Vendee Globe 2024!

Sep 15, 2016
832
Catalina 22 Minnesota
Anyone else following the start of this round the world race this weekend? This and the Golden globe are my 2 favorite international round the world races to watch. even with all the technology and skill its always fascinating to see how many dont make it and what changes along the way to produce a winner.

The Jules Vern is another great race but only runs when a boat thinks they have a shot at the time record and those boats all have substantial crews.
 

jssailem

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Oct 22, 2014
22,218
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Andrew, started a thread back on 19 October.
The race is an exciting adventure demanding the best of the competitors.

Who is your favorite?
 
Sep 15, 2016
832
Catalina 22 Minnesota
I thought I remembered seeing that thread and could not find it. No worries.

My favorite is likely Boris Herrman as he is fun to watch but Sam Goodchild has a bit of an Alex Thomas tenacity I like as well.
 
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Jan 1, 2006
7,385
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
I took an unplanned visit to the ER today, thankfully not a big problem, but I had a lot of time to muck around on the Vende Globe website. Mostly I got ads and my French is improving. What I'm looking for is the tracker which I thing is the key to following the race.
I have been trying to build interest on this site.
 
Sep 15, 2016
832
Catalina 22 Minnesota
@shemandr here is the tracker


it sure would be nice if the us started paying attention to sailing again. Our skippers and crews in sail gp, americas cup, etc. Are simply not to the level of other nations. It’s sad to see the decline in interest over the years. Most of our “better” teams now have skippers from other nations just to be competitive.
other nations use great skippers to train their own crews and then let their crews succeed. A great example is Spain with Nathan Outrige. He was only on the team for a session and the following year the team was so strong they took the cup!

I would love to see an American boat in the Vendée Globe but alas perhaps our American sailors have lost the adventurous spirit for round the world racing / exploring.
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,385
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Thank you!
To your point regarding American sailing, the America’s Cup took place in September and I didn’t hear a peep about it. There was an announcement about the winner on the news but other than that - crickets.
I would say Americans aren’t interested in competitive sailing but more adult Americans sail competively than play baseball or football. I guess when Frito Lay figures out a way to make money on sailing we’ll see more about it.
 
Sep 15, 2016
832
Catalina 22 Minnesota
To your point regarding American sailing, the America’s Cup took place in September and I didn’t hear a peep about it. There was an announcement about the winner on the news but other than that - crickets.... I guess when Frito Lay figures out a way to make money on sailing we’ll see more about it.

Agreed.

I think the AC cup was not mentioned because our team had a really disappointing performance. I watched the races and if not for some technical issues on another boat we would have been the first boat eliminated. You would think a big bag of potato chips would fit nicely on that large square topped sail though. :biggrin: Im actually surprised Red bull is not a bigger sponsor of the foiling type boats of Sail GP and things. Seems like the "wings" would go well with their marketing.

Here's to hoping the Vendee Globe goes well for all the skippers. There have been a large number of adjustments made to the foiling Imoca's so it will be interesting to see how they stand up to the beating. Some of the boats like Pips boat have already been around the world 3-4 times under different teams and modified each time.

I wonder what happened to Alex Thomas's boat from the last Vendee Globe? I haven't heard anything about who bought it or if it's still sailing. Just the new upstart he is sponsoring.
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,385
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
I'm getting the Newsletter (In English - it's so much easier). They are pretty good at hitting the high points.
In the one I just got I leart that Ruyant's race may be ruint. He is leaking into the sail storage area. I don't think they said if it is on both tacks. But he's bailing for 30 minutes every couple.of hours. Not a good way to go around the world.
I like the flyer Nico Lunven took West of the peloton which looks to have paid off. He also set a speed record for one day.
Here is a link to the Newsletter:
 

PaulK

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Dec 1, 2009
1,313
Sabre 402 Southport, CT
Now about 30 days in and the leaders have Tasmania to port. 24 hour distance sailed solo record (as of today) at 574miles gives an average speed of 23.9 knots. They're moving right along!
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,385
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
They certainly are. The leaders are approaching 1/2 way. I think they've enjoyed good sailing weather in the South Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. There are the depressions to deal with, which they do by sailing North into lighter winds or by trying to squeeze between the low and the Iceberg exclusion zone. If they have 15 to 25 on the hip, they are foiling and making better than 20 knots. Or 600 miles in the best days. To put that in prospective that's like sailing from Florida to New England in 2 days!!! In some cases with 3 meter waves.
And some of the reports from onboard find the sailors pretty sanguine. I don't think they spend a lot of time on deck. A lot of the sail controls are in sheltered areas. They admit to spending hours on their computers running weather routing programs. And, of course there's ship maintenance In some cases that means having to pull over - something that's hard to do in the remote Southern Ocean. But there are places that I previously never heard of. And the sailors have to rest.
If forum members haven't tuned in yet, there is a lot of racing left with Cape Horn in the offing and still the area the race will be won or lost- i.e. the Atlantic doldrums. You will get used to the foreign names and even pick some favorites to root for.
 
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degas

.
Aug 14, 2023
15
Tanzer 29 Lake Ontario
It's been a great race so far with thankfully few DNFs so far.

Also good to see that 6 of the racers are women, about 1/3 of the boats. This was also the case in the previous race in 2020. Before that only 0-2 boats were women.
 
Sep 15, 2016
832
Catalina 22 Minnesota
Its been fun to watch and I must admit the robustness of these boats has come along way. Certainly Charlie Darin has put on a master class for tactics in the southern ocean. However I am still hoping for a non frenchman to win the race for the first time. Im really hoping Boris Herman can make up some ground but at 1200 mi or more behind 1st he has a long way to go. That being said keep your eyes on Sam Goodchild. He is a dark horse in this and may just surprise us as we reach the cape!
 
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PaulK

.
Dec 1, 2009
1,313
Sabre 402 Southport, CT
Rats! Pip Hare dismasted in the Indian Ocean. Hoping her jury rig gets her safely to port. 36 boats still racing. After 14,000 nautical miles only 30 miles separate the first and second place boats.
 
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Sep 15, 2016
832
Catalina 22 Minnesota
Rats! Pip Hare dismasted in the Indian Ocean. Hoping her jury rig gets her safely to port.
Yeah she seems to be in good spirits. Some Bright news though is that Boris has clawed his way back to 8th place this morning!

It is truly amazing how close these boats and skippers are over such a long di
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,385
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Interesting routing decision at hand:

First, the leaders Richomme and Dalin have done a horizon job on the rest of the fleet. Their closest competitor is 600 nm behind and after that's it's 1,600 nm. Meanwhile Richomme is leading Dalin by 6 nm. That's within visual contact! Actually considering that the horizon is about 30 miles you could say it's a 200 horizons job! They've had the benefit of close to ideal conditions while the following boats have been caught in unfavorable weather. It largely goes back to the Bay of Biscaye when Dalin out gybed the rest of the fleet to gain a lead that just extended. How often is that the case in sailboat racing. Get the lead and good things happen.

Now they've passed the Horn and it's going to be a challenge. They are heading East sailing downwind. But they are headed to light more of less Westerly winds. They need to tack/gybe to head North, probably inside the Falkland Islands to try to get into Southerly winds. First they will have to endure nearly headwinds in the high 20's. When and where they start heading North should be interesting and may determine the race (melodramatically). I think they will stick together like a "Stamp on a letter" - heeding the old adage - cover the competition.
 
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Sep 15, 2016
832
Catalina 22 Minnesota
@shemandr its been exciting. I still wonder what will happen to the leaders as they head north. if the Doldrums fire back up it could make for an interesting finish! Amazing how close the various groups are.