Volvo Ocean Race.... I just lost all respect

[Scott B]

Ok, I am willing to be corrected here, but, the all-female team SCA blew out their Code 0 in the last leg around Cape Horn and are not permitted to replace it for the next leg.

Meanwhile, Donfeng snapped a mast and had a new one flown in after they limped into Brazil after retiring from the leg. Team Vestas literally drive their boat onto a reef sustaining major damage to the hull etc. and are rebuilding the boat to rejoin the race.

What am I missing. You can replace masts, hulls, electronics, engines, but the girls can't replace a totally unsafe and blown out sail???? I call bogus on this one. :cussing::cussing::cussing:

 

[CloudDiver]

I know squat about Volvo Ocean Race rules (or any sail racing really, lol), but your argument is totally logical, I agree.

Ok, I am willing to be corrected here, but, the all-female team SCA blew out their Code 0 in the last leg around Cape Horn and are not permitted to replace it for the next leg.

Meanwhile, Donfeng snapped a mast and had a new one flown in after they limped into Brazil after retiring from the leg. Team Vestas literally drive their boat onto a reef sustaining major damage to the hull etc. and are rebuilding the boat to rejoin the race.

What am I missing. You can replace masts, hulls, electronics, engines, but the girls can't replace a totally unsafe and blown out sail???? I call bogus on this one. :cussing::cussing::cussing:

 

[woodster]

Ok, I am willing to be corrected here, but, the all-female team SCA blew out their Code 0 in the last leg around Cape Horn and are not permitted to replace it for the next leg.

Meanwhile, Donfeng snapped a mast and had a new one flown in after they limped into Brazil after retiring from the leg. Team Vestas literally drive their boat onto a reef sustaining major damage to the hull etc. and are rebuilding the boat to rejoin the race.

What am I missing. You can replace masts, hulls, electronics, engines, but the girls can't replace a totally unsafe and blown out sail???? I call bogus on this one. :cussing::cussing::cussing:

hmmmmmmmm makes one think there is a chauvinist pig in the pot somewhere...but then i don't know the rule governing that did they cite a rule as to why this is this way ...if i were the girls i would sail under protest and fly the flag until otherwise

 

[Brian S]

I believe the issue is that the teams are limited to a certain number of sails.

Here it is: "In 2014-15, each one-design Volvo Ocean 65 will race around the world with just 12 sails, a major reduction in the inventory from previous races and another significant cost saving introduced as part of the project."

"Just eight race sails are allowed on board, with no (non-repair) recuts and only four replacement sails."

http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/boat/10_The-sails.html

 

[woodster]

time to drop the protest flag...thanks for posting that brian s

 

[Scott B]

I believe the issue is that the teams are limited to a certain number of sails.

Here it is: "In 2014-15, each one-design Volvo Ocean 65 will race around the world with just 12 sails, a major reduction in the inventory from previous races and another significant cost saving introduced as part of the project."

"Just eight race sails are allowed on board, with no (non-repair) recuts and only four replacement sails."

http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/boat/10_The-sails.html

But how is it saving money for the team if they charter a Jumbo jet to fly in a new mast to Brazil, I'd say a tad more expensive than a Code 0

 

[Jackdaw]

Racers know how hard they can press sails. If you knew that could replace them, they would ALL go a lot harder on them. It part of the management of your race, and your gear. The SCA gals screwed up when they broke their code, and they know it. DFR was just sailing along when the rig snapped. (I have no defense for Vestas!)

It's not really fair, but its what they all signed up for.

Anyway the RRS state that, and racers know it would be protest-city the rest of the way. Team SCA asked about a new sail, but pretty sure it was a formality.

 

[jibes138]

The rules were created before the race, there was no foreknowledge of which team might blow out a sail. To think that the rule is somehow discriminatory towards women after the fact makes no sense at all. If it had been a team of men would you have posted this?

 

[woodster]

The rules were created before the race, there was no foreknowledge of which team might blow out a sail. To think that the rule is somehow discriminatory towards women after the fact makes no sense at all. If it had been a team of men would you have posted this?

the way the op reads.... it leads one to believe there could be bius ...but that has been cleared up and the protest withdrawn....and yes if it had been a team of men in the same sanario my post would have read there was bius of some sort ....but now that the rule has been cited and cleared up the question there would have been no such post ...male or female..

 

[RECESS]

Team SCA has not been doing great in the offshore legs. They have been pushing hard for podium spots and wins in the in port races while other teams are laying back and protecting sails. The teams are panelized pretty hard in points when they do not finish an offshore leg.

 

[kloudie1]

At the risk of sounding as if I am demeaning .. I think they should go ahead and let 'em have a new one. They aren't a threat to anyone's position at this point. I think they've been doing fine, but they aren't in the podium running. .. The guys who broke their mast were probably pushing too hard for conditions as well, but they are allowed a new mast.. Yeah, I know the rules.. but ...

 

[Jackdaw]

Team SCA has not been doing great in the offshore legs. They have been pushing hard for podium spots and wins in the in port races while other teams are laying back and protecting sails. The teams are panelized pretty hard in points when they do not finish an offshore leg.

The ladies on SCA are GREAT sailors. They results in the in-shore races proves that. But they are NOT great at pushing the boat hard off-shore. The guys are simply willing (or capable) to push just a bit harder, and it shows in the results. They freely admit this. Often in any off-shore race, being in last position at an important point (even by just a little bit) makes you 'miss the bus' when it come to hitting new wind and the distance grows huge and you never make that up unless the fleet compresses later.

There is an old saying/truism in sailboat racing. 'The rich get richer, the poor get poorer'.

The gals broke their sail. It was not wind, or pushing it too hard. They screwed up and auto-gibed, and it took them an hour to recover. The code got trashed in the process.

Like any race, a DNF scores starters+1.

 

[Scott B]

I've followed Sam Davies since the Vendee Globe few years ago for her determination and spirit handling the grueling conditions while the guys were whining. Dee Caffari has been around the globe solo several times and in the list of very few to go around the world the wrong way. It's not a matter of defending the weaker sex. They're more than capable then half of the crew on the other boats.

 

[Scott B]

The ladies on SCA are GREAT sailors. They results in the in-shore races proves that. But they are NOT great at pushing the boat hard off-shore. The guys are simply willing (or capable) to push just a bit harder, and it shows in the results. They freely admit this. Often in any off-shore race, being in last position at an important point (even by just a little bit) makes you 'miss the bus' when it come to hitting new wind and the distance grows huge and you never make that up unless the fleet compresses later.

There is an old saying/truism in sailboat racing. 'The rich get richer, the poor get poorer'.

The gals broke their sail. It was not wind, or pushing it too hard. They screwed up and auto-gibed, and it took them an hour to recover. The code got trashed in the process.

Like any race, a DNF scores starters+1.

They admitted they took too long to recover from the jibe, same as 2 (?) other boats, but others pushed on hard afterwards, while the girls regrouped then pushed on. Otherwise would have been closer to contention on the last leg.

 

[Jackdaw]

I've followed Sam Davies since the Vendee Globe few years ago for her determination and spirit handling the grueling conditions while the guys were whining. Dee Caffari has been around the globe solo several times and in the list of very few to go around the world the wrong way. It's not a matter of defending the weaker sex. They're more than capable then half of the crew on the other boats.

Interesting discussion. I dare say that the Vendee is a much different race than the VOR. It is MUCH more about sailing smart and safe, and taking care of your (notoriously fragile) boat. Even so, over 50% of the fleet ends up dropping out.

The VOR (with its crews and stop-overs, and more durable boats) is sailed much harder.

The ladies freely admit that they have to learn how to push the boat harder.

 

[MrBill_FLL]

modify VOR rules to allow replacement of a sail, spar or other major component with a time penalty? Replacement of ripped a storm sail should be allowed, for safety alone.

Super fast pit stop like repairs do favor the better funded teams. A time penalty would help balance that.

 

[dehler25]

I guess thats why its a race and not a foregone conclusion.

 

[dehler25]

After replacing the spar they are required to return to the point at which they ended the leg to legitimately resume.

 

[ggrizzard]

So the guys with the wrecked boat (that's now in a Europe drydock) have to have the boat transported back to the Indian ocean to rejoin while the rest of the fleet is in the Atlantic?