Vendée – Arctique – Les Sables d’Olonne race.

[Miffy]

Some of us have been blessed with the opportunity to work abroad and pick up a few things here and there. 

 

[jb5]

Looks like Charal has a form of deck sweeper in place now under the boom sealing up much of the gap between the boom and the deck/cabin.  Pretty good view of it at the 34 minute mark in the start coverage.

 

[Miffy]

Looks like Charal has a form of deck sweeper in place now under the boom sealing up much of the gap between the boom and the deck/cabin.

Like the AC boats!

 

[JoeBleaux]

Charal looked to have the foils seriously dialed in on the way out. I guess the extra time in the water is paying off for them.

 

[jb5]

Looking at DMG Mori he was sailing with the bow in the water which is surprising given that its basically Charal v1 and that configuration was very bow up.  Maybe being conservative but definitely looks slow.

 

[jb5]

The stream was from the "IMOCA Globe series" and relayed by a few TV Channels "France O (O for Outremer), and some FR3 regional channels", I'm not sure the IMOCA class pays for the copters though, might be the local France TV organisation.

But anyway, having a youtube/FB whatever English stream would for sure not cost much more.

Meanwhile the battle seems to be truly going on at the front, T Ruyant in the lead now.

The coverage was really excellent.  One of the best I have seen with no BS wasting time away from the boats.  Would be nice to have an English version but otherwise zero complaints from me.

 

[jb5]

Like the AC boats!

Yes and some Ultim and even the A class.  Good idea, there is a lot of power loss with the typical boom/deck gap.  Will be good to see it close up to see more of how it works but I guess these boats create so much apparent wind now the boom is more centered most of the time so that opens the option for introducing this type of arrangement.

 

[LeoV]

Nice.

 

[Your Mom]

L'Occitane seems to be a bit off the pace lately.  Top 7 boats doing 16-18 kts and he's in the 14's.  Looks like he was pacing with the leaders until about 1700 FR, and then they accelerated and he didn't.  Steady drop since then from 3rd place to 8th.  I wonder if something's wrong or if he's just taking it easy to play it as a long game.

 

[Miffy]

Upwind is generally scow bows’ weakest point of sail. Also tend to avg steady speeds with not much peak or plateaus. 

 

[trimfast]

Arkea Paprec has broken the starboard foil at the hull. Returning to port.

 

[Your Mom]

Arkea Paprec has broken the starboard foil at the hull. Returning to port.

Doesn't inspire confidence about many foils getting around the long course in November...

 

[yl75]

Wow, that's 3 broken foils on this boat already, quite a bit !

 

[Your Mom]

Here's the NOR:

https://www.imoca.org/mediacenter/uploads/avenant_2_(en)_vendeearctique_1505.pdf?version=6c4a770b

Section 7 allows for "technical stops", so Arkea Paprec could resume racing if the team so chooses (and they don't break the terms of a technical stop or officially retire in the meantime).

Does Simon need to finish this to qualify for Vendee?  Edit: I believe I have found the answer...  Looks like he still needs a qualifying 2,000-nm passage...  Which this race would achieve, but he could still opt to do it independently later.  He isn't among the sailors who must do it in a race.

 

[Miffy]

No. He built a new boat. Finishing this race would satisfy a requirement but it isn’t mandatory. 

 

[jb5]

Wow, that's 3 broken foils on this boat already, quite a bit !

Fucking gutted for them. That is just awful. 

 

[Your Mom]

Time limit is double the winner's time, so I'm thinking Simon and anyone else who still needs the 2,000-mile passage has pretty good reason to go ahead and get it done despite breakage, unless the breakage risks compounding into more breakage or injury.  Given the likelihood of foil damage in the actual Vendee, I'd think it would be worthwhile to do some learning about how best to manage without it.

But I'm usually wrong when I think a boat with damage will keep racing.

 

[jb5]

Simon did the TJV and returned solo as I recall at least part of the way back. He may already be good to go in terms of those qualifications. 

 

[jb5]

ARKEA PAPREC was sailing at 17 knots in 20 knots of wind when the damage occurred. Sébastien was inside and the boat went over (knock down I assume). The foil broke at the edge of the hull. Sébastien is on his way to Port-La-Forêt, which he should arrive in the middle of the night.

https://www.scanvoile.com/2020/07/avarie-de-foil-sur-arkea-paprec-vendee-arctique.html?m=1#.XwD5OLkpC7o

 

[Chasm]

Simon did the TJV and returned solo as I recall at least part of the way back. He may already be good to go in terms of those qualifications. 

He was listed as one of the skippers that use the race to complete their requirements.
Since stops are allowed it makes sense to check for damage. Restarting and getting the requirements done also makes a lot of sense.