Vendee Globe 2016?

[Chasm]

This Christmas Alex got more sailing:



*g* Sounds like someone got even.

 

[Schakel]

Did anyone hear the wheather forecast for the southern Pacific Ocean?



70 knots at some points.

The fleet knows and is able to Head north and south of this.

 

[MR.CLEAN]

Re - B&G stuff: Is hereema getting any exposure? Looking at the various sources and social channels it doesn't seem that way to me, even in Holland he has like a few hundred people who seem to be paying attention to any news about him. Less than 5000 on Facebook with almost no comments, even the dutch sailing media seems to be phonin' it in. Not sure where any big sponsor benefit would come from in a campaign with almost no media presence, no stars, and a super rich, super private older gentlemen as the focal point.

 

[LeoV]

Clean, no, its a private thing for Heerema, and if I were B&G I would stay away from a millionaire pissed of amateur. though he knows how to sail, but the complexity of a modern Imoca and its electrical systems.. I doubt it.

 

[WetHog]

Re - B&G stuff: Is hereema getting any exposure? Looking at the various sources and social channels it doesn't seem that way to me, even in Holland he has like a few hundred people who seem to be paying attention to any news about him. Less than 5000 on Facebook with almost no comments, even the dutch sailing media seems to be phonin' it in. Not sure where any big sponsor benefit would come from in a campaign with almost no media presence, no stars, and a super rich, super private older gentlemen as the focal point.

So because the guy is old, and has few followers on social media, a contractor and supplier should give a shit and provide no support for the service and product they provide while the guy is balls deep in the Southern Ocean?

WetHog

 

[Irish River]

One pissed off person can tell a lot of people what they think of service or products. SA os kind of built on this model.

 

[Schakel]

Does Hereema has a problem or is he just going to do a JPD all the way over Australia to escape the next coming low ?

Yes, he has a problem.

Hij (Pieter), kan hem gewoon niet trimmen.He (pieter) just can't trim his boat.

En dan boos worden op de stuurautomaat leveranciers..

Having all kinds of aggresive thoughts on the automatic steering vendors...

My to pence of thought.

Reducing sail? Flatter sails?

4 th generation foils instead of keeping to generation 2?

Just a few suggestions..

@ Pieter === There is a very aggressive front coming up. Up to 70, 80 knots...

Keep out of it. When you do. Reduce all sails to an absolute minimum.

Surf...

 

[PRBDruid]

Does Hereema has a problem or is he just going to do a JPD all the way over Australia to escape the next coming low ?

Yes, he has a problem.

o Way Back is the former Vento di Sardegna, a VPLP-Verdier designed boat from the latest generation, built originally for the Italian skipper, Andrea Mura, before his sponsors were forced to throw in the towel due to the economic crisis in Italy. Consequently, she is a brand new boat with foils, very similar to Armel Le Cléac’h’s new Banque Populaire and Morgan Lagravière’s Safran. Built at the Persico Marine yard in Italy and launched last August, this 60-foot boat was designed to be capable of winning the Vendée Globe. She has just been reinforced at the CDK yard in Lorient, following the damage suffered by the foilers in the Transat Jacques Vabre. A technological gem and a brand new boat, as she never took part in any races under her previous name. Pieter Heerema will have to learn how to tame her and is being helped to do that by Michel Desjoyeaux’s Mer Agitée team. You can’t find a much better teacher than that. While Pieter admits his main goal is simply to complete the voyage, with such a machine, he may catch the racing bug

 

[longy]

Re - B&G stuff: Is hereema getting any exposure? Looking at the various sources and social channels it doesn't seem that way to me, even in Holland he has like a few hundred people who seem to be paying attention to any news about him. Less than 5000 on Facebook with almost no comments, even the dutch sailing media seems to be phonin' it in. Not sure where any big sponsor benefit would come from in a campaign with almost no media presence, no stars, and a super rich, super private older gentlemen as the focal point.

So because the guy is old, and has few followers on social media, a contractor and supplier should give a shit and provide no support for the service and product they provide while the guy is balls deep in the Southern Ocean?

WetHog

Heerema may not be getting much publicity, but B&G could get lots of good press if they could step in & get their product running well. Public knowledge of factory support is always a good thing. As it stands, the general public will just know his B&G autopilot is an epic fail. The public does not realize how much install & tweaking have to be done right for a pilot to work right in these circumstances.

 

[Sailbydate]

Nice present for Alex to slide round the rock on Christmas Day. Strong 24hr run has gained him some miles on ALC.

Well done.

 

[Sailbydate]

From Conrad on the Foresight Sleigh:

Merry Christmas ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, fush and chups....

 

[Alex_]

Re - B&G stuff: Is hereema getting any exposure? Looking at the various sources and social channels it doesn't seem that way to me, even in Holland he has like a few hundred people who seem to be paying attention to any news about him. Less than 5000 on Facebook with almost no comments, even the dutch sailing media seems to be phonin' it in. Not sure where any big sponsor benefit would come from in a campaign with almost no media presence, no stars, and a super rich, super private older gentlemen as the focal point.

So because the guy is old, and has few followers on social media, a contractor and supplier should give a shit and provide no support for the service and product they provide while the guy is balls deep in the Southern Ocean?

WetHog

Heerema may not be getting much publicity, but B&G could get lots of good press if they could step in & get their product running well. Public knowledge of factory support is always a good thing. As it stands, the general public will just know his B&G autopilot is an epic fail. The public does not realize how much install & tweaking have to be done right for a pilot to work right in these circumstances.

Heerema's quote from today:

" I am not completely ready but should be by the end of the day and then thereafter it is just keeping fingers crossed that a solution is found to the autopilot problems. If not then that is another reason to be in the north, because I look for a harbour in Australia and put the boat on a freighter back to Europe."

 

[forss]

Re - B&G stuff: Is hereema getting any exposure? Looking at the various sources and social channels it doesn't seem that way to me, even in Holland he has like a few hundred people who seem to be paying attention to any news about him. Less than 5000 on Facebook with almost no comments, even the dutch sailing media seems to be phonin' it in. Not sure where any big sponsor benefit would come from in a campaign with almost no media presence, no stars, and a super rich, super private older gentlemen as the focal point.

So because the guy is old, and has few followers on social media, a contractor and supplier should give a shit and provide no support for the service and product they provide while the guy is balls deep in the Southern Ocean?

WetHog

In my tracker Heerema is 16th most clicked boat.

3x more clicks than Arnaud Boissières.

2x more clicks than Rich Wilson.

So he has quite decent fanbase compared to others.

 

[Your Mom]

Re - B&G stuff: Is hereema getting any exposure? Looking at the various sources and social channels it doesn't seem that way to me, even in Holland he has like a few hundred people who seem to be paying attention to any news about him. Less than 5000 on Facebook with almost no comments, even the dutch sailing media seems to be phonin' it in. Not sure where any big sponsor benefit would come from in a campaign with almost no media presence, no stars, and a super rich, super private older gentlemen as the focal point.

So because the guy is old, and has few followers on social media, a contractor and supplier should give a shit and provide no support for the service and product they provide while the guy is balls deep in the Southern Ocean?

WetHog

In my tracker Heerema is 16th most clicked boat.

3x more clicks than Arnaud Boissières.

2x more clicks than Rich Wilson.

So he has quite decent fanbase compared to others.

Would it be difficult to publish the full list? Would be interesting data.

 

[forss]

Would it be difficult to publish the full list? Would be interesting data.

Just a list without numbers.

 

[Your Mom]

Interesting that Josse, Ruyant, and Kito are all still in the top half. I guess they ran up some numbers before disappearing. Meilhat and Le Diraison also, but they haven't been gone from the tracker for long.

 

[Schakel]

Re - B&G stuff: Is hereema getting any exposure? Looking at the various sources and social channels it doesn't seem that way to me, even in Holland he has like a few hundred people who seem to be paying attention to any news about him. Less than 5000 on Facebook with almost no comments, even the dutch sailing media seems to be phonin' it in. Not sure where any big sponsor benefit would come from in a campaign with almost no media presence, no stars, and a super rich, super private older gentlemen as the focal point.

I have come from that elitairy world. Respect it. They are modest. ..

 

[AdB]

Re - B&G stuff: Is hereema getting any exposure? Looking at the various sources and social channels it doesn't seem that way to me, even in Holland he has like a few hundred people who seem to be paying attention to any news about him. Less than 5000 on Facebook with almost no comments, even the dutch sailing media seems to be phonin' it in. Not sure where any big sponsor benefit would come from in a campaign with almost no media presence, no stars, and a super rich, super private older gentlemen as the focal point.

Pieter Heerema doesn't need a sponsor, nor does he need any exposure, he is in the VG to tick it of his bucket list.

He bought this brand-new foiler on his own expense, as an owner of one of the biggest off-shore companies in Europe,

he can do so..

As a sailor I think B&G should step up and help the man .

Here's the latest on him from the VG site,

"

Pieter Heerema (NED) (No Way Back): “The weather is great I am going slow intentionally steering into the high pressure, because I have a huge list of things to be done which can only be done in a calm situation. I had repair the mainsail with ten patches. I have repaired three cars, on the mainsail track. The going is slow but the circumstances are fantastic. It is like a holiday cruise right now. I have let go my thoughts of the race right now. This comes as a welcome chance to prepare the boat for the Pacific. I am not completely ready but should be by the end of the day and then thereafter it is just keeping fingers crossed that a solution is found to the autopilot problems. If not then that is another reason to be in the north, because I look for a harbour in Australia and put the boat on a freighter back to Europe. Without an autopilot it is just not doable. I am not going back into the Southern Ocean without a working pilot. I have no idea what I am doing with the software.”

What confuses me, his company fired a fair amount of employees while he is doing his VG holiday... now thats business , you might say,
but I can't view the B&G complaints video without feeling a few hairs tinkling in my neck.

A

 

[Your Mom]

While I agree that B&G should be doing more to help Heerema, it sounds like it's something that would be exceptionally difficult to help him with remotely... something that would take a hands-on experienced technician to solve properly... something that some of the guys who have logged thousands of hours on these boats could sort out with some phone support, perhaps, but maybe a tall order in this case. Perhaps they could help him to get it working in a simpler fashion... like something that would be stable without being optimal speed-wise. With the goal just being to get him to the finish line safely and in a mood to talk about the support he got rather than the failures he experienced. Hell, just hire an intern who speaks Heerama's language, train the kid up thoroughly, and assign the kid to spend 8 hours a day on the phone with Heerama until Heerama is happy. You might spend $10k while hopefully developing the kid into a skilled employee, and possibly turn the PR mess around.

But what this really underscores is... Heerama made a mistake in buying a brand new next-generation boat. I believe the moral of the story is... If you want to do this as a bucket-list adventure rather than as a professional sailor, buy a well-established boat where the kinks have all been worked out already and the systems can be counted on to work. You still need to be prepared to deal with breakage, but at least you know it works properly.

It also makes me wonder... How did this problem not surface during the qualifying events and shakedown voyages?

FWIW... What's the price tag for someone to complete a VG as a bucket-list thing? Buying the boat and all equipment, doing all of the qualifiers, and dealing with all of the side-expenses.... 5 mil?

 

[Jambalaya]

Happy Christmas everyone. Shana Tova for Hanukkah.

Waiting to see Alex's rounding video, Armel's was picture perfect