Vendee Globe 2016?

[Godzilla]

When AT actually just blew his 2nd Gen boards wasn't it a clean break? Leading to the fact that this jagged edge also leans towards a collision?

In 2012-2013 Kito, Burton, and Riou all were out due to collisions, not to mention Robert Redford

In the Volvo didn't we see teams dodging debris and whales? (Reefs, not so much)

I cannot believe there is conversation that it wasn't a collision. They said it, it 100% makes sense, and I thought it would just be accepted...

If you hang around here for long enough you will see that some people will doubt everything, nothing will be accepted, no matter what the evidence and no matter how stupid the conspiracy theory that is put forward.

What's not to believe? You do realize this is an intenet message board right?

 

[Your Mom]

Check out the speeds in the main pack in the latest sked. Kito is catching the train and everyone else is parked in the lot waiting for the next train while Destremau and Costa are trying to get to the same lot before departure.

Good moves by Kito. Likely to be in a giant no-man's land at the back of the train that's departing now, but that'll be a hell of a lot better than waiting for the next one. He may find himself in a spot in a week or so where he has hundreds of miles between both the boat ahead and the boat behind... at which point you might as well sail conservatively and see how many of those ahead break down.

 

[semelis]

Here we can see how much the train has allowed the leaders to challenge the record:

The orange line marks Coville's many gybes (21+ in Sodebo Ultime!) a few days ago. The Vendee leaders had it "easy."

Screen Shot 2016-11-23 at 6.55.33 PM.png

http://volodiaja.net/Tracking/#

I cannot recall a more exhilarating depression.

Yann Eliès route is also noteworthy.

 

[Dacron]

Not THE broken foil. But a broken foil. The 2nd gen foil? Anyway, give you an idea of what he's dealing with.

http://www.modernwoodenboat.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/alex-thompson-broken-foil.jpg

 

[pilot]

So. Foils either break like this in two days or never. If it breaks in southern ocean then it must be due to collision with container and all who are not convinced are conspiracy theorist who are ignoring facts. Facts like - they told us it must be a collision so it is.

 

[MasterRobin]

The spare foil could be a straight/curved foil with bolt on tip? This could allow the foil to be inserted from the deck. The tip is bolted on after the horizontal section is installed. It might not be as efficient as the original foil but gives better sideways stability than a flat foil.

This solution lets you carry a spare horizontal section for use either side and a spare separate port or stbd tip saves weight on carrying two full spares.

A spare foil might also be smaller than the original. Easier installation at sea, Better performance than no foil, less weight penalty than a full size spare.

Its all speculation but it will be cool to see what happens either way.

 

[Potter]

It is all speculation as foils, curved or straight, have been broken apart numerous times over the years. There is great footage of Ellen Macarthur tacking her boards from one side to the other in 2000. In all the incidents, none of the teams have considered that carrying a spare as a viable plan. The weight disadvantage balanced against the difficulty, and the likelihood, have never made it worthwhile.

Quite a few teams carry spare rudder blades.

 

[Starwax]

What makes me doubt this is the small video Alex's team posted a few months back when he destroyed his gen 2 foil. That small cross section he held up of a cut up foil looked like it weighed a lot, i suspect about 20kg, that means a foil must be around 200kg+? That's not something you want to drag around "incase" or have to reinstall/dig out and fit. I hope I'm proved wrong though.

 

[terrafirma]

What makes me doubt this is the small video Alex's team posted a few months back when he destroyed his gen 2 foil. That small cross section he held up of a cut up foil looked like it weighed a lot, i suspect about 20kg, that means a foil must be around 200kg+? That's not something you want to drag around "incase" or have to reinstall/dig out and fit. I hope I'm proved wrong though.

If you did the maths breaking one foil 20% into the race and having to sail 80% without a foil vs carrying a spare for 200KG but sailing the whole race with 2 foils I reckon the later would win, or you don't have a spare and you haven't broken a foil at all so none of this really matters? 3 scenarios possible. At 200KG how would he move it from one side to the other?

 

[Rushman]

What makes me doubt this is the small video Alex's team posted a few months back when he destroyed his gen 2 foil. That small cross section he held up of a cut up foil looked like it weighed a lot, i suspect about 20kg, that means a foil must be around 200kg+? That's not something you want to drag around "incase" or have to reinstall/dig out and fit. I hope I'm proved wrong though.

If you did the maths breaking one foil 20% into the race and having to sail 80% without a foil vs carrying a spare for 200KG but sailing the whole race with 2 foils I reckon the later would win, or you don't have a spare and you haven't broken a foil at all so none of this really matters? 3 scenarios possible. At 200KG how would he move it from one side to the other?

Lift board out of slot with a halyard/block and tackle, rotate and drop into other side... Hardest bit would be lining the board up with the slot and being able to control the release.

Of course moving 200kg of spare board from wherever it is hiding below decks is another problem

 

[Starwax]

Yeah true. Im just guessing at the weight but im not expecting it to be on deck where it would be fairly easy to move with a halyard.

 

[nedev]

Right. And your theory has made it onto the mythical front page

Today is a good day!

Keep your theories coming, perhaps the Aliens have left and something else is happening? Mermaids instead of dolphins following AT's boat.?

You never know man... this is a strange world we live in! Always remember: just because mainstream media doesn't cover it that doesn't mean it's not happening!

 

[polar]

Quite a few teams carry spare rudder blades.

Now that would be a clever backup plan. A universal foil that would work as a spare rudder and a spare daggerboard/DSS board. I guess there would be some pretty big technical issues to solve to make it workable.

 

[pilot]

The broken foil had vertical part that was meant to act like a daggerboard. This means a lot of side force. So, the shaft had to be extra strong at the end to withstand forces near the bend. Without vertical part it doesn't have to be that strong at the end and can be much lighter. But in the other hand it must be either longer or it is not usable for both sides.

As it is thin and heavy it would be ideal item for movable ballast. You can put it below cockpit floor or close to the wall. Calculations might show that more movable ballast can be beneficial on board of a foiling boat (despite it was in the opposite way for older generations) - as foil tips are not efficient daggerboards you need to keep the keel as vertical as possible. So, maybe they calculated out that they are shortage of 200kg movable ballast and found that a spare foil would do perfect job for that.

 

[jack_sparrow]

So, um, are they actually gonna' race or just play follow-the-leader?

When you think the Turnip season is over another one just pops up.

 

[jack_sparrow]

Alex and Armel are now getting to cross swords as they prepare to move into the lighter stuff over the weekend....my money is still on the wounded man in black having lots of leverage for this manoeuvre.

 

[jiauka]

Some picts I took before departure at the AT foils.

 

[STYacht.com]

Yeah true. Im just guessing at the weight but im not expecting it to be on deck where it would be fairly easy to move with a halyard.

Not a bad guess. I saw a video where somebody in the HB team stated it was over 200kg. I don't think it was Clean's dock walk but maybe. Too lazy to go find it. Would really surprise me if it was less. These things are not small. Probability of a spare on board - zero.

 

[LeoV]

Even if spare Tip and Shaft (endorsement for that newsletter) are separate, manhandling it is a pain. Look at the layout of HB, twin doors etc. Risk of damaging it during hauling it around is as big as hitting something in the water. Duh. I would be very surprised if he carries them.

If he has parts;you need calm weather, 8 hrs of hard work or so, no boatspeed. You will loose a lot.

His claim of it slowing him down due to extra drag from broken part is not upheld by his speed so far.

He has slightly more pressure, and more speed. And nice consistent course, not much drift as far as I can see.

So it aint that much draggy.

Wait till you hit a calm, or after The Horn when you start needing the missing part.

But I would think, at a good moment, clean up the damage, laminate the end stump.

During waiting for that good moment, scrounge foam of non important parts, and fabricate a new small tip you can slide on.

Very difficult to do, and do you have 20 kg of resin and 20 kg of carbon fibre onboard ??? 10 and 10 kg seems more likely.

Even creating a small piece like that on a boat.... very difficult.

Would be fun if we get a photo of the foil missing a few cubic inches...

 

[Rainbow Spirit]

The Ice Exclusion Zones are severely limiting the tactics we would be seeing without them. So I suppose we have to expect a lot of follow the leader stuff.