Vendéeglobe: the Formula 1 of the sea

[Biloute]

It's a shame that the French media don't talk about it much. Last Sunday, 40 sailors set off to sail around the world, alone aboard 18-metre boats, reaching 40 knots and without assistance! 45 000 kilometers, Good Hope, Leeuwin and finally Cape Horn...
Every 4 years: a concentration of bravery and technology.
The race started in Vendée and will finish there, in Les Sables d'Olonne
A lot of French people but not only: currently, the Briton Sam Goodchild is in the lead
You can follow on:
https://www.vendeeglobe.org/cartographie
or:
https://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/tracker

[Blaze]

@Biloute All sailing events like that have a following in Saint-Malo ... as you can imagine. Louis Burton, Maxime Sorel and Benjamin Ferré all come from here. Our local news channel has been covering the preparations, interviews etc. of competitors.
I'm glad to see Clarisse Cremer competing - there were fears she might have been banned following accusations of cheating during the last Vedée globe. But she's been exonerated.
We have an interest in Maxime Sorel because we know some of the family !

[Blaze]

Sad news yesterday, Maxime Sorel has abandoned the race. He injured an ankle right at the beginning then suffered damage to the hook and track of his main sail. His injury precluded him from being able to do any sort of repair himself.
Four years of preparation up in smoke .....

[Biloute]

@Blaze Yes, it's true that it's sad for him: all this long work reduced to nothing! Fortunately he was able to be taken ashore to be treated: it could have been a tragedy off Cape Horn...
At the head of the race, the cards seem to be reshuffled frequently: almost every time you look at the website, there is a new leader!
Currently, it is the Maverick "Roi Jean" (Le Cam, 65 years old) who is in the lead. Not having foils, he chose a more easterly route, even with lighter winds, but in breeze on the back.
On the other hand, those who have foils would be slowed down by light winds. They preferred to tack more west to find stronger winds (at least 10-12 knots) and take advantage of the foils... While waiting to be able to literally "fly" if the wind exceeds 20 knots. This is apparently the strategy of the two English Sams (Goodchild and Davies)

[Blaze]

@Biloute Yes, it was fortunate that Maxime could put in to Madeira.
A lot is down to tactics and a bit of luck with the weather/winds. The Doldrums can really change the positions in a race ....
I wonder at the fragility of the foils : there is more and more debris floating on the sea which can cause huge damage to the boats.
But then these races are also testing grounds for new technology and materials - I remember when carbon fibre masts weren't considered very reliable but times have certainly changed !

[Biloute]

@Blaze You are right: debris can be a problem for foils and more generally for anything underwater. During the 2008/2009 Vendée Globe, while Le Cam was in third position 200 miles from Cape Horn, his boat capsized on January 6th off Cape Horn after losing its keel bulb.

[Blaze]

During the 2008/2009 Vendée Globe, while Le Cam was in third position 200 miles from Cape Horn, his boat capsized on January 6th off Cape Horn after losing its keel bulb.

Not the best place to have problems !
It's always heartening to hear that competitors have stopped/detoured to help a fellow competitor in trouble (it's natural). It can sometimes take time for any sort of rescue service, big ship etc to get to the site. With modern technology, competitors can have a fairly accurate localisation but weather and darkness can make things extremely difficult and hazardous.

I hope Le Cam does well - he must have seen a fair few changes in navigation technology in his time !!

Have you seen that Louis Burton could have problems : A loud "crac" revealed cracking in the deck but he's attempting repairs as iot could affect the structure of the boat.

[Biloute]

@Blaze Indeed, he noticed the presence of cracks on the deck of the boat, at the level of the gennaker spreader.
Bit of DIY + lick of paint? I'm not sure he can repair it with the means at hand! In such a place, there must be enormous mechanical constraints. I'm afraid he'll have to give up too but I wish him good luck.
As for Jean Le Cam, he has nothing more to prove. Because he doesn't have any foils, he seems to have opted for a quiet race to the east of the others: almost a cruise for the moment. No. 2, Sébastien Simon, caught up with him but he seems to be in almost headwinds!

[Blaze]

The spreader/gennaker boom can be under a huge strain by nature of the gennaker's size. If only it were just a question of some DIY and a lick of paint !!
Repairs can be very dependent on calm weather and waiting could be risky. I think I read somewhere that he's stopped any leaks .....
Yes, I think Jean Le Cam is doing the race for his own pleasure. You never know, he might surprise us all !

[Biloute]

If the boom attachment has created a crack in the hull of the boat, it could be difficult to repair! In addition, in bad weather, the crack could spread and the boat could fill with water. Having worked in high technology, I have learned a lesson: the weakness of a global system can be the weakness of just one of its small components. And, of course, I assume that there is no redundancy...
Jean Le Cam has been overtaken but he will soon have a fairly strong tailwind for a long time. On the other hand, looking at the wind map, the new leader, Sébastien Simon, seems to be caught in a merry-go-round of rotating winds and he will have to tack a lot!