Vendée Globe?
- Thread starter PaulK
- Start date
I love the name -"Yes we Cam!"
The leaders will have to thread the needle to stay in Westerlies as they head more South. Otherwise they've had excellent sailing conditions - winds in the high teens and mostly broad reaching. Boat speeds in the high teens and low twenties.
The leaders will have to thread the needle to stay in Westerlies as they head more South. Otherwise they've had excellent sailing conditions - winds in the high teens and mostly broad reaching. Boat speeds in the high teens and low twenties.
Today's position map proves the old adage "Nothing good happens at the back of the fleet!" The stragglers are experiencing light winds and some have gybed to try to get into better wind. But's going to be a long diversion while the front of the fleet just extends in fair winds. They may have to sail South almost to the exclusion zone to get into Westerlies. We'll see what happens with that low pressure system which looks like a Black Hole to me.
Sam is some 400 miles ahead of her husband. Ouch for him!
Sam is some 400 miles ahead of her husband. Ouch for him!
Alex Thomson Racing
Welcome to the official website of British sailing team, Alex Thomson Racing.
It's all on the VG website, though it may take some looking around since there is so much info available.
Part 2 of the repairs, cutting the pieces.
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Onboard Update: Repairs Under Way Part 2
Part 2 of Alex's repair update from last night onboard HUGO BOSS... Today, Alex has been continuing to push through the remainder of the repair work....
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I located and viewed the three vids re the bow damage and repair. Wow! That boat is f'ed up. Looks to me like the forces of the bow's touch down in waves are much greater than the engineers planned on. Needed to beef up those safety factors a good deal. I'll throw out the challenge: Does Hugo Boss make it to the finish? I say no.
I'd never seen Alex speak. He has an appealing personality and is determined beyond reason.
I saw some of the other vids but I couldn't understand a word of it. Who knew I should have taken French instead of Spanish?
Meanwhile on the race course the leaders are in light air and trying to figure out where to go. Looks to me that the best route South is still the ticket - that may mean sailing Southwest.
I'd never seen Alex speak. He has an appealing personality and is determined beyond reason.
I saw some of the other vids but I couldn't understand a word of it. Who knew I should have taken French instead of Spanish?
Meanwhile on the race course the leaders are in light air and trying to figure out where to go. Looks to me that the best route South is still the ticket - that may mean sailing Southwest.
I was pretty taken about by the extent of the damage too. Not just one crack but a whole bunch of them in the structure. He says the repair should be at least as strong if not stronger than it was originally. I sure hope it’s stronger - the original doesn’t seem to be strong enough. I hadn’t heard Alex speak before either, but watching his videos it’s hard not to root for him.
Thompson reports that he’s done with repairs and back up to speed. Looks like he lost about 650 miles dealing with the problem. Much of the fleet is still dealing with a high pressure system and not very high speeds.
It'd better be stronger. We're not sure when the breaks occurred but Alex's statement that something felt wrong means to me that he caught it early. So the conditions were moderate as I remember. Of course the failure could have been earlier. But, as I understand carbon yield strength is nearly the same as its breaking strength. So when it fails, it breaks.
Boats are heading SW wrapping around a weather system but Aptivia seems to be heading SE into lighter wind. The boats heading SW may hit the exclusion zone before the Westerly wind. We'll see.
Boats are heading SW wrapping around a weather system but Aptivia seems to be heading SE into lighter wind. The boats heading SW may hit the exclusion zone before the Westerly wind. We'll see.
Aptivia has turned West and is in moderate Westerlies (19+ kts.). The rest of the boats are still heading SW and in lighter wind. He has a chance to extend by a lot. Sam and Burton are about 50 miles apart and 500 miles behind the lead. Yes I Cam off on a flyer. We'll see if that pays. Hugo Boss in with the fleet of leaders but boat speed is off. Less than 10 Kts. in 17 kt. wind. Maybe he's not pushing the boat very hard. Linked Out still heading South. Time to go West?
Jean Le Cam seems to have figured out the wind/weather better than some of his competitors. He's certainly pleased to be doing as well as he is. He'll be slower in the Southern Ocean, but perhaps not as likely to break things. Should be interesting!
Today's positions show the fleet has tightened some contrary to my prediction that Apivia would extend. Looks like the boats in the back have better wind off that low in the Exclusion Zone. 3 meter waves at 18 kts? Wonder what that feels like? Probably a little splashy. No wonder Alex enclosed the cockpit of Hugo. He's still off speed.
He’s now dealing with damage to his starboard rudder, and has disconnected it - News - Rudder Damage On HUGO BOSS - Vendée Globe - En. If he can’t fix it that’s not great situation if he can’t use that side in the southern ocean.