Vendee Globe 2020

[bucc5062]

..he put 500miles into the ones behind him in 4 days!

With respect I thin that is very optimistic.  She is sailing a non-foiler and has been just outside the main first pack for a while and has had some great runs.  What has become apparent is that the Southern Indian Ocean has not been favorable to foilers to the point where 3 non-foilers sit in the top 10 and the next is in 11th.  Charal has a few systems to work through before considering the idea of touching the front pack.  With a current speed difference of 2 kts average, it would take a long time to make up that difference.

Maybe foiling is the future, but current indications seem to show that the advantage is minimal since much of the race is held in conditions that do not favor foils (at least the current style).  Perhaps when they turn the corner and head north in potentially calmer waters they'll have their moment, but as other's have commented on, would it be worthwhile to try and design a IMOCA that didn't have foils, but could match performance (if not exceed) in the southern lataitudes?  We're not halfway yet so we'll have to see how things go.

If Clarisse is sailing her boat full on to try and get up with the front pack I expect she will be hard to catch up to until the last third of the race.  I'm hoping all three woman skippers make the top ten before the end, but the best one to stay there is Isabelle.  Also hoping a few non-foils are also there in the end....but it is a long race,

 

[Snowden]

^ I tend to agree, hence my comment about passing her by NZ; even that would require him to consistently sail 50NM more each day. We haven't seen l'Occitane in rougher conditions yet but there are reasons to believe that the scow & its foil package would fare better than LinkedOut / Seaexplorer etc

 

[ant1]

3 hours ago, james_007_bond said:

VG sailors at sea in the rough

A translation:

JLC: Damien can you receive me ?
DS: Yes Jean I can (garbled)... I don't think you're receiving me that well but I receive you very well.
JLC: Yeah, now I do, clac clac clac.. and ... clac clac clac
(0:30)
DS: What are you doing, you're playing with your camera ?
JLC: Yeah because, its screwing up... cla clac clac... there we go
DS: Listen (garbled)
JLC: Well listen its a pretty incredible story right, we meet in the middle of the indian ocean, 3 miles from one another, its pretty extraordinary.
DS: (garbled) what you did was magnificent (garbled) you gave us
JLC: Oh well, I don't know whats up with my VHF, but if we can't receive each other at 4 miles, something's not right
DS: I receive you well
(1:20)
JLC: Ok, I can hear you with griwiwis, you know with crackling, so... so yeah I'm happy with my race so far, well everyone's had his share of troubles, everyone's fed up with this weather, its incredible, its relentless.
DS: (garbled) fed up with it too, yeah yeah the indian ocean right now, its even worse further south, we got hammered, it should calm down a little for the road to australia, but yeah I think we all have problems on the boats right now, we all need a breather.
JLC: Yeah clearly, now, now we should be going into better stuff, I do think that now are the final hours in these conditions.
(2:12)
DS: Yeah yeah, I think so too, in 5, 6 or maybe 7 hours things are going to start to calm down quite a bit and we're going to be able to enjoy it a little because right now, frankly, I've be up to my ears in the toolbox for the past week, I'm fed up.
JLC: Yeah clearly, same thing for me, I did stratification... you see the thing... so then you have to wait for it to dry, so you can't push, last night I was main sail only, with 2 reefs, in order for the boat to not work too much, so well, it needs at least 24 hours to harden.
(2:50)
Ds: Well ok, and besides that is everything all right? are you, personally, all right?
JLC: Oh yeah yeah, great, I'm doing great, and you?
DS: Well listen yeah, besides that I'm in good spirits, I sure accumulated troubles and every time it wasn't easy to find the motivation to go back at it, repair and all that but listen, now it looks like its working, I have a pilot, I have energy, which I was lacking recently, so I'm ready to keep on fighting because I'm really happy to be in the leading group right now, its satisfying.
JLC: Oh yeah, it's great, and there's... we wouldn't have thought with foil boats in it that we'd be here right.
(3:35)
DS: Yeah clearly, we're trouncing them, as soon as we manage to accelerate on our boats, its incredible, we're really keeping up the pace.
JLC: Yeah completely, throughout the whole south, a good dagerboard boat goes... at all the check points we were faster.
DS: Yeah clearly, right? I spent the morning next to Boris Herrmann here... hmm listen, as soon as I had the right sails for the weather.. well I was lower and faster.
JLC: Yeah clearly, he... he passed.. he's malisa right?
DS: Yeah that's right.
JLC: Yeah, he passed 8 miles behind me a little earlier.
(4:11)
DS: Yeah you see we were together, 5 hours ago we were side by side, then I hove to, to be able to resolve my battery issues, he sailed on and... he's... we're doing the same speed except he's 15 degress higher than me.
JLC: Yeah well, listen, its a good thing right... now I hope things are going to relent because right now I have 35 knots and I'm starting to get fed up.
DS: Yeah clearly, what sails do you have up right now?
JLC: Now I have 2 reefs, and solent.
DS: OK, I have 3 reefs mainsail and the sort of MDTK in front that's towing a little, but I can't manage to... on the port tack, with 2 reefs, I can't stop diving into the waves, at least we 3 reefs I can keep the nose up.
(4:58)
JLC: Yeah sure, and you got a nice... MDTK has what... its a 100 m² thing or thereabouts?
DS: Yeah, not quite its 95 m², listen I have it since the first front in the south, I never brought it down, it works well, its really the sail I needed for the indian.
JLC: Sure, and we've had completely... completely extreme conditions... I've never seen this before.
DS: Oh well listen that comforts me because I was telling myself, Jean is doing his 5th tour, if its like this every time in the indian its that he's a little bit of a masochist.
(5:35)
JLC: No no, this is completely exceptional, I did... when I saw this I took a northern route, and finally, well, its not too bad.
DS: Clearly, sometimes we, just a little more to the south, we really got, we really got hammered so... and the waves, its mostly that that impresses me, its... here the waves call the shots, there are moments when you can't accelerate at all.
JLC: Clearly, clearly... anyway the sea is the one that... that prevails... and generally there's the wind to go with it so... there's no smoke without fire.
(6:15)
DS: Ok, well I'm really happy to know you're okay, and to meet here is just great, so I hope we'll have the opportunity to meet again and talk to each other a little.
JLC: Yeah ok, chances are it will happen, we're meant to meet again.
DS: Ok, well listen, have a good night, it will be short but... well it should calm down rapidly, and for my part I think I'll jibe... yeah in about 5 or 6 hours I'll jibe to get back on starbord tack.
JLC: Yeah ok, its all good, well have a good race and see you soon, bye Damien.
DS: Thank you Jean, take care.
JLC: Ok, ciao.

 

[bucc5062]

A translation:

JLC: Damien can you receive me ?

DS: Yes Jean I can (garbled)... I don't think you're receiving me that well but I receive you very well.

JLC: Yeah, now I do, clac clac clac.. and ... clac clac clac

(0:30)

DS: What are you doing, you're playing with your camera ?

JLC: Yeah because, its screwing up... cla clac clac... there we go

DS: Listen (garbled)

JLC: Well listen its a pretty incredible story right, we meet in the middle of the indian ocean, 3 miles from one another, its pretty extraordinary.

DS: (garbled) what you did was magnificent (garbled) you gave us

JLC: Oh well, I don't know whats up with my VHF, but if we can't receive each other at 4 miles, something's not right

DS: I receive you well

(1:20)

JLC: Ok, I can hear you with griwiwis, you know with crackling, so... so yeah I'm happy with my race so far, well everyone's had his share of troubles, everyone's fed up with this weather, its incredible, its relentless.
 
DS: (garbled) fed up with it too, yeah yeah the indian ocean right now, its even worse further south, we got hammered, it should calm down a little for the road to australia, but yeah I think we all have problems on the boats right now, we all need a breather.

JLC: Yeah clearly, now, now we should be going into better stuff, I do think that now are the final hours in these conditions.

(2:12)

DS: Yeah yeah, I think so too, in 5, 6 or maybe 7 hours things are going to start to calm down quite a bit and we're going to be able to enjoy it a little because right now, frankly, I've be up to my ears in the toolbox for the past week, I'm fed up.

JLC: Yeah clearly, same thing for me, I did stratification... you see the thing... so then you have to wait for it to dry, so you can't push, last night I was main sail only, with 2 reefs, in order for the boat to not work too much, so well, it needs at least 24 hours to harden.

(2:50)

Ds: Well ok, and besides that is everything all right? are you, personaly, all right?

JLC: Oh yeah yeah, great, I'm doing geat, and you?

DS: Well listen yeah, besides that I'm in good spirits, I sure accumulated troubles and everytime it wasn't easy to find the motivation to go back at it, repair and all that but listen, now it looks like its working, I have a pilot, I have energy, which I was lacking recently, so I'm ready to keep on fighting because I'm realy happy to be in the leading group right now, its satisfying.

JLC: Oh yeah, it's great, and there's... we wouldn't have thought with foil boats in it that we'd be here right.

(3:35)

DS: Yeah clearly, we're trouncing them, as soon as we manage to accelerate on our boats, its incredible, we're really keeping up the pace.

JLC: Yeah completly, throughout the whole south, a good dagerboard boat goes... at all the check points we were faster.

DS: Yeah clearly, right? I spent the morningg next to Boris Herrmann here... hmm listen, as soon as I had the right sails for the weather.. well I was lower and faster.

JLC: Yeah clearly, he... he passed.. he's malisa right?

DS: Yeah that's right.

JLC: Yeah, he passed 8 miles behind me a little earlier.

(4:11)

DS: Yeah you see we were together, 5 hours ago we were side by side, then I hove to, to be able to resolve my battery issues, he sailed on and... he's... we're doing the same speed except he's 15 deress higher than me.

JLC: Yeah well, listen, its a good thing right... now I hope things are going to relent because right now I have 35 knots and I'm starting to get fed up.

DS: Yeah clearly, what sails do you have up right now?

JLC: Now I have 2 reefs, and solent.

DS: OK, I have 3 reefs mainsail and the sort of MDTK in front that's towing a little, but I can't manage to... on the port tack, with 2 reefs, I can't stop diving into the waves, at least we 3 reefs I can keep the nose up.

(4:58)

JLC: Yeah sure, and you got a nice... MDTK has what... its a 100 m² thing or thereabouts?

DS: Yeah, not quite its 95 m², listen I have it since the first front in the south, I never brought it down, it works well, its really the sail I needed for the indian.

JLC: Sure, and we've had completly... completly extreme conditions... I've never seen this before.

DS: Oh well listen that conforts me because I was telling myself, Jean is doing his 5th tour, if its like this every time in the indian its that he's a little bit masochist.

(5:35)

JLC: No no, this is completly exceptional, I did... when I saw this I took a northern route, and finaly, well, its not too bad.

DS: Clearly, sometimes we, just a little more to the south, we really got, we really got hammered so... and the waves, its mostly that that impresses me, its... here the waves call the shots, there are moments when you can't accelerate at all.

JLC: Cleary, clearly... anyway the sea is the one that... that prevails... and generaly there's the wind to go with it so... there's no smoke without fire.

(6:15)

DS: Ok, well I'm really happy to know you're okay, and to meet here is just great, so I hope we'll have the opportunity to meet again and talk to each other a little.

JLC: Yeah ok, chances are it will happen, we're meant to meet again.

DS: Ok, well listen, have a good night, it will be short but... well it should calm dowm rapidly, and for my part I think I'll jibe... yeah in about 5 or 6 hours I'll jibe to get back on starbord tack.

JLC: Yeah ok, its all good, well have a good race and see you soon, bye Damien.

DS: Thank you Jean, take care.

JLC: Ok, ciao.

Absolutely incredible and *Thank You* for the translation.

What I love about this exchange is that here you have two competitors, but they are okay to talk about what sails they got up, what they might do, no trying to hide shich kind of tells me the level of confidence they have in sailing their boat.

I also got a kick about them talking about foilers and how they were beating down on Boris.  No pride there huh? ;-)  It is something to consider when a man of JLCs's experience is saying this is a new experience....Wow.  I think this group of boats is a blast to watch for they have made gains and losses such that even after thousands of miles they are all still within 20 miles of each other and can even chat.  Boris better watch out, he's got three NFs ready to rumble right around him

 

[tallyho]

With respect I thin that is very optimistic.  She is sailing a non-foiler and has been just outside the main first pack for a while and has had some great runs.  What has become apparent is that the Southern Indian Ocean has not been favorable to foilers to the point where 3 non-foilers sit in the top 10 and the next is in 11th.  Charal has a few systems to work through before considering the idea of touching the front pack.  With a current speed difference of 2 kts average, it would take a long time to make up that difference.

Maybe foiling is the future, but current indications seem to show that the advantage is minimal since much of the race is held in conditions that do not favor foils (at least the current style).  Perhaps when they turn the corner and head north in potentially calmer waters they'll have their moment, but as other's have commented on, would it be worthwhile to try and design a IMOCA that didn't have foils, but could match performance (if not exceed) in the southern lataitudes?  We're not halfway yet so we'll have to see how things go.

If Clarisse is sailing her boat full on to try and get up with the front pack I expect she will be hard to catch up to until the last third of the race.  I'm hoping all three woman skippers make the top ten before the end, but the best one to stay there is Isabelle.  Also hoping a few non-foils are also there in the end....but it is a long race,

I agree that is overly optimistic. It was not a prediction, it was a statement about those he has passed.  I am just impressed by the way Tripon has worked his way through the pack since his initial problems. Gaining on those ahead is going to be tougher than the ones he has already passed, but it seems to be a lot easier for L'Occitane than Charal.

Certainly the L'Occitane design is a departure from the other foilers, and he seems to be able to hold very high averages. With the forecast he looks set to take more time over the coming days.. Like many others on this thread I want to see what L'Occitane can do in some sustained SO weather!

 

[Bebmoumoute]

Absolutely incredible and *Thank You* for the translation.

What I love about this exchange is that here you have two competitors, but they are okay to talk about what sails they got up, what they might do, no trying to hide shich kind of tells me the level of confidence they have in sailing their boat.

I also got a kick about them talking about foilers and how they were beating down on Boris.  No pride there huh? ;-)  It is something to consider when a man of JLCs's experience is saying this is a new experience....Wow.  I think this group of boats is a blast to watch for they have made gains and losses such that even after thousands of miles they are all still within 20 miles of each other and can even chat.  Boris better watch out, he's got three NFs ready to rumble right around him

Groupe Apicil was prepared at Jean Le Cam yard, so Jean knows everything about that boat.

 

[Bebmoumoute]

https://www.ouest-france.fr/vendee-globe/vendee-globe-sam-davies-on-remet-le-bateau-a-l-eau-dimanche-7080715

Initiaves Coeur will be re-launched on Sunday.

 

[Manfred]

Nice background of this God forsaken place to read when I find time!

You should also read the book written by Isabelle Auttisier. I searched the english title but only found the german one: "Herz auf Eis". A great story and when you dig into the book, this could be the place which she had in mind for the couple who stranded down south with no one passing by, A great story, I can only recommend. Hope somebody does find the english title. 

 

[Varan]

Nice to see Armel Tripon flying again and he has perfect weather conditions for the next days

Yes, he kicked off another 400 miler and the runway is opening up for him, allowing for a bit more flexibility in routing. 



Dalin's lead is down to 1700nm. 

 

[Laurent]

Small interview of Armel Tripon on the French side of the website, without English translation. So here it is.

After a very tough start and a lot of technical issues, the guy is finding the rythm, has good weather, knows it and is trying to get the most out of it.

On board l'Occitane en Provence, Armel Tripon is sailing fast in the Indian Ocean. Here is his mindset after one month at sea.

"I must be the only one with flat seas in the Indian Ocean. I feel like I am sailing in the English Channel, it is a dream!

I am still ahead of a front, I almost see blue sky. The sea is flat; most likely these sailing conditions are going to continue for a good chunk of the Indian Ocean.

It is great; I am taking full advantage of it. I am going to see how far I can push the boat. Since there is no sea, it is not too straineous for the boat. So it is time to be pedal to the metal. When it is getting rough, you'd better slow down and manage for the long term. But right now it is great; this boat is incredible. I am looking for the brakes more often than the accelerator pedal...
Ideally, I will try to stay in front of the LP. I must be quick, I must keep the rythm all the time. It is great sailing conditions, but it is physical. It is going to last 4 or 5 days.

Physically, I feel good. My maneuvers are quicker, I feel more at home on the boat. That being said, fatigue is settling in, so I have to be careful. Each maneuver is important and burns a lot of energy. The boat needs to be taken care of, and sailing at high speed demands attention and focus. So you have to rest as soon as you can. Last night, I tried to rest, and tonight, I will be on a broadreach, so it is going to be easier to rest. I am also careful to feed myself right and not get thirsty, so I can stay at 100% of my physical capabilities.

2 and a half months, three months of racing was an unknown for me. It is anything but a walk in the park. You have to prepare yourself as much as you prepare the boat, because you are going to ask a lot of your body. I worked a lot on this point. Right now, I feel strong, I feel more and more fit; and mentally, I am full on. I don't have many lows, I am mentally stable. It is a good surprise for this first part of the race. I am hardening myself!"

 

[bucc5062]

I just noticed that Alan Roura seems off the pace.  He switched to what looks like a downwind course and is only doing 8 in 17 kts.  I wonder if this is a repair moment for if he continues that course he'll get run over by a big hole behind him.

 

[cortosam]

https://voilesetvoiliers.ouest-france.fr/course-au-large/vendee-globe/vendee-globe-michel-desjoyeaux-je-suis-effare-lorsqu-il-y-a-40-noeuds-tous-parlent-de-tempete-62546fb8-3aef-11eb-ab16-5f8e13f8f53b

New article with Desjoyeaux, i am working on the translation, underlying in the article is how much Desjoyeaux likes and respects Alex Thomson, and would have love to see him sailing in the deep south with the different shape of foils, as well as Arkea Paprec.

 

[bozemansurfer]

OMG thank you so much for the JLC translation.  Best part is it this bad every time and this is your 5th wtf!  Having followed the last 5 races cannot visualize how much worse these conditions must have been

 

[cortosam]

Vendée Globe. Michel Desjoyeaux: "I'm appalled, when there are 40 knots, everyone talks about a storm".
After Armel Le Cléac'h and François Gabart, following our interviews with the former winners of the Vendée Globe in the company of the only two-time winner of the single-handed round-the-world race: Michel Desjoyeaux. And when you have dominated the way this event was his, you have the right to say everything. It makes sense and it is direct.

Voiles et Voiliers: What is your assessment at the end of this first month of the Vendée Globe?

Michel Desjoyeaux: First of all, people have a short memory. They complain that there would be a lot of breakage. There are fewer than usual at this point in the race. This is due to a lot of caution on the part of the sailors, caution that sometimes turns - I find - to extreme caution. Then, a disillusionment or more exactly a small disappointment concerning the ability of the foilers to go fast or want to go fast and I think that we will have to think about it. They are very fast boats but the sea conditions do not allow them to be used at the expected speeds. We will probably have to rethink the geometry of the foils. I would have liked to see the two boats with curved foils (Arkéa Paprec and Hugo Boss) express themselves. Unfortunately, L'Occitane is too far behind, even if it is doing very well at the moment. At the front, the first one (Charlie Dalin on Apivia) is managing his course as well as possible. But we can also see Louis Burton with a boat from the previous generation doing what Armel Le Cléac'h did four years ago (Bureau Vallée 2 is the former Banque Populaire VIII victorious with Le Cléac'h in 2017, editor's note), namely: "I want to go fast, I lower a bit of foils; I want to go slower, I raise a bit of foils and my boat becomes more traditional". And the other key fact is the weather. The first ones had such an incredible doldrums that they didn't even go through it: we saw boats go through it at 14 knots. There was barely a small refusal when they arrived on the other side. However, they paid for it afterwards, being forced to pass below the forbidden zone, down below, to pass under the St. Helena High, which was up to the 40th. It wasn't well served!

Voiles et Voiliers: On the scrap yard, it's obvious that certain past editions have been more affected, but what has marked the most is that apart from PRB and Initiatives Coeur, it's new boats that have been affected?

Michel Desjoyeaux: When some of the favourites retire - with the exception of Jérémie who has had the courage to go back to the front - it marks more than when it is an old jaw harp that goes away. But we can also realise that old jaw harps don't go fast; that the sailors take their time. Why not? It doesn't bother me, and not much will happen to them on boats that have already been tried and tested. What is most surprising about these retirements is not so much Hugo Boss' structural problem - where Alex did a great job of repairing the front - and what happened to the rear, which seems a bit like what happened to Charal on the Route du Rhum when he broke his steering system. For Charal precisely, we won't know if his other problems are related to contact with a floating object or if it's independent. He may very well have had a shock that created a brutal overload in the sheeting system and tore off his return pulley. It's very difficult to know what really happened on board a boat and what the sequence is when you're outside, even if I can read between the lines. Sometimes even the skipper doesn't know.

Voiles et Voiliers: The PRB case is not very readable from a distance either .

Michel Desjoyeaux: That's the great frustration of this exercise because we'll never know. But didn't he type something? The hull would have been damaged, would have ended up letting go and the wallet would have folded up? We'll never know. But that's one of the hypotheses we must not forget. Everybody knew, and Kevin (Escoffier) was the first, that this boat was very light, and has been since it was launched. It had been reinforced. Was that not enough or was it something else? Maybe the sailors have all the details, but in Kevin's case we will always have a doubt.

Voiles et Voiliers: In the case of Corum L'Epargne, do you know the cause of the dismasting?

Michel Desjoyeaux: If you wish to know, you should contact the team. And they will tell you if they know it and if they want to tell you. I built the boat and then the team managed. I don't know much about it. It seems that the Imoca sent a message to all the skippers and project managers to remind them that the masts (one-design elements on the 60-foot Imoca gauge, editor's note) had to be used within the specifications. This message left a few days after Corum's dismasting.

Voiles et Voiliers: You seem to have the feeling that the competitors are less on the attack this year than in the past?

Michel Desjoyeaux: On board the foilers for sure. But I completely understand it: I have sailed very little on these boats but it was enough for me to understand that the vertical accelerations are out of all proportion to what we knew before. And the consequences are structural breakdowns like on Hugo Boss. Here again, there will be a lot of thinking to do. Architects and teams will find solutions. But we can see that they don't want to bomb!

Voiles et Voiliers : Would you question this generation of Imoca hydrofoils?

Michel Desjoyeaux: It is not a questioning. I note that the sailors don't want to exploit the maximum capacity of hydrofoil boats. For me, the ideal would be to add a rudder. That goes without saying and it makes no sense to forbid it except to make beautiful images at the Défi Azimut! In this new generation, there are different cases. Unfortunately, three have come out of the game. One of those with curved foils (L'Occitane en Provence, editor's note) is far from the front pack. But with this geometry of foils, can it manage the power and benefit from the advantages of large foils - when it can exploit them - while really being able to regulate the lift? But as it is impossible to manage the incidence in real time, you try to do it by other means. I discussed this with Juan (Kouyoumdjian, architect of Corum L'Epargne, editor's note), during the design of Corum. When I saw the arc of the shaft, I said to myself: great, when you don't want to have big foils you can raise it partially or even totally. And a few days later Hugo Boss was revealed with this configuration. Juan has adapted it on Arkéa Paprec this year. It's not for performance, but it's a system that allows you to regulate the power through the amount of foils you leave in the water. For example, if you look at the pictures of Apivia in the bad weather over the last few days, her foil is in the water, downwind and dragging in the fleet! He has no choice! So inevitably the boat will climb on it. So we have to find a system to regulate it. The architects, engineers and teams will think about the configuration of foils to be made to be more versatile, i.e. to benefit from the advantages of foils - 20% better than a boat without them - but to be able to have a bearing capacity that can be adapted to the conditions. In bad weather, you won't want to put all the foil on for fear of breaking the boat. Or you build safes that won't be good racing boats. You have to find the right ratio.

Voiles et Voiliers: On this Vendée Globe, there are many new boats with different technical solutions but which unfortunately could not express themselves aboard. Can we nevertheless learn from them?

Michel Desjoyeaux: In the time aspect, there is a part due to the weather conditions, the hyper-southern position of the St. Helena High, which cost much more than if they had had a difficult doldrums. The first ones are about six days late on Armel Le Cléac'h's lap time four years ago. So you tell yourself that it is a little bit disappointing to have made foils for that. On the other hand, if the conditions had been ideal with a classic depression train, they might have been able to hold the expected average speeds of these foilers.

Voiles et Voiliers: Hence also the performances of sailors on classic boats such as Jean Le Cam, Damien Seguin, Benjamin Dutreux?

Michel Desjoyeaux: Absolutely. But if these sailors had foilers, they wouldn't be far from where they are currently sailing! This year, the investment is not worth it. But I would have liked to see Arkéa Paprec and Hugo Boss playing again.

Voiles et Voiliers: After the unusual weather, the one that the leaders are now encountering seems more typical of a Vendée Globe?

Michel Desjoyeaux: Yes, with the exception of the depression coming from Port Elizabeth (South Africa). We had had a depression of this style but it came down from New Zealand. On the other hand, I'm appalled, when there are 40 knots everyone talks about a storm! It's good! In the South Seas, 40 knots is a daily occurrence, you have to stop with that. When there are 60 knots, I understand that you squeeze your buttocks; when there are 40 knots, it's normal over there. There are 40 knots in the gusts and they call it a storm. It's OK! Hey guys, don't go for the Vendée Globe but for the Spi Ouest-France. And again, I did the spinnaker with 50 knots and that made us laugh. It's a generational problem: there are fewer and fewer opportunities to go sailing in strong winds, a precautionary principle that reaches its limits in the open sea.

Voiles et Voiliers :  But the competitors of this edition weren't helped with less windy preparation races .

Michel Desjoyeaux: The little sailing they were able to do with the Covid limited the exploratory fields. On the Jacques Vabre 2019, they encountered strong winds. And those who could have taken advantage of it broke, I'm thinking of Hugo Boss (shock with a UFO, editor's note). But generally speaking, we can see that sailors are less used to facing strong winds than our generation. At the end of the day, they don't know how to do it any more. It's not by chance that Jean Le Cam and Alex Thomson went into Theta (the violent depression at the start of the race, editor's note) in their 5th Vendée because there was a 150-mile lead to be made. And it was easy: you went there and you gybed when you wanted so as not to get too much wind. It wasn't the depression that was coming at you, it was you who was going into it. We saw the huge gain they made. Then I think the rest of the fleet was lucky that Hugo Boss broke his rudder system... The other uncertainty I don't have the answer to: did Alex wait until he could repair to say he had a structural problem before or in Theta? Or was it when he went to do a check before the South Seas that he detected that his axial longi (a longitudinal beam in the front of the boat, editor's note) was broken? Only he knows and we'll never know because he'll never tell!

Voiles et Voiliers: Do these boats make you want to go and compete in the Vendée Globe on them?

Michel Desjoyeaux: Yes, like Jean (he laughs). But I'm too old to do that, so make way for the young. I stopped because I didn't want to go anymore. They will be fun boats, capable of walking at 30 knots when they have a rudder. These are shakers.

Voiles et Voiliers: And what is Michel Desjoyeaux's news at the moment?

Michel Desjoyeaux: I am in CGO (General Operator Certificate) training to pass my Captain 200 Sails - hoping to have an equivalence! - but not on this part, which is very interesting. In my shipyard, there are currently Figaro 3s, perhaps a Class40 in some time and ongoing work on preparing race boats. I don't have any plans for a race boat for myself of course but not for others either. We're still working on the electronic penon project. At the same time, I am working on a sustainable mobility programme using wind energy. But I'll say more soon!

 

[Snowden]

Michel Desjoyeaux: Yes, with the exception of the depression coming from Port Elizabeth (South Africa). We had had a depression of this style but it came down from New Zealand. On the other hand, I'm appalled, when there are 40 knots everyone talks about a storm! It's good! In the South Seas, 40 knots is a daily occurrence, you have to stop with that. When there are 60 knots, I understand that you squeeze your buttocks; when there are 40 knots, it's normal over there. There are 40 knots in the gusts and they call it a storm. It's OK! Hey guys, don't go for the Vendée Globe but for the Spi Ouest-France. And again, I did the spinnaker with 50 knots and that made us laugh. It's a generational problem: there are fewer and fewer opportunities to go sailing in strong winds, a precautionary principle that reaches its limits in the open sea.

in the old days the winds were stronger, the waves were bigger and the water was wetter. Didn't know MD was one of the four yorkshiremen.

 

[Cwinsor]

Carrying a spin in 50kts solo is bad-ass

 

[ant1]

in the old days the winds were stronger, the waves were bigger and the water was wetter. Didn't know MD was one of the four yorkshiremen.

Was about to say something to that effect... Desjoyeaux seems a tad, just a tad grumpy... lol

 

[cortosam]

Was about to say something to that effect... Desjoyeaux seems a tad, just a tad grumpy... lol

Hé hé, seems a bit like an old man telling young lads lack balls

but still i remind his second victory when he was constantly faster than anybody else, simply pushing the pedal when the others were scared of doing it.

 

[Miffy]

Me thinks the professor should take advantage of owning a business and surrounding design/support team and give it a try himself if he thinks there's something wrong with the generation of kids he gladly took money from. If the youngins break the boat - they have nothing. No assets for future market. Nothing.

No VG finish. No victory. Absolutely nothing. I don't see Nelson Piquet sitting on the sidelines criticizing the young generation of French drivers. Maybe the professor should be a little more gracious and also take the L when the imoca skippers didn't accept his preference re elevators (funny how ppl in construction/design always opt for more billable hours in design and fabrication work). 


 

 

[cortosam]

Me thinks the professor should take advantage of owning a business and surrounding design/support team and give it a try himself if he thinks there's something wrong with the generation of kids he gladly took money from. If the youngins break the boat - they have nothing. No assets for future market. Nothing.

No VG finish. No victory. Absolutely nothing.

 

Yep that was as well blatant in Beyou testimonies telling how much he was taking care of the boat, trying not to push too hard to preserve it even if he would have loved to overtake the guys in front of him