3834 replies to this topic

[Carboninit]

They should re name this race banger racing or demolition derby. That is funny . The worlds best skippers ,Sorry I gotta go ,I cant stop laughing. So what happened . My alrm clock did not go off.

[bisam]

On VG site it now says that the fishing boat's AIS was apparently not on. It happened around 10AM, so it was light.

[Left Hook]

Yowch! Another favorite out early. That's not going to be an easy fix either. Maybe he could loan Guillermot his keel...

[oioi]

One comment re: boats & speed so far is that it seems like the light and stiff VPLP designs have shown their legs in the the running conditions they've seen since leaving the bay. Unsurprising.Of course this could be because they're being sailed by some of the fastest skippers in the bunch. Good on Alex for keeping up with the big boys and their new toys!! Just waiting for them to break so he can go steaming by.

i was having some similar thoughts about new boats and Alex being the first of the older generation (along with Le Cam on a sister Farr). But perhaps the most intriguing is Stamm? He seems to be doing okay, and there are other points of sail where he may really open up a bit.

[Jambalaya]

On VG site it now says that the fishing boat's AIS was apparently not on. It happened around 10AM, so it was light.

I believe transponders are not a requirement ? I would certainly observe at least 50% of the fishing boats I encounter in the English Channel and Southern Breton coast don't have AIS signals, I can't see how it would be any different off Spain or Portugal.

[popo]

AIS is mendatory offshore portugal (from VG's website)

[bisam]

The issue of AIS is not yet "confirmed" but as Denis Horeau states, the use of AIS is indeed mandatory in waters as busy as off the west coast of Portugal.

Edit: popo already posted this - apologies.

[Carboninit]

AIS or no AIS does not take away the fact that the fishing boat is a commercial vessel and you keep clear especially going down the portuguese coast and sailing in the shipping lanes. The other concern is pair trawlers. Steel is harder than composites . No brainer .Once the fleet get pass Gibraltar ,then they can have a snooze.

[Rail Meat]

And the bad luck streak continues. Really unfortunate for Kito, and his sponsor. The Group Bel employees really get into the race and the boat - I feel badly for them.

[Nigel Texas]

Because it is weights much less than steel and because it has greater material properties, higher yield strength, beter behavour in fatigue etc.....An exactly identical boat as Safran but with steel fin would have not the same center of gravity (CoG). Safran's would be CoG would be lower than the identical's with the steel fin.

True that titanium has nearly half the density of steel. But the effect on CoG is less with a canting keel than with a conventional one. Combine 50 degrees +/- of canting with 20 degrees +/- of heel, and the keel is nearly horizontal, not vertical.

Taking mass out of the keel fin and transferring it to denser metal in the bulb will make the keel more efficient for the same total weight. Otherwise taking mass out of the keel will raise the CoG of the boat, not lower it, while reducing the boat's overall weight.

[Rail Meat]

Because it is weights much less than steel and because it has greater material properties, higher yield strength, beter behavour in fatigue etc.....An exactly identical boat as Safran but with steel fin would have not the same center of gravity (CoG). Safran's would be CoG would be lower than the identical's with the steel fin.

True that titanium has nearly half the density of steel. But the effect on CoG is less with a canting keel than with a conventional one. Combine 50 degrees +/- of canting with 20 degrees +/- of heel, and the keel is nearly horizontal, not vertical.

Taking mass out of the keel fin and transferring it to denser metal in the bulb will make the keel more efficient for the same total weight. Otherwise taking mass out of the keel will raise the CoG of the boat, not lower it, while reducing the boat's overall weight.

You are either playing engineering semantics or perhaps missing the point. The goal is precisely to reduce the weight in the keel fin in order to put that weight into the bulb. Thereby lowering the CoG and allowing the flexibility to either use the same weight put into the bulb to increase the righting moment or choose to decrease the overall weight and keep the righting moment static.

There are a variety of alternatives to reduce the weight of the fin, including building a structural (e.g. hollow inside) fin, fabricating it out of carbon, or in this case fabricating it out of titanium.

[Estar]

Any inside word from Di Benedetto? Boat speed = 3.1kts? That seems like more than a routing error. We met him in SF after his pacific open cat record voyage - lovely guy with huge balls but I think way out of his depth racing with this vendee fleet.

I am rooting for JPD. When he was just starting out open 60 racing, and delivering his first open 60 from NZ back to France, he stopped in Fremantle, we were there and had him on board Hawk for an evening, as he had not done the south Atlantic before and was interested in hearing of our experiences there. He really impressed me - terrifically nice guy and interested and open minded and driven and willing to learn from anyone.

[Rail Meat]

Looks like Di Benedetto and Gutkowski are both caught in the same transition zone, right above the trades. Both are making very low boat speeds. De Broc is making better speeds, but is north and east of them and still in the southwesterlies.

[moody frog]

http://www.dailymoti...-accident_sport

Vid of boat damage via the race website.

[tomtom]

And the bad luck streak continues. Really unfortunate for Kito, and his sponsor. The Group Bel employees really get into the race and the boat - I feel badly for them.

Here is some videoon it, all in french, but basically he is saying "that's it", poor guy, really looks cut up. The damage does not look too bad superficially, but I wouldn't want to sail around the world with it. I really feel for him. I was at the start and have some video I made of him, his boat looked superb. If I have some time I'll upload it.
One great comment made on the french VG site: "We still don't know why the cow laughs, but we now know why she cries." Poets, those French.

[tomtom]

Race tow-out, ceremony, and the crowds. Oh, the crowds.

I was there too, it was fantastic, everyone cheering, laughing, clapping, hooting, and it was pissing down from time to time, didn't spoil the fun. First at the quay side watching the boats go out and then on a boat out at the start. What a fantastic sight (and pretty rolly, green puke bags were handed out faster on my tub than you could say "blaaaah" :-) ) My boat went alongside a few, including Saveol (oh yes, my favourite), BP, and my little girls favourite laughing cow, who is not so happy anymore. I shot some great video of it all which I'll upload if I have time. One thing is sure, I will not forget this experience very easily! What a trip.

[halfton]

On board of GROUPE BEL a simple radar alarm set on 5 NM could have saved Kito's race...
AIS is good, but please do not rely on it since half of the Portuguese fishing fleet is not equipped with it.

[aquila]

I hope someone can post the accident report for this when it comes out

[forss]

[BahamaBank]

On board of GROUPE BEL a simple radar alarm set on 5 NM could have saved Kito's race...
AIS is good, but please do not rely on it since half of the Portuguese fishing fleet is not equipped with it.

Would he have had the power budget on an IMOCA 60?

To be honest, I would not trust AIS compliance either.

Judging from the picture in this thread he is lucky to be afloat.

[moody frog]

Looks like what could be guessed from the vid, trawler caught the outrigger and teared-off the deck at the outrigger "bobstay" chain-plate carrying the inside chain-plate structure with it !!

[bruno]

grey foam, red nomex? joint at gunnel or inboard of stanchion bases? monolithic at joint?

[Carboninit]

Im just glad no one got hurt. What are the chances of hitting a fishing boat ,pretty slim . That is just bad luck.You can see in Kito's eyes how upsetting that has to be .Poor fella and for the team.

[Tri-Rock]

Any Pictures of Safran keel yet

[us7070]

must be a fun conversation with the sponsor after something like this...

[Speng]

Oh putain...
Does anyone really think that fishing boats are going to run AIS all the time? After all the first rule of fishing whether commercial or otherwise is to keep your fishing holes secret... I fairly sure most of these guys have radar on their boats if so I'm not sure how he misses a fishing boat... Those are extremely busy water what with all the fishermen and med traffic heading to Atlantic ports. Trick piece of gear would be low light/ IR camera at the mast head. C'est la vie ma poule.

[popo]

if so I'm not sure how he misses a fishing boat...

Kito was sleeping when the colision occured

[pogen]

Do French people really say 'oh putain' for everything, or is it just on that video?

[popo]

yes we quite do.
It's a kind of "oh my gosh" a little bit trashier.

Furthemore, he is from south of France where it has became like ponctuation.

But remember, we can say fuck, cunt or anything else we want at french television, so it's no big deal for us.

[the loose cannon]

That'll buff right out...

[LeoV]

Many older portugeese fishingboats are out of wood, radar does squat.

[Janarto]

I'm very sorry for Kito, but we should keep in mind that fishermen are not making that much money, specifically in Portugal, still one of the poorest country in western Europe.
It's a sad story to break a great racing boat, but there are more fundamental and painfull loss at sea.

I'm feeling bad for Kito as it's the second time he broke his boat early in the race, but I can't imagine that guys in the fishing boat where light headed or not paying attention at that time. I don't think we can blame them either.

[Calico Jack]

the fishing boat is going about its lawfull business, towing a net a 2-3 knots and restricted in its ability to manoeuvre or navigate.
the yacht is crossing the ocean at 12 - 15 knots during the day and the skipper is asleep and it is the fishing boat that 'hits; the yacht ?!?
The AIS requirement for ships at sea is for vessels over 300t and EU fishing boats over 15m have to comply by 2014.
Any modern radar competently tuned up will easily pick up a wooden fishing boat.

Feel very bad for Kito, unbelievably unlucky, it must have been a glancing blow at worst,

The boys in the Vendee front office might want to be a little careful how they report this given the fundamental challenges of singlehanders complying with the International Col regs....blaming the fishing boat may not be a great strategy.

[yl75]

Furthemore, he is from south of France where it has became like ponctuation.

Yes true , but I didn't hear him say it in the vid posted above, is it another one ?

Fuck, that must really be tough to live ...

[Nigel Texas]

Because it is weights much less than steel and because it has greater material properties, higher yield strength, beter behavour in fatigue etc.....An exactly identical boat as Safran but with steel fin would have not the same center of gravity (CoG). Safran's would be CoG would be lower than the identical's with the steel fin.

True that titanium has nearly half the density of steel. But the effect on CoG is less with a canting keel than with a conventional one. Combine 50 degrees +/- of canting with 20 degrees +/- of heel, and the keel is nearly horizontal, not vertical.

Taking mass out of the keel fin and transferring it to denser metal in the bulb will make the keel more efficient for the same total weight. Otherwise taking mass out of the keel will raise the CoG of the boat, not lower it, while reducing the boat's overall weight.

You are either playing engineering semantics or perhaps missing the point. The goal is precisely to reduce the weight in the keel fin in order to put that weight into the bulb. Thereby lowering the CoG and allowing the flexibility to either use the same weight put into the bulb to increase the righting moment or choose to decrease the overall weight and keep the righting moment static.

There are a variety of alternatives to reduce the weight of the fin, including building a structural (e.g. hollow inside) fin, fabricating it out of carbon, or in this case fabricating it out of titanium.

Probably a misunderstanding. I interpret the final sentence in the quote as addressing the vertical CoG of the boat while sailing with the keel canted. Perhaps it was intended to mean the vertical CoG of the boat standing upright with the keel vertical. No disagreement if that was the intent.

[DIMITRIS]

Because it is weights much less than steel and because it has greater material properties, higher yield strength, beter behavour in fatigue etc.....An exactly identical boat as Safran but with steel fin would have not the same center of gravity (CoG). Safran's would be CoG would be lower than the identical's with the steel fin.

True that titanium has nearly half the density of steel. But the effect on CoG is less with a canting keel than with a conventional one. Combine 50 degrees +/- of canting with 20 degrees +/- of heel, and the keel is nearly horizontal, not vertical.

Taking mass out of the keel fin and transferring it to denser metal in the bulb will make the keel more efficient for the same total weight. Otherwise taking mass out of the keel will raise the CoG of the boat, not lower it, while reducing the boat's overall weight.

You are either playing engineering semantics or perhaps missing the point. The goal is precisely to reduce the weight in the keel fin in order to put that weight into the bulb. Thereby lowering the CoG and allowing the flexibility to either use the same weight put into the bulb to increase the righting moment or choose to decrease the overall weight and keep the righting moment static.

There are a variety of alternatives to reduce the weight of the fin, including building a structural (e.g. hollow inside) fin, fabricating it out of carbon, or in this case fabricating it out of titanium.

Probably a misunderstanding. I interpret the final sentence in the quote as addressing the vertical CoG of the boat while sailing with the keel canted. Perhaps it was intended to mean the vertical CoG of the boat standing upright with the keel vertical. No disagreement if that was the intent.

No worries! I thought it would be obvious....(I am a Structural engineer/ Bridge engineer) in any case Rail meat made it absolutely clear for everyone. I like the boats and the concept of the race but I have not been into detail to their class rule, so I cannot comment any further guys! Today for me it was a second blow since I read that Kito's Bel is out of the race! I think Clean should never be allowed again to coment on who is his favourite to win the race or even worst to speculate on the possible carnage....

[Hastings]

Will Vincent prevail?

Does the VOR mantra apply here?

"West is best ....."

[bruno]

http://www.google.co...XO04quj7Mcm8dM:

[Haji]

Will Vincent prevail?

Does the VOR mantra apply here?

"West is best ....."

Looks to me like a good move. Gabart could wind up with some slow time in the transition tomorrow, and Vincent looks determined to get the new breeze first.

[needforspeed]

Of the 20 starters how many do we think will actually finish the race? Will half the fleet get there? When your own support boat holes you or you run into a fishing boat it does make you wonder? Apart from AIS what about radar alarms.? Last time around they dropped like flies this doesn't look like it will be any different..

[tekwa]

Will Vincent prevail?

Does the VOR mantra apply here?

"West is best ....."

Looks to me like a good move. Gabart could wind up with some slow time in the transition tomorrow, and Vincent looks determined to get the new breeze first.

Also the high pressure ridge should be wider further down south, so could hurt him for a bit longer

[forss]

Groupe Bel damage from inside

[Sebyseb]

Of the 20 starters how many do we think will actually finish the race? Will half the fleet get there? When your own support boat holes you or you run into a fishing boat it does make you wonder? Apart from AIS what about radar alarms.? Last time around they dropped like flies this doesn't look like it will be any different..

Average rate 50, and last edition was 30% finishers. Mind you it's single-handed, no stops and no assistance so not surprisinf on a 25,000 miles voyage

Not to flog a dead horse but 0% of the boats would have finished the last Volvo with only the "no assistance" rule.

[tomtom]

Of the 20 starters how many do we think will actually finish the race? Will half the fleet get there? When your own support boat holes you or you run into a fishing boat it does make you wonder? Apart from AIS what about radar alarms.? Last time around they dropped like flies this doesn't look like it will be any different..

Although I really like le Vache qui rit, I must say that this incident does puzzle me: These boats have radar that is sophisticated enough to detect and warn for (most) semi-submerged floating growlers and the power supply to operate these for extended periods when passing ice fields. The area of the Portuguese coast is littered with fishing vessels (not unlike a growler field ) that should be easily detectable by radar - why not use that capability?
I wouldn't mind finding out what other skippers do...

[Potter]

All the people asking about Radar alarms. I can only report from my own experience.

The 60s, especially the ones with a decent budget, have very good batteries. Dee ran her alarm 24 hours a day during both the Vendee Globe and the Barcelona Race with guard zones set up for both vessels and squalls.

Personally I am gutted, as I thought that Marc and Kito were likely podium places for this VG, but more to the point they ar eboth lovely people who have suffered very bad luck.

[MR.CLEAN]

They really are two of the nicest, smilingest guys you could want to meet. Kito has sailed something like 100k miles in four years meeting people all over the world that make cheese and helping them fall in love with his boat and campaign. Gutwrenching stuff.

[moody frog]

the fishing boat is going about its lawfull business, towing a net a 2-3 knots and restricted in its ability to manoeuvre or navigate.
the yacht is crossing the ocean at 12 - 15 knots during the day and the skipper is asleep and it is the fishing boat that 'hits; the yacht ?!?
The AIS requirement for ships at sea is for vessels over 300t and EU fishing boats over 15m have to comply by 2014.
Any modern radar competently tuned up will easily pick up a wooden fishing boat.

Feel very bad for Kito, unbelievably unlucky, it must have been a glancing blow at worst,

The boys in the Vendee front office might want to be a little careful how they report this given the fundamental challenges of singlehanders complying with the International Col regs....blaming the fishing boat may not be a great strategy.

You are fully correct about the AIS requirement for over 300 GT Calico.

- On one hand it is clear that a number of skippers (I would not put Kito in that group though, quite to the contrary) are not too careful about Colregs.
- Mich Desj is ! and he issued a very clear paper in his daily VG column in L'EQUIPE sports daily: http://www.lequipe.f...la-route/326486

- Now, one thing which should have been mentioned and checked is whether the trawler was "en-route" or in fishing action,in other words did the trawler carry 2 cones as per the rules (it was daylight). This totally changes their rights.
- I guess Kito's captain-report shall address this, but ... nobody has seen it yet except m.be the Cascais port authorities.
- Obviously VG HQ did not know the answer and should have refrained talking, besides the wrong info on AIS.

- Other thing, as Mich Desj points out, fishermen fitted with AIS have a strong tendency to cut it off when in fishing action ( fishing spots protection) or - from experience - switching it on, to cover from later analysis, and "preventing" emission.
- Careful watch in any fishing zone is as sensitive as it was before the advent of electronics.

- Finally, singlehanded sailors - as a fact - are forced to be off watch sometime, problems have to arise.

Kito, in his comments, was very clear-cut in putting all the charge on himself, excellent attitude.

[Icedtea]

Thompson just tweeted he's sick with Man Flu, that can't make it any easier to mix it in the leading pack.

Golding had a good night gaining two positions and he's got very good VMG pulling out on Alex as they reach West...this is getting ineteresting!

[oioi]

why isnt golding in more peoples list for a top 3 finish? Okay, he is not sailing a latest generation boat, but he is a fierce competitor, great experience and the boat was leading the last Vendee when the mast dropped. Given the potential drop out rate, I think its highly likely he will make it into the top three.

Im impressed with Stamm, the boat seems to have good pace againts the latest VPLP designs so far.

[Carboninit]

Golding has never delivered. Saying that thou, he has experience. I think it is to early to call. It will pan out when they hit the forties.

[Cyrille Hydrogene]

Interesting crossing point today! Who has chosen the good option. Gabart and Stamm still going south? (Did anyone tell them about Cammas on Groupama??) Or Riou and Le Cleac'h heading west looking for more pressure.

As Le Cam always says: when in doubt "Go West!"

[steinbrenner]

Golding has never delivered. Saying that thou, he has experience. I think it is to early to call. It will pan out when they hit the forties.

what you mean 'delivered'? first i understood 'made it to finish line' but then remembered he made it to podium, 8 years ago i think

[popo]

the brit who never delivers is Thompson, not Golding !

[Carboninit]

the brit who never delivers is Thompson, not Golding !

Whatever. get Mc Arthur back ,at least she came second. The brits are always playing catchup and are behind the French. The French are at the top of there game and are hard to beat . Im going for Macif , have the boat , budget and a young skipper .

[forss]

the brit who never delivers is Thompson, not Golding !

Thompson was 5th in the last vendee.

[Terrorvision]

the brit who never delivers is Thompson, not Golding !

Thompson was 5th in the last vendee.

Brian, not Alex.

Popo put the cat amongst the pigeons with erroneous spelling of Alex Thomson, easily confused with Brian Thompson.

[Haji]

Will Vincent prevail?

Does the VOR mantra apply here?

"West is best ....."

Looks to me like a good move. Gabart could wind up with some slow time in the transition tomorrow, and Vincent looks determined to get the new breeze first.

Ooof! Not looking so hot now, may have to start paddling to get to that breeze... Meanwhile Gabart and Stamm continue to slide south nicely.

[Carboninit]

Are the Canaries a mark of the course? Any one know the positions of the gates down south are?

[Potter]

Marks of the course are: Cape of Good Hope (port), Cap Leeuwin (port), Cape Horn (port). You are allowed inside La Maire straits if the weather works for you

Last time they added an island in the South to Starboard, but that was as an ice gate. I don't think they have added an ice gate position yet, they normally do that as the first boat starts its turn East in the South Atlantic.

Mike's latest blog says that the routing is sending them West, but he is not so sure, and is still moving south but staying to the West of Jean Le Cam.

[moody frog]

Marks of the course are: Cape of Good Hope (port), Cap Leeuwin (port), Cape Horn (port). You are allowed inside La Maire straits if the weather works for you

Last time they added an island in the South to Starboard, but that was as an ice gate. I don't think they have added an ice gate position yet, they normally do that as the first boat starts its turn East in the South Atlantic.

Mike's latest blog says that the routing is sending them West, but he is not so sure, and is still moving south but staying to the West of Jean Le Cam.

AFAIK they have Gough Island (Tristan da Cunha archipelago) as a mark to be left to starboard. To be double-checked.

[halfton]

AFAIK they have Gough Island (Tristan da Cunha archipelago) as a mark to be left to starboard. To be double-checked.

No they don't. Only mrks of the course are Cape of Good Hope, Cap Leeuwin & Cape Horn (all to port).
Ice gates to be considered as they develop.

[Trickypig]

Will Vincent prevail?

Does the VOR mantra apply here?

"West is best ....."

Looks to me like a good move. Gabart could wind up with some slow time in the transition tomorrow, and Vincent looks determined to get the new breeze first.

Ooof! Not looking so hot now, may have to start paddling to get to that breeze... Meanwhile Gabart and Stamm continue to slide south nicely.

He may have gone west a little early as he was headed straight for the center of that small high.

But you can't dismiss his experience and it may be down to to who reaches the wind first.

[Guillame]

AFAIK they have Gough Island (Tristan da Cunha archipelago) as a mark to be left to starboard. To be double-checked.

No they don't. Only mrks of the course are Cape of Good Hope, Cap Leeuwin & Cape Horn (all to port).
Ice gates to be considered as they develop.

AAMOF (I like acronyms too !), yes they do !
A quick look at the amendment n°5 of the Notice of Race will also tell us where the ice gates are (at the moment, 'cause I guess they can be moved under some conditions explained somewhere in the notice of race)...

[moody frog]

AFAIK they have Gough Island (Tristan da Cunha archipelago) as a mark to be left to starboard. To be double-checked.

No they don't. Only mrks of the course are Cape of Good Hope, Cap Leeuwin & Cape Horn (all to port).
Ice gates to be considered as they develop.

Double checked since and yes it is ! see amendment N°5 http://www.vendeeglo.../00/49/4969.pdf
and it shows on the map : http://www.vendeeglo...rcours_2012.jpg just west of the "good-hope" gate

Heard Island (2500 miles SW of Perth) is now a mark too, to be left on starboard !

[improv]

Is it just me, or is it a joke that his phenomenal race could not get its shit together for coverage of the start. The app was frozen (still is for many functions), the website coverage was frozen and the French TV channel web broadcast was too. its 2012 mes amis - if you want to expose your sponsors to the world, you need to let us see the race.

[MR.CLEAN]

For some reason they promoted their DailyMotion feed even though they had a Youtube feed. I'm guessing politics; the founder of Dailymotion is probably tied to the organizers or one of their big sponsors.

DailyMotion is ranked around 100 by Alexa; a very well-traveled website, for people from a few smallish countries. Youtube is the 3rd or 4th, with orders of magnitude more views and worldwide exposure. Essentially, you throw potential viewers away before you even get them by using something like DM, which shit the bed on a few occasions apparently.

I still can't find that HD or even SD version of the english language start...it's 380p which is like an atari 5200 or something.

[Maxion]

Is it just me, or is it a joke that his phenomenal race could not get its shit together for coverage of the start. The app was frozen (still is for many functions), the website coverage was frozen and the French TV channel web broadcast was too. its 2012 mes amis - if you want to expose your sponsors to the world, you need to let us see the race.

I see the almost total lack of english coverage on the official site more of a problem...

[MR.CLEAN]

And...speaking of Youtube...I just got an email from the subs who deal with the video for the VG. Ask and ye shall receive! (4 days late)...
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=fYPJCc2GA8A

[ET1]

Well, I don´t think that the english coverage on the VG-site is too bad. look here
http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/

[ET1]

And...speaking of Youtube...I just got an email from the subs who deal with the video for the VG. Ask and ye shall receive! (4 days late)...

Can´t see nothing. For me it´s black and says it´s private. Is it because I got no youtube.account?

[Potter]

Considering that there are only two teams that use English as their first language I would say that the English coverage is brilliant.

How much French coverage do you see on an AC website?

[Guillame]

Is it just me, or is it a joke that his phenomenal race could not get its shit together for coverage of the start. The app was frozen (still is for many functions), the website coverage was frozen and the French TV channel web broadcast was too. its 2012 mes amis - if you want to expose your sponsors to the world, you need to let us see the race.

I see the almost total lack of english coverage on the official site more of a problem...

About english coverage, up to now and for today (and AAMOF!), there is 25 articles/newswires/quotations on the french part and 10 on the english one...

I have to say I haven't had any problem with DM livestream coverage of the start...

What I do not like since the start is the tracker. It really s*cks...
I'm just telling this since Loïck Peyron does it too :
"#VG2012 sorry, but your tracker is not up to the event." (Hope I translate correctly).

[Potter]

It looks like PRB has got to the new wind, just as Macif are starting to enter the light zone, it will be interesting to see which group come out ahead in 36 hours time.

[Rail Meat]

Considering that there are only two teams that use English as their first language I would say that the English coverage is brilliant.

How much French coverage do you see on an AC website?

Look closely at the pictures of the media event and for the slides that are showing behind the podium are in both French and English. For a French organized race in a French city and with mostly French participants.... I think they have done a fantastic job of catering to English speaking fans. It would be the equivalent of the Americans doing the press conference for the World Series in baseball in both English and French. Or maybe english and spanish would be the more appropriate comparison.

[Rail Meat]

Gutowski and De Broc might get some benefit from being behind the pack and going west right after Cap Finestre. They may end up avoiding any other interaction with the center of the high. More likely they have to deal with getting pasted with the winds in the low, but if they can capitalize on that then they may claw back a few miles.

[mr_ryano]

Great email from alex Thompson off HB

It is always a shock to go from Les Sables d’Olonne right into the Vendée Globe the first 24 hours are very hard, pretty stressful and you don’t get much sleep. But I feel like I am good shape. I did no think about it much but when you see what happened to Kito it is very, very hard on Kito and of course I was in a similar situation. And actually I was alongside Safran and looking directly at the boat when the keel fell off. And I have to say for Marco if he had not have eased the sheets so quickly the boat would have gone over. I was only about half a mile away. And I was looking directly when I saw the boat heel violently and thought there was a big gust coming. And when it stayed over I thought oh shit maybe his keel hydraulics have gone, you don’t really think of the possibility of the keel falling off.
The agenda today is to try and get through the high pressure. It is very light now we have not had more than four or five knots and just trying to keep the boat as far west as possible and hopefully get a couple of jobs done as possible. I managed to blow a lid off the ballast tank, the lid broke and so I took the remains of one that is left and stuck a new one on it. It must have filled too fast and blown the lid off, it is just a little plastic inspection hatch so it took me about half an hour.
I feel OK. Once the new boats do get going it is very difficult to keep pace with them. I think it will be interesting to see what happens in this situation. The routing has been showing that we should go west and cross the ridge and then go into the low pressure, cross the centre through the front and then head south. I have run routes for all the boats that are to the north of me, and it kind of looks like it is all going to come out fairly equal or similar. The only difference is that the boats that are trying to cross the ridge now, that is PRB, Banque Populaire, myself and Maitre Coq are going to end up further west than the boats which are south. I considered the southerly route and Macif are doing it, it looks a bit more risky, the ridge can be a little more wider. But if I was Vincent on PRB I’d be fairly happy where I am now.”

[Left Hook]

I still can't find that HD or even SD version of the english language start...it's 380p which is like an atari 5200 or something.

English language start video here:

[tekwa]

Golding has never delivered. Saying that thou, he has experience. I think it is to early to call. It will pan out when they hit the forties.

what you mean 'delivered'? first i understood 'made it to finish line' but then remembered he made it to podium, 8 years ago i think

I may be wrong, but wasnt he comming first in that edition - droping keel with only few hundred miles to go and finished second with no keel?

[Trickypig]

It looks like PRB has got to the new wind, just as Macif are starting to enter the light zone, it will be interesting to see which group come out ahead in 36 hours time.

PRB was about 20 miles behind when he split with the leaders so, yes even in the next 24 hours I think. Riou is just nosing into the new pressure now and the high seems to be slipping south and broadening; Macif will be in it shortly.

[MR.CLEAN]

And...speaking of Youtube...I just got an email from the subs who deal with the video for the VG. Ask and ye shall receive! (4 days late)...

Can´t see nothing. For me it´s black and says it´s private. Is it because I got no youtube.account?

Should be fixed for everyone now.

I must say, this group at the VG is extremely responsive and was maybe the most helpful of any group to Sailing Anarchy of any I have ever had the pleasure to work with. It seems nearly everyone who runs IMOCA and half the people who run the race itself are big fans of the site.

So thanks Vendee Globe!

Still have a pretty long one with Chris from Doyle about Alex's sails, with Philippe from the game about the game - very cool info BTW, Bruce about eco-friendly boats and the stuff he's been doing with lithium batteries and solar, and one with Goff from Whitecap about how to get into an Open boat, what a boat captain's life is like, and more.

But it'll have to wait - they just called my gate and I am headed Dubai-Amsterdam!

[popo]

Golding has never delivered. Saying that thou, he has experience. I think it is to early to call. It will pan out when they hit the forties.

what you mean 'delivered'? first i understood 'made it to finish line' but then remembered he made it to podium, 8 years ago i think

I may be wrong, but wasnt he comming first in that edition - droping keel with only few hundred miles to go and finished second with no keel?

No fuck no ! never a brit was closed to win.
The closest was McArthur in 2000-2001 she came really close to Desjoyeaux after crossing back the equator, but just because she tried to shorten the route, gone into light wind and ended a full day behind

Golding finished third in 2004-2005, but he was allready behind Riou and Le Cam when he lost his keel (if I remember well)

[Calico Jack]

Thanks MF for the post and the mich desj link, it is easy to see why he his the best!!
I have a foot in both camps as fishing funds my first love of sailing and shorthanded in particular.

There always errors on both vessels when there is a collision and after the event there is only sympathy for Kito, no matter the how, he was very unlucky, you would have more chance of winning lotto than leaving the dock and then 60 hours later clip a fishing boat, be hard to do even if you tried!!

My interest is to learn for my own planning and I wonder how much energy these boats can commit to the power required to fund the various collision avoidance systems.

Is all the energy from the hydro gen and the other eco stuff or do they need to supplement with the fossil fuel which must be in limited supply?

What is the energy they use to cant the keels?

How many amphrs can they produce each 24 hours?

[ET1]

Thanks MF for the post and the mich desj link, it is easy to see why he his the best!!
I have a foot in both camps as fishing funds my first love of sailing and shorthanded in particular.

There always errors on both vessels when there is a collision and after the event there is only sympathy for Kito, no matter the how, he was very unlucky, you would have more chance of winning lotto than leaving the dock and then 60 hours later clip a fishing boat, be hard to do even if you tried!!

My interest is to learn for my own planning and I wonder how much energy these boats can commit to the power required to fund the various collision avoidance systems.

Is all the energy from the hydro gen and the other eco stuff or do they need to supplement with the fossil fuel which must be in limited supply?

What is the energy they use to cant the keels?

How many amphrs can they produce each 24 hours?

Man that´s all explained a few pages before in Clean´s videos. Just try to find out
By the way : What has to be said has to be said
So, fuck off newbie

[Calico Jack]

Haha fair enough!!

[KiwiJoker]

Considering that there are only two teams that use English as their first language I would say that the English coverage is brilliant.

How much French coverage do you see on an AC website?

Gotta agree with you there. VG site is doing a great job. Much of what I want is visual stuff anyway -- tracker, weather reports, still photos. If there's a boat report in French I can always use Google translate. And it's beyond unrealistic to expect French skippers to do utube segments in English, or for their teams to subtitle in English.

[yl75]

What I do not like since the start is the tracker. It really s*cks...
I'm just telling this since Loïck Peyron does it too :
"#VG2012 sorry, but your tracker is not up to the event." (Hope I translate correctly).

About the tracker, it isn't the "geovoile" one anymore ? (the one used on most previous races and Volvo as well) :
http://www.geovoile.com/
Or is it still a version of it ?

Anybody knows ?

At least there isn't the spherical projection this time.

And if not geovoile wonder why.

(but the good side of it is that it isn't limited in window size)

[Trickypig]

Considering that there are only two teams that use English as their first language I would say that the English coverage is brilliant.

How much French coverage do you see on an AC website?

Gotta agree with you there. VG site is doing a great job. Much of what I want is visual stuff anyway -- tracker, weather reports, still photos. If there's a boat report in French I can always use Google translate. And it's beyond unrealistic to expect French skippers to do utube segments in English, or for their teams to subtitle in English.

One of the videos has subtitles. Surely it's not that hard to put them in. (Google translate doesn't help for video's.) Their audience would expand tremendously.

The Tracker hasn't updated for 8 hours now. It's at a crucial point for Vincent Riou's ballsy choice to head west early and we can't see what's happening.

Otherwise a great site ... Vive la France!

[onimod]

Considering that there are only two teams that use English as their first language I would say that the English coverage is brilliant.

How much French coverage do you see on an AC website?

Gotta agree with you there. VG site is doing a great job. Much of what I want is visual stuff anyway -- tracker, weather reports, still photos. If there's a boat report in French I can always use Google translate. And it's beyond unrealistic to expect French skippers to do utube segments in English, or for their teams to subtitle in English.

One of the videos has subtitles. Surely it's not that hard to put them in. (Google translate doesn't help for video's.) Their audience would expand tremendously.

The Tracker hasn't updated for 8 hours now. It's at a crucial point for Vincent Riou's ballsy choice to head west early and we can't see what's happening.

Otherwise a great site ... Vive la France!

Actually it's been only 6hrs and only 2 to go.

Rankings updated at 5AM - 9AM - 12noon - 4PM and 8PM (French Time)
Riou requires 16hrs of bettering Francois by 10nds - looks doubtful.
The +12 weather looks good for most of the fleet and those who headed west really haven't gained a lot of westerly leverage.
In 2hrs we'll know more (and have a lot more questions too).

[Calico Jack]

so there are no updates between 8 pm and 5 am french time?...not great for those of us on the otherside of the planet!
we know this is a french event and without them there would be no event (and we know not to piss them off) but if they want more sponsor money they might want to broaden their view.
Without SA this event would be very hard for the rest of us dummies to follow....some of their multi record round the world sites (not VG) were impossible to follow without google translate and in the end I gave up

[onimod]

Actually it's been only 6hrs and only 3 to go (although it's just over 2 now).

[Trickypig]

Considering that there are only two teams that use English as their first language I would say that the English coverage is brilliant.

How much French coverage do you see on an AC website?

Gotta agree with you there. VG site is doing a great job. Much of what I want is visual stuff anyway -- tracker, weather reports, still photos. If there's a boat report in French I can always use Google translate. And it's beyond unrealistic to expect French skippers to do utube segments in English, or for their teams to subtitle in English.

One of the videos has subtitles. Surely it's not that hard to put them in. (Google translate doesn't help for video's.) Their audience would expand tremendously.

The Tracker hasn't updated for 8 hours now. It's at a crucial point for Vincent Riou's ballsy choice to head west early and we can't see what's happening.

Otherwise a great site ... Vive la France!

Actually it's been only 6hrs and only 2 to go.

Rankings updated at 5AM - 9AM - 12noon - 4PM and 8PM (French Time)
Riou requires 16hrs of bettering Francois by 10nds - looks doubtful.
The +12 weather looks good for most of the fleet and those who headed west really haven't gained a lot of westerly leverage.
In 2hrs we'll know more (and have a lot more questions too).

Thanks for that ... I hadn't read that anywhere. Good for Aussies; you're asleep. It'll become annoying for you as as they approach Cape Leeuwin, though.

To get back to all things being equal from his decision point, its 14 hours @ 10 knots, but I agree it looks doubtful.

[onimod]

http://www.vendeeglo...en/ranking.html
Download the excel spreadsheet for more detail; there are 1hr, since last report and 24hr figures for SOG + VMG.

[czo79]

so there are no updates between 8 pm and 5 am french time?...not great for those of us on the otherside of the planet!
we know this is a french event and without them there would be no event (and we know not to piss them off) but if they want more sponsor money they might want to broaden their view.
Without SA this event would be very hard for the rest of us dummies to follow....some of their multi record round the world sites (not VG) were impossible to follow without google translate and in the end I gave up

I think that's pretty unrealistic Calico. Sad to say, but the audience for solo sailing outside France is tiny. I bet the global internet audience is a small fraction of the number of people who actually show up to the start in France. Seriously, hundreds of thousands come out for the start, but the best english language coverage of the Vendee ever, Sailing Anarchy's youtube vids this year, are lucky to get a couple hundred views a piece. It's amazing that any non-french companies would sponsor a boat, and many or most of these french companies don't have a presence in major english speaking countries, and there is basically no audience there anyways. Hell, I'm suprised SA can find sponsorship for it's coverage. I wish this wasn't the situation, but having followed this race the last couple times around, and other solo races out of france, we are lucky to have the coverage we do.

-czo

[onimod]

While in the last 9hrs Riou was twice as fast as Gabart and 5.1kts vs 1.6kts VMG the last hour stats are concerning for him: 2.1kts (Riou) vs 3.9kts (Gabart) VMG and 13.2kts (Riou) vs 11.1kts (Gabart) SOG.
It seems Gabart has sneaked across.
Le Cléac'h seems to have hedged nicely getting almost as far west as Riou but 60nm further south.

[Calico Jack]

I don't know czo79 the numbers don't add up to a local event to me....$3m budget per vessel = $60m... according to michdesj the return to sponsors last time was ten fold, so say that was for the top end of the flee,t so if we halve that it is still somewhere around $300m...that aint small potatoes if you add back in the cost of the campaigns we up to $360m without the activities generated within the local community and the VG corporate so you could say this event is generating 400M of economic activiity.

I regularly campaign my boat in the offshore stuff down this neck of the woods, we meet our own costs, the entry fee is modest and the local yacht club provides the infrasrtucture, it is only a small race of around 1000nm but we all carry transponders and the website auto updates our positions every 15 mins, I don't know the full cost of this but it is very small, if we keep the transponders for the delivery or cruise home the transponder provider charges about $100 per month.

I too love this race and have followed them all, I would just like to see it more accessible to the rest of the planet

[Sharpend]

Trying to work out what has happened to Louis Burton on Bureau Vallee.

Boat speed is 0, position is given as NL - My french is not up to guessing acronyms.

Edit: He has been hit by a fishing trawler as well. Must be a very crowded bit of water 300 Nm off Portugal

[onimod]

Trying to work out what has happened to Louis Burton on Bureau Vallee.

Boat speed is 0, position is given as NL - My french is not up to guessing acronyms.

He is listed in the classification data as "Non localisé - Not localised"
I guess he's not transmitting, suggesting electrical problems?
Edit: Trawler accident #2:
http://www.vendeeglo...shing-boat.html

[nicor]

Trying to work out what has happened to Louis Burton on Bureau Vallee.

just been hit by a fishing boat

Google translate (http://www.vendeeglo...u-de-peche.html)
The race director has received that night at 3:10 local time, the call of the ship Bureau Valley. Louis Burton reported to have hit on the port side of a trawler about 400 Nm west of Lisbon position 38 ° 22N, 18 ° 10W. He was asleep in the cockpit and radar and AIS were lit.

[MR.CLEAN]

WTF?

this shit is ridiculous!

[MR.CLEAN]

the best english language coverage of the Vendee ever, Sailing Anarchy's youtube vids this year, are lucky to get a couple hundred views a piece.

Think again.


English language Daily Motion live feed had just under 75,000 unique views, haven't checked the YT live stats.

French language live feed just over 300,000. 25% is a damned good ratio frankly - much of it thanks to SA embedding it on the front page and pushing it hard to our Facebook fans.

The first Youtube archive vids (the SD ones) are at 18,000 or so already. The numbers are all available online to smash your prediction to little bits. Plus my inbox has blown up with emails and FB messages from all over the globe thanking me for the english commentary.