How about a The Ocean Race thread?

[Varan]

 

[terrafirma]

How did Holcim win from their position.? I was asleep. I had Biotherm in the best position to win.

 

[Varan]

Maybe because they are really good, and well experienced.

 

[dg_sailingfan]

Thanks @Varan for putting up the Overall Scores. TOR did not bother to put them up on their Social Channels after all Boats finished. 11th Hour Racing Team, who were considered the Pre Race Favourites are now a little bit under pressure.

HOLCIM-PRB & Kevin Escoffier can now sit back a little bit and see what the others are up to during the early Parts of Leg 3.

 

[shebeen]

Thanks @Varan for putting up the Overall Scores. TOR did not bother to put them up on their Social Channels after all Boats finished. 11th Hour Racing Team, who were considered the Pre Race Favourites are now a little bit under pressure.

HOLCIM-PRB & Kevin Escoffier can now sit back a little bit and see what the others are up to during the early Parts of Leg 3.

If either 11hrt or Biotherm win leg 3, only 2nd place will keep PRB on top of the leaderboard

 

[despacio avenue]

I wonder if Holcim=PRB will make any sale changes for this leg 3....I would think not; if they didn't take them for the doldrums in Leg 2, they would likely not do so for 3 but maybe 4 as they will be headed into the slowness of the Caribbean...

 

[dg_sailingfan]

If either 11hrt or Biotherm win leg 3, only 2nd place will keep PRB on top of the leaderboard

The Double Points Southern Ocean Leg 3 this year is differently structured compared to 2017/2018. It has a Scoring Gate at 143 Degrees East much like in the Editions of 2005/2006 and 2008/2009.
If HOLCIM-PRB wins that Gate or comes in 2nd they will maintain their Overall Lead no matter what happens in Itajai.

 

[dg_sailingfan]

I wonder if Holcim=PRB will make any sale changes for this leg 3....I would think not; if they didn't take them for the doldrums in Leg 2, they would likely not do so for 3 but maybe 4 as they will be headed into the slowness of the Caribbean...

Holcim-PRB purposefully did not take a kite or spinnaker with them in Leg 2 while all the other Teams I think had one which makes their win even more impressive then it already is. I for sure thought when I looked at the last 300-200 to the Finish and the light Wind/Weather Forecast not having a spinnaker or kite would be their downfall. It did not turn out to be that way.
Usually in light downwind conditions you need a bigger sail to get out of it.

 

[Trocola]

Holcim-PRB purposefully did not take a kite or spinnaker with them in Leg 2 while all the other Teams I think had one which makes their win even more impressive then it already is. I for sure thought when I looked at the last 300-200 to the Finish and the light Wind/Weather Forecast not having a spinnaker or kite would be their downfall. It did not turn out to be that way.
Usually in light downwind conditions you need a bigger sail to get out of it.

Not having spinnaker actually simplifies a lot manouevres, on top of that in marginal wind spinnaker are not helpful. So by not having it on board you remove the temptation of trying to use it and loosing time, speed and energy.

 

[Varan]

They look good to me...

 

[[email protected]]

How did Holcim win from their position.? I was asleep. I had Biotherm in the best position to win.

Is there any team you didn't wright-off?

 

[shebeen]

The Double Points Southern Ocean Leg 3 this year is differently structured compared to 2017/2018. It has a Scoring Gate at 143 Degrees East much like in the Editions of 2005/2006 and 2008/2009.
If HOLCIM-PRB wins that Gate or comes in 2nd they will maintain their Overall Lead no matter what happens in Itajai.

sort of correct,but a 2nd at the gate and 5th in Itajai puts them on 15points.
biotherm, 11th and malizia could all reach 15 points.


We might see a case where you should go south for wind but you head east to cross the gate sooner, which will be a weird decision for skipper/navigator

Holcim-PRB purposefully did not take a kite or spinnaker with them in Leg 2 while all the other Teams I think had one which makes their win even more impressive then it already is. I for sure thought when I looked at the last 300-200 to the Finish and the light Wind/Weather Forecast not having a spinnaker or kite would be their downfall. It did not turn out to be that way.
Usually in light downwind conditions you need a bigger sail to get out of it.

the 5 talking points with NMB brought that up, neither did Malizia. They have 11 sails in the inventory only, and are both holding back to use later in the race (could even be a new one to replace a flogged/damaged sail).

 

[Fabricensis]

biotherm, 11th and malizia could all reach 15 points.

If Holcim takes first at the gate Malizia can only get 14 points (5 now + 4 gate + 5 Itajai), while Holcim will have at least 16 (10 now + 5 gate + 1 Itajai) assuming no breakage

11HRT could also get to 16 points (7+4+5) but then its usually decided by more 1st places, which would be Holcim with 3 over 11HRTs 1

 

[despacio avenue]

Not having spinnaker actually simplifies a lot manouevres, on top of that in marginal wind spinnaker are not helpful. So by not having it on board you remove the temptation of trying to use it and loosing time, speed and energy.

From personal experience, being on the only boat in a race that had and would use a spinnaker was definitely an advantage in lighter wind, but, a lot can go wrong, as we saw in Leg 2 of this race. With the rules only allowing 11 total sails for the race, including replacements, it's definitely a risk.

 

[Varan]

Imocas, especially foiling ones, are very powered up boats. Managing that power is crucial. The Vendée is always about managing power (holding back), preventing damage and dealing with damage when it happens. Not many, if any, made it through the southern ocean unscathed in the last Vendée.

The Ocean Race includes crew, who collectively will push harder, while operating mostly under cover flying by wire. Records should fall, but without due diligence, rigs might fall too. Routine inspections of all rigging are necessary, and invariably, adversities must be promptly dealt with. (Who better to have on board than Mr. Fixit)

Experience will win the next leg.

That's my beer philosophy lesson for this evening. Peace out y'all.

 

[Varan]

"How hard to push, and when, will inevitably be an important element of race strategy. We will have to choose our moments wisely when to go all out.

Equally there will be times when we have to spend considerable periods of time sailing well below the ultimate potential of the boat, and as counterintuitive as that may seem if it avoids a breakdown it could be a race-winning move."

SiFi, Seahorse, March 2023.

 

[DtM]

The Ocean Race includes crew, who collectively will push harder, while operating mostly under cover flying by wire. Records should fall, but without due diligence, rigs might fall too. Routine inspections of all rigging are necessary, and invariably, adversities must be promptly dealt with. (Who better to have on board than Mr. Fixit)

Experience will win the next leg.

That is why I am surprised that Abby Ehler is not doing Leg 3, she is as much a Fixit as Kevin.

 

[despacio avenue]

I got the sense from her discussion of TOR on the Bar podcast that she was not crazy about the sheer suffering of the TOR in Imoca's; she relented to doing at least Leg 1 (and maybe some future legs) because of her respect for and admiration of Kevin, who called her personally in Oct. But she did say "no" to 2 and 3.

 

[Potter]

"How hard to push, and when, will inevitably be an important element of race strategy. We will have to choose our moments wisely when to go all out.

Equally there will be times when we have to spend considerable periods of time sailing well below the ultimate potential of the boat, and as counterintuitive as that may seem if it avoids a breakdown it could be a race-winning move."

SiFi, Seahorse, March 2023.

I mean, that is the very essence of any Ocean Race. You could push the 65s harder than the 70s without breakages, but even so, push too hard and you get breakages. No different with the 60s, just the numbers that are different.

 

[Liquid]

"How hard to push, and when, will inevitably be an important element of race strategy. We will have to choose our moments wisely when to go all out.

Equally there will be times when we have to spend considerable periods of time sailing well below the ultimate potential of the boat, and as counterintuitive as that may seem if it avoids a breakdown it could be a race-winning move."

SiFi, Seahorse, March 2023.

Same old, same old.

The crews of the Whitbread 60s said the exact same thing - 30 years ago!

Back when a rather dangerous thing called a 'spinnaker pole' was used!