serialsailor
Member
It certainly looks quick reaching, i'm eager to see how it compares in downwind VGM perfomance, which probably even more important in the Vendée.
I really hope the structure gets sorted too, i'd hate seeing him abandon.
THE IMOCA thread, single/double handed & TOR
- Thread starter Fiji Bitter
- Start date
I really hope the structure gets sorted too, i'd hate seeing him abandon.
I don't understand why people talk about the foiling imocas as if the PR shots highlighting high foiling heights are more representative than actual footage of foiling boats in the open ocean from since the last Vendee Globe. We pretending this is still 2016 because of how traumatizing everything happening in the world has been since?
Some boats will fail. They always do - but from 2016, the foilers didn't have a lower rate of finishing the VG & performed significantly better. Some boats will push the design envelope of the bow to as much volume as possible. Others have went another direction and reduced weight as much as possible & manage sail area/rig loads.
Who will win? Let's watch and find out - but I'm excited the French have figured out how to run an event without it becoming a clusterfuck in covid19 world.
Some boats will fail. They always do - but from 2016, the foilers didn't have a lower rate of finishing the VG & performed significantly better. Some boats will push the design envelope of the bow to as much volume as possible. Others have went another direction and reduced weight as much as possible & manage sail area/rig loads.
Who will win? Let's watch and find out - but I'm excited the French have figured out how to run an event without it becoming a clusterfuck in covid19 world.
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serialsailor
Member
We all know that the PR shots are the boats at their best angles in the best conditions and it is indeed a bit vain to extrapolate from that.. But it does give us a clue to the hull shape's behaviour in a given sea state. Even then you're right, all we're doing here is armchair sailing
Sailbydate
Super Anarchist
I have to say, this 2020 VG is looking pretty damned exciting from my particular armchair. November, 8th can't come fast enough, as far as I'm concerned. Bring it on! ;-)Even then you're right, all we're doing here is armchair sailing
And I'm not the only one, excited. From the mythical Front Page, Ronnie has another piece, reminding us not to overlook Hugo Boss:
https://sailinganarchy.com/2020/07/21/come-race-day/
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Sorry, but I disagree.
If the new Imoca rule does not address or rule out scow bows, then their march towards wider acceptance is almost inevitable.
The Class 40 has seen how much of a power generating ability it gives them, the mini 650's also, and are probably indicates where the production mass market will head, more than the Imoca's will. It rubs the aesthestist the wrong way, but you could say that about many things in life. The manufacturers are looking at the fat noses as being larger interior space, master cabins etc. Sell on Fast being Sexy etc...... Too much performance gain to ignore for those who don't mind a plain jane ride...... And ugly boats is a long and sordid history.
DickDastardly
Super Anarchist
There's context to consider here. Scow bows work fantastically for light and stable boats that tend to plane, the buoyancy of the bow really helps the boat lift. Not so great for heavier types and not so great upwind in any real seaway either. I expect this will limit trickle-down to the wider cruiser-racer fleet.
Flatwater but bow is consistently nicely out of the water. Steady. Calm. Not hobby horsing like trying to pivot on a three legged stool.
IMHO if imoca is going to push for automated controlled surfaces as some want, it’ll have to first do another cycle on actuated foil control before rudder elevators that certain interested parties keep wanting to push.
IMHO if imoca is going to push for automated controlled surfaces as some want, it’ll have to first do another cycle on actuated foil control before rudder elevators that certain interested parties keep wanting to push.
Raptorsailor
Anarchist
AT interview/article with Le Figaro
https://sport24.lefigaro.fr/voile/vendee-globe/actualites/alex-thomson-le-loup-solitaire-du-vendee-globe-court-aussi-apres-le-temps-1008563
-structural problem behind the mast that needs rectifying
-v2 foils are nearly identical
-Hoping to do 20 000nm training with 8000 solo before the start compared to 30 000 as was originally planned
-Has and will do a few training sessions with the pole finistere course au large.
Basically it's a literal race against time and not under the best conditions even compared to his opponents.
https://sport24.lefigaro.fr/voile/vendee-globe/actualites/alex-thomson-le-loup-solitaire-du-vendee-globe-court-aussi-apres-le-temps-1008563
-structural problem behind the mast that needs rectifying
-v2 foils are nearly identical
-Hoping to do 20 000nm training with 8000 solo before the start compared to 30 000 as was originally planned
-Has and will do a few training sessions with the pole finistere course au large.
Basically it's a literal race against time and not under the best conditions even compared to his opponents.
Yes, also posted that link in the VG2020 thread, but somehow there is a tense issue in the text :
Last sentence says "we have reinforced the hull from inside", but then it says "we will go in the yard for 4 weeks", also for the foils, so not sure if that reinforcement is already done or not.. (probably not yet)
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serialsailor
Member
11th hour reaching on port with their new foil.
terrafirma
Super Anarchist
My biggest concern for Alex is his ability to survive the increasingly uncomfortable nature of the latest gen boats. The younger skippers whilst not as experienced will tolerate the consistently fast conditions better IMO. Hope I'm wrong would love to see him win. No doubt his boat is fast but will he break something? I think yes...
Raptorsailor
Anarchist
Man's got a fully protected living room, the others have got a shed that isn't even closed off. If anything, that is his biggest advantage this time.
Raptorsailor
Anarchist
I think a new jib could also do some good. Or maybe a new set of sails. Save the trouble of ordering just one sail.
Kind of like who cares tho - they’ve taken an imoca out of the imoca and put it into a class of nothing by itself.
Yah - I don’t get the concern. He’s put together a boat that totally shows he’s the only one who foiled across the Southern Ocean and learned something re ergonomics. Meanwhile some other competitor designs have basically started with a traditional cockpit then went back to add layers - which is all good except they still need to make the transition from interior to cockpit.
AT can throw a beanbag in a corner and stare at the instruments and be up at the piano and winch in 5 seconds.
As for age? I think it is definitely a concern if he were older and just getting into imoca or trying to come back - but he’s lived in the boats, he knows what physical fitness he needs to handle the sails. Compared to some skippers making the transition from figaro, class 40 - many of whom have plenty of unknown unknowns re the experience, whereas I think AT has fairly few unknown unknowns at this point.
Thomson sent the Imoca class the details of his Whale Pinger, an acoustic repellent installed on its keel that sends sound impulses to keep cetaceans away (Boris Herrmann and Fabrice Amedeo's monohulls are also equipped) . "I have traveled hundreds of thousands of miles in my life and have never seen a container (now detectable via the Oscar system installed on its mast, editor's note). However, I saw a lot of whales. We probably ran into one in the Transat Jacques Vabre. If we can avoid damaging our playground while preserving our boats, there is no hesitation. The design of his boat, drawn by the architectural firm VPLP and inspired by aviation and motor racing with a fully covered and very advanced cockpit, is also a "no brainer". “I can lie down and sleep with my foot on the grinder. Everything is nearby in a perfect position, I am dry. I have never experienced such comfort on an Imoca, ”he swears. If performance also seems to be there with a boat "up to 20% faster than the previous one under certain conditions" - reliability is the key word. “We have to get back to sailing quickly. You can't identify the problems if you don't get out enough. A lot of skippers are faced with this ", notes Thomson, with the fear of seeing this winter" an unprecedented rate of abandonment among new boats. Now is the time to make the last good decisions and to be bold. The boat is performing really well. It feels like we’ve made some very good design decisions”.
Sailbydate
Super Anarchist
Hopefully, they'll help reduce strikes. But with the relative closing speeds of IMOCA60 and whale, luck will still be the dominant player, IMO.
