Kukri
Well-Known Member
thats what I meant
zoidberg
Well-Known Member
I guess Reunion will prove a most pleasant 'time out' for Escoffier.....
Kukri
Well-Known Member
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zoidberg
Well-Known Member
Then there's this...
Dumas would probably have given his eye-teeth for an immersion/survival suit such as that donned by Kevin Escoffier for his latest Southern Ocean swim.
Dumas would probably have given his eye-teeth for an immersion/survival suit such as that donned by Kevin Escoffier for his latest Southern Ocean swim.
Yealm
Well-Known Member
I went Mini sailing with her a few years ago in Lorient. Great fun !
LONG_KEELER
Well-Known Member
Interesting F1 motor race yesterday .
Prompts the question ...................
In the Vendee, how important is the boat to winning the race ?
Prompts the question ...................
In the Vendee, how important is the boat to winning the race ?
chris-s
Well-Known Member
Well, tricky to do it without one!
Giblets
Well-Known Member
And I don't think there are pit crews involved!
matt1
Well-Known Member
Back to Alex for a second. Interesting statement from Bell Labs here You’ll never sail alone!
Ever optimistic that he will go again, I don’t read into the statement that Bell Labs see the partnership ending at this point... in fact they seem to be saying they will continue to learn together ....
Ever optimistic that he will go again, I don’t read into the statement that Bell Labs see the partnership ending at this point... in fact they seem to be saying they will continue to learn together ....
pyrojames
Well-Known Member
Looking for things to hit at sea, this is flotsam on a Southern Indian ocean beach in 1998. Two large steel tanks/floats and something like a telegraph pole.
Ravi
Well-Known Member
Yes, a fascinating sprint! Especially, with the added intrigue of the racers being pursued by a tiger in the form of the brutal weather front!
To my mind, it is not as predictably reliant on the technology as F1, I would think that it would be much easier for a robotic AI computer to win F1 race than to win the Vendee. So, my gut feeling is that the human component is more important in the Vendee.
In F1, the conditions for the race are pretty much known well before the start. The Vendee competitor has to make the weather routing decisions to choose the optimum route for the boat. And the overall mix of Trade and Southern ocean conditions will vary from edition to edition.
There are a lot of similarities, like the innate skill of F1 and sailing professionals to somehow go faster than their competitors in the same conditions. But in the Vendee, the solo competitor also has to be the pit crew, race tactician, endurance athlete, nutritionist and sleep scientist.
I may be romanticising the world of sailing but I think that winning the Vendee is as more dependent on the sailor than the boat. (And, of course, a bit of luck and some kindness from the weather Gods.)
flaming
Well-Known Member
This is true, but it's also true that when the fleet set off from Les Sables, there were several boats which stood no chance of winning, regardless of who was sailing them.
If you look at the Figaro, you can see the sort of margins that you get in a strict OD. So when you compare to the much, much wider margins in the Vendee in percentage terms, you do see that the boat is very important. After all, if it wasn't then teams like Boss wouldn't build a new one for every race....
LONG_KEELER
Well-Known Member
And 1/32nd of a knot over 74 odd days will count with everything else being equal.
Perhaps also, the faster guys can make bit of an error with routing and still recover where the
slower boats can't.
Perhaps also, the faster guys can make bit of an error with routing and still recover where the
slower boats can't.
Frogmogman
Well-Known Member
Quite so.
I think much of the charm and mystique of the Vendée Globe arises because it can mean completely different things to different competitors. It's why it makes sense for Sam Davies to continue if she can get the boat fixed, as she can still raise awareness and money for Initiatives Coeur by doing so, yet it doesn't make sense for Alex to do the same, as the one reason he was there was to win this edition.
To get around, and finish, is in itself a massive achievement. Anyone who even gets a boat to the start of this event is a winner to me.
I don't recall who it was who coined the word "les Coubertinistes" to describe those who take part in the VG in a truly Corinthian spirit, (after the Baron de Coubertin, creator of the modern Olympic games, who famously said "The important thing in life is not to triumph but to compete" ), but whoever it was, they nailed it. To all of those guys and gals, "les Coubertinistes", I raise my glass.
dgadee
Well-Known Member
What's a spatulated bow?
westhinder
Well-Known Member
I'll join you in raising my glass. Gezondheid!
Ravi
Well-Known Member
I think that the OP's question was in relation to F1.
Your comment presumes that the same boat is 1/32nd of a knot faster in all conditions of seastate and wind. That is not the case. Unlike F1, there is a responsibility of the skipper to route their 'vehicle' through optimum conditions. The route selection can mean a difference of thousands of miles.
The question is where the balance lies between skipper and boats. I like to think that the boats, (even the old and new generation) are close enough that the skipper holds the edge on who wins.
As you point out,
But ... faster guys can also make a bit of a routing error and end up doing 5 knots in the doldrums for 48 hours and lose to a 'slower' boat with a better skipper who took a different route.
In this modern world, money talks and with the vague ImoCA class rules, there are many places that money can be used to get an edge but, old romantic that I am, I still like to think that this is a race where the skipper holds the edge.
The best skipper in the best boat will have the best chance of winning.
The best skipper in a second tier boat will have a chance of winning
A less good skipper in the best boat will have a chance of winning
A less good skipper in a second tier boat will have very little chance of winning
That is why I think that the skipper matters more than the boat.
Ravi
Well-Known Member
As of 2100 on Monday night, Weird stuff going on with 3rd placed Louis Burton.
Since his reported problems with his autopilot from a couple of nights ago he has been sailing slowly and erratically suggesting that the problem has not been resolved. He has now changed course from 100° to 359°.
The erratic course and speeds might be explained by the localised conditions that he is in but his team have chosen not to give details so it is all open to conjecture.
Damien Seguin, just to the North of him has shown similar speeds and course changes so maybe the reason is very severe and unforecast localised conditions. If so, it is bad luck for Burton, who has gained great advantage from the audacious routing decisions he has taken since approaching the Southern Ocean. .
It will be interesting to see what he does next.
[Meanwhile .... Ruyant remains 200 miles behind the leader, Dalin, following like he is on a tow rope.]
The chasing pack have all dropped back as they have fallen behind the violent front that Dalin and Ruyant have successfully edged ahead of. It will be interesting to see how much the two of them can exploit this advantage.
Will it be a two horse race from now on or will the fates give the chasing pack a chance to catch up?
In terms of Burton, it will be interesting to see if he joins the chasing pack. If his autopilot is compromised, that will be his race over. Let's hope that is not the case.
Since his reported problems with his autopilot from a couple of nights ago he has been sailing slowly and erratically suggesting that the problem has not been resolved. He has now changed course from 100° to 359°.
The erratic course and speeds might be explained by the localised conditions that he is in but his team have chosen not to give details so it is all open to conjecture.
Damien Seguin, just to the North of him has shown similar speeds and course changes so maybe the reason is very severe and unforecast localised conditions. If so, it is bad luck for Burton, who has gained great advantage from the audacious routing decisions he has taken since approaching the Southern Ocean. .
It will be interesting to see what he does next.
[Meanwhile .... Ruyant remains 200 miles behind the leader, Dalin, following like he is on a tow rope.]
The chasing pack have all dropped back as they have fallen behind the violent front that Dalin and Ruyant have successfully edged ahead of. It will be interesting to see how much the two of them can exploit this advantage.
Will it be a two horse race from now on or will the fates give the chasing pack a chance to catch up?
In terms of Burton, it will be interesting to see if he joins the chasing pack. If his autopilot is compromised, that will be his race over. Let's hope that is not the case.
Frogmogman
Well-Known Member
That sounds like a Venn diagram in the making......