The Ocean Race 2023 leg 3: Capetown to Itajaí, Brazil

[staysail]

Bucket surfing from the Southern Ocean!

 

[dg_sailingfan]

I wonder if 11th Hour suffers the same fate Mapfre did last time by arriving 5 or 6 Days after Malizia & Holcim in Itajai.

 

[Qtrfoil]

Ocean racing isn't flat water sailing like the AC is.

The IMOCAs will most probably fly once T rudders are allowed (and it could very well be for the next iteration).
But this probably won't prevent even more violent crashes in big seas, even if "smoother" on average ...

Flat water, with legs in the dozens of minutes, and with 4 or 5 50-knot chase boats within 200 yards. I won't be disappointed if the IMOCA class leaves a lot of AC technology behind. I'd think the ability to maintain and power continuously moving foils over 12,000 miles would be quite a trick, and probably catastrophic if things go bad.

 

[TheDragon]

Bucket surfing from the Southern Ocean!

That is a very telling video, such a contrast to TM in these conditions. Makes the ability of Holcim to hang onto TM more impressive, and a little annoying for us TM fans. Looks like the leaders will get around at night, which is a shame, hoping the wind hole is not a problem for TM

 

[dg_sailingfan]

Team Malizia is NOW pointing their bow straight at Cape Horn without basically doing a gybe per Marine Traffic.

 

[Fiji Bitter]

JFC, what is that hitch on the winch, in the last seconds of the video.
Have they not learned anything?

 

[timotheysski]

Plenty said foiling monos would not work for the AC too. The IMOCA foils are bandaids on an old design.

Crew protection is great to see over the old volvo style boats, how ever crews are now being bashed about excessively. The righting moment provides the speed, the speed provides g's that are a threat to health and safety. To go faster they need to get the boat flying.

Pardon the thread drift.
I personally didn't doubt they'd make the AC75 work; I just had to look at the T-foil catamarans running around already, it works, but that's unrelated.

There acually was an offshore boat with AC foils. Mini 969 "Chaffoil":

It has to be mentioned the boat would've never worked without T-foil rudders as well, which the IMOCAs don't have.
The boat was fabulous in flat waters (the IMOCAs already are) and maginally better upwind (like big foil IMOCAs), but in waves, it was notoriously slammy. When the wind got too strong, he had to retract the foils fully to neutralize them or the boat would go out of control. When he went to sleep, he would also have to retract them because the boat was too unstable. I suppose this is likely be because the setup was too unstable for the autopilot to drive effectively, so he had to drive by hand all the time, but I don't have a final word on that.

Now let's look at a new Mini that foils in more variable conditions and DOES foil stably under autopilot.

Notice how they use the self-regulating "mustache" foils because they have a much wider groove. All minis with foils since have let go of the AC foils. I think this speaks for itself.

 

[valor50]

View attachment 582014
11th hour fully back up to speed posting over 16 kts over 4 hours which is nice to see for them. Biotherm slow over 4 hours and slower overall which makes sense if they snapped a batten and so on.
I wish the other teams were also transparent about their wipeouts as I'm certain that's what caused 11th hour's issues. I'd also be surprised if Holcim hadn't wiped out. You can see in drone videos that when it digs into a bigger wave the thing starts heading up but it returns to the surface and the pilot bears away in time.
Malizia posting 1-2 kts faster averages than Holcim right now, but seastate supposed to be quite bad, w

View attachment 582014
11th hour fully back up to speed posting over 16 kts over 4 hours which is nice to see for them. Biotherm slow over 4 hours and slower overall which makes sense if they snapped a batten and so on.
I wish the other teams were also transparent about their wipeouts as I'm certain that's what caused 11th hour's issues. I'd also be surprised if Holcim hadn't wiped out. You can see in drone videos that when it digs into a bigger wave the thing starts heading up but it returns to the surface and the pilot bears away in time.
Malizia posting 1-2 kts faster averages than Holcim right now, but seastate supposed to be quite bad, which is certainly preventing them from pushing too much, which is good for
go.


11th Hour does post on damage, very openly….

Update from Amory Ross onboard:

It has been nearly four weeks out here and our Southern Ocean experience is on its last days. We are eastbound and down, Cape Horn and a return to the Atlantic Ocean just 800 miles away. It feels good to have the bulk of the ice exclusion zone behind us and with one more gybe, a relatively straight shot across the Magellan Strait to the corner and tip of South America.

For the last 48 hours we have been surrounded by towering waves and wind-blown seas far more typical of the Furious Fifties, and visually at least it finally looks like the place we all came here to see. As grueling as constant 35-45 knots of wind and the minefield of giant holes in the ocean around us can be, it’s part of what makes the Horn meaningful: you have to have earned it. 27 days is a long time in the cold south and we have had our fair share of issues to overcome, but I don’t think we have seen true ‘Southern Ocean’ conditions, until now.

Our issues aren’t over of course, and they won’t be until Itajaí. Late yesterday a huge surf followed by a massive nosedive stopped the boat. 38 knots to 3. On rebound we abruptly turned up and the autopilot, overcompensating, spun us down, halfway through a Chinese gybe before it again caught itsekf. Already at two reefs, the main – for a moment – crossed the middle of the boat and slammed back, breaking one of the top battens. Oof! The spare was cut down to size and with a plan in place, Charlie turned head to wind to lower the main between the lazy jacks and swap battens. In 35 knots it flapped like tissue paper and tore a hole just below the broken batten. With the main finally down, the batten was replaced and the hole covered up. But outside in the cold the glue needs time to set, so we sailed jib-only for a very, very long few hours. When we eventually re-hoisted the main, we went to three reefs, swapped the J3 for the storm jib, and have declared a truce with the conditions. We cannot afford any more breakages with supplies to repair things already running low. “Chill.” Get the boat around the Horn, take opportunities from there where they come. Out here today, it’s about staying in the game, staying on the track. To finish first, first you must finish, as the saying goes. It seems our competition is doing much the same.

800 miles is a long time to reflect, but I know it will go by quickly. The windier it is the busier it is and the busier it is the faster time moves. Some might say you don’t reflect on the Horn until you’re around it. That there’s no time for reflecting until Brazil. I’ve made that mistake before and will be spending most of the next few days in the Southern Ocean appreciating how hard it is to get here, how hard it is to be here, and what it means to leave here. As punishing as it can be, there is beauty in its power. And unfortunately, I also know that no picture or video can ever replace the actual sensation. For as annoying as the work on deck to replace the batten and repair the main was yesterday, it was a blessing in disguise because, for me at least, it meant time outside. Time looking at the splendor of the ocean, at the waves, feeling the cold and the wind on the face and in my hands, and the awesomeness of this place in all its glory. I was a bit disappointed to resume faster sailing because it meant we were again prisoners to the sheltered cockpit inside. Soon enough we’ll be heading north and these waves will be for me, just a memory, a photograph, a story… for now though they’re real, and right there, and I’ll be watching them and enjoying them until they’re not!

The Ocean Race 2022-23 – 24 March 2023, Leg 3 onboard 11th Hour Racing Team. Charlie Enright, Justine Mettraux and Jack Bouttell work on replacing the broken batten and patching up the mainsail.

 

[Wemedge]

https://www.team-malizia.com/news/t...8q2AgrjoDPYIOktPNGwtw4Dpi0Qd7nw9013tJJzujPPCU

“TEAM MALIZIA’S ROSALIN KUIPER SUFFERED A HEAD INJURY NEAR CAPE HORN - SHE IS CONSCIOUS, STABLE AND RECOVERING
At around 9am UTC on 26th March Rosalin Kuiper suffered a head injury after she fell from her bunk when the boat turned and slammed unexpectedly in heavy sea conditions. Rosalin was off watch and sleeping when the boat wiped out due to a large wave off the South American coast near to Cape Horn. When this happened Rosalin was thrown from her bunk and hit her head just above her right eyebrow.”

 

[Swanno]

As my wife says, Not the head!
I am surprised there aren't more personal impact injuries on these boats.

 

[Qtrfoil]

Head wounds always bleed a lot, by itself the blood doesn't mean much. The fact that they released a picture of her makes me feel a lot better somehow.

 

[Fiji Bitter]

Thanks for posting Whamedge, not good but she doesn't look too bad, and is tough girl.

Just wondering if fatigue played a role in not having the leecloth tied up properly.
Trust she will be ok for the compulsory Kaap Hoorn picture. And the next legs too, as she was keen to do a complete RTW Race.

 

[Varan]

From TOR

Rosalin never lost consciousness in the incident and the crew were quick to come to her aid as it was clear she was bleeding badly from her eyebrow. As Nico Lunven secured the boat to make it safe, Boris Herrmann contacted the shore to tell them what happened and then contacted the race doctor Spike Briggs from MSOS to confirm the best course of treatment.

Will Harris and Antoine Auriol cleaned and bandaged the area and have then continued to monitor Rosalin for worsening concussion symptoms every hour. Rosalin has been doing her best to rest and the team has been monitoring her for the last hours. Dr. Briggs made another check in at 17:30 UTC and confirmed she has a concussion and needs to rest, the team will continue to monitor her regularly.

 

[Chasm]

I doubt that adding more speed is the answer to the concerns about boats constantly crashing into waves. Yes you are faster but that only means that the crash is even harder. So far nobody got injured. So far nobody got injured too badly.

I think the foilers need more control. T-rudders are the usual answer but Malizia shows that there is still a lot of mileage left in the hull design.

The next set of rules -AFAIK voted on after the finish of the next VG- will be interesting. Do we see t-rudders? Or perhaps the return of additional appendages, say some form of trim tab?
Then there is the potential elephant in the room. Two new boats in the next VG are without foils. If their gamble plays out things will change again.

 

[dg_sailingfan]

Using the Distance Measurement Tool Team Malizia is currently 200 Miles west-southwest of Cape Horn!
When will they make their turn to the northeast?

 

[Forestdawg]

From TOR

Rosalin never lost consciousness in the incident and the crew were quick to come to her aid as it was clear she was bleeding badly from her eyebrow. As Nico Lunven secured the boat to make it safe, Boris Herrmann contacted the shore to tell them what happened and then contacted the race doctor Spike Briggs from MSOS to confirm the best course of treatment.

Tough situation but she is a tough woman and will get through it. I can sympathize with the injury to some degree, I got hit with a high-speed hockey puck just above the right eyebrow when I was about 14 years old. Bled like a SOB, all over my hockey glove and the ice surface. 50 years later I still have the scar. First concussion of four in my life, ouch.

 

[mathystuff]

Two new boats in the next VG are without foils. If their gamble plays out things will change again.

I doubt it's a gamble. Seems like a cost cutting measure. Noone can seriously think boats without foils are competative after the last round.

 

[dg_sailingfan]

Tough situation but she is a tough woman and will get through it. I can sympathize with the injury to some degree, I got hit with a high-speed hockey puck just above the right eyebrow when I was about 14 years old. Bled like a SOB, all over my hockey glove and the ice surface. 50 years later I still have the scar. First concussion of four in my life, ouch.

Agree! Rosi is tough! She will get through it! What a Story it would be if Malizia wins this Leg given these obstacles.

 

[Forestdawg]

Those rugby helmets on Biotherm are looking more fashionable all the time.

 

[Goodvibes]

I doubt that adding more speed is the answer to the concerns about boats constantly crashing into waves. Yes you are faster but that only means that the crash is even harder. So far nobody got injured. So far nobody got injured too badly.

I think the foilers need more control. T-rudders are the usual answer but Malizia shows that there is still a lot of mileage left in the hull design.

The next set of rules -AFAIK voted on after the finish of the next VG- will be interesting. Do we see t-rudders? Or perhaps the return of additional appendages, say some form of trim tab?
Then there is the potential elephant in the room. Two new boats in the next VG are without foils. If their gamble plays out things will change again.

They should set a headroom rule. Those boats without enough headroom for the crew look horrible. Malitizia looks luxurious and safer.

Imagine slamming without the ability to straighten up.