Vendee Globe and Alex Thomson / Hugo Boss

What happened to the AIS 'tags' ? They show speed, so why didn't the 'give way' vessel understand that there was a sailing vessel approaching at 20kts ?
 
He’s posted an update on YouTube

I can’t believe how calm and philosophical he is one hour after such a collision

he was asleep, none of his alarms (radar, Oscar or AIS) went off - he said he had been testing them all day every time he got close to a boat to confirm he could trust them

hit the fishing vessel, lost his bowsprit and one main shroud, got his rigging caught in fishing gantry. broke his foil, had his foresail in the water

looks like he’s lucky he didn’t lose his rig or hole the boat
 
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Bathdave said:
He’s posted an update on YouTube

I can’t believe how calm and philosophical he is one hour after such a collision

he was asleep, none of his alarms (radar, Oscar or AIS) went off - he said he had been testing them all day every time he got close to a boat to confirm he could trust them

hit the fishing vessel, lost his bowsprit and one main shroud, got his rigging caught in fishing gantry. broke his foil, had his foresail in the water

looks like he’s lucky he didn’t lose his rig or hole the boat
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That was a seriously impressive update, though he was (entirely understandably) starting to lose his composure by the end.
 
Congratulations to Yannick Bestaven, as Ravi says, he took a flyer rather than just following the race leader, and the tactic paid off. I suspect had Boris not suffered that collision, with the extra 4hrs 15 time allowance, Yannick would still have pipped him to the post.

My sincere commiserations to Boris Hermann. He’s sailed a blinder of a race, and the dignity he has displayed in the face of such a crushing disappointment is entirely admirable. What a great guy.

In the spirit of I-told-you-so, I’ll just take this opportunity to remind you all that I was punting Bestaven to win two weeks ago. From a post of mine on 14 Jan.

“For me, I still quite fancy Yannick Bestaven to win; also both foils intact and a 10h15 compensation. He's not had much luck with the weather over the last week, but as we all know, that can change just as quickly”.
 
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It is unbelievable that they sail all that way and the winner is decided in the last 6 hours of the race. It is nuts.

Personally I hope that Alex is able to persuade his wife to let him have another go, he is too young to retire look at JLC.
 
Kukri said:
No. I am saying that the risk of collision did not need to exist. Hermann chose to stand on when, given his better appreciation of the situation than the ship’s officer of the watch, who was probably not expecting to see a twenty knot sailing boat, he could easily have made a trifling alteration of course and eliminated the risk of collision entirely.

Once the ship did appreciate the situation (and it may be that the OOW called the Master to the wheelhouse, to be sure) the ship did alter course.

My point is that there was no need for it, but it made a few minutes of video clip “drama” for Hermann and his sponsors.
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I really do think you've got the wrong end of the stick on this one.

No alteration of course at 20 knots in an IMOCA is trifling. Even a couple of degrees could require a sail change or drop the boat off the foils. And he was to do this despite being a stand on boat?

Agree entirely that when he appears on Radar the OOD might think him a power boat, but when informed he was a sailing boat that a professional mariner apparently needed convincing to keep clear is not a good look.

There was clearly not ever a real risk of a collision, has the ship not moved Boris was there, awake and aware of the situation.
 
Seven Spades said:
If I was 5 hours from the finish I don’t think I could have gone to sleep I would have been t excited.
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More importantly, sailing at 20 knots in the dark in near coastal waters, with high likelihood of fishing boats, he should not have gone to sleep. Boris is very lucky that he did not kill maim a fisherman. Anybody on deck being hit by a bowsprit or foil at 20 knots stands little chance.
A fisherman was killed by a Volvo Ocean Race boat, but that was a long way away and didn’t get huge attention (and the fisherman apparently didn’t have any lights, and the Volvo was fully crewed with people on deck). Fisherman Killed in Volvo Race Collision

There have been too many incidents of solo racers hitting fishing boats. One time it will be fatal. Perhaps the maritime law will be changed so that all fishing boats - and all small yachts- need to broadcast on AIS?
Otherwise perhaps the races might have to instigate narrow corridors for solo racers to approach the coastline, to safeguard other seafarers.

But congratulations Yannic, kept his cool and brought it home on time and safely, brilliant job.
 
dunedin said:
More importantly, sailing at 20 knots in the dark in near coastal waters, with high likelihood of fishing boats, he should not have gone to sleep. Boris is very lucky that he did not kill maim a fisherman. Anybody on deck being hit by a bowsprit or foil at 20 knots stands little chance.
A fisherman was killed by a Volvo Ocean Race boat, but that was a long way away and didn’t get huge attention (and the fisherman apparently didn’t have any lights, and the Volvo was fully crewed with people on deck).
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This seems to have been quite a large vessel from Boris' web description
 
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