Vendee Globe 2020

[Icedtea]

There are already some good replies to this above, technical and references etc. but I don't think anyone has answered the "what is it like crossing one on the water?" bit.

From my experience a few times, anything from "a bit rough" to "really horrible". When really horrible you can have pouring rain, wind increasing at an ever increasing pace until you wonder if it is possible for it to get any stronger, and it does. and the waves get huge and white. Then suddenly the wind can completely disappear and the sails go slack whilst the waves are bouncing the boat all over the place with the sails and boom banging about with no wind to hold them steady, threatening to break things and the sail, then suddenly the wind can come back from a totally different direction and at huge speed, so you don't know what tack to try and settle the boat, which can be completely stopped without steerage way at the time, onto, and you can also get hailstorms and sunshine at the same time. The big waves from different directions crash into each other so you can't really sense what direction they are coming from. After a short while, minutes to say half an hour, the wind usually settles down from a completely new direction and with reduced strength but it will still noy have a settled direction and may still have very strong gusts. Things then get better. It will be colder but the horrible confused state will gradually improve and the waves gradually settle down with a consistent new direction and a longer distance from peak to peak even though they can stay big for a long while. Sailing upwind into and through a strong cold front is not pleasant (at least not for me!) , but sailing across the wind in the conditions after I know I am through it are usually very good fun, with sunshine, white clouds with squalls under them, and fast sailing..

To add my personal experience into this - during the Round Ireland race 2018 we had a front roll through overnight and it went like this. Boat was a J109.

Well, more than one over a few days but this was the most memorable.

Night pretty calm, 10 knots breeze running under A2. I go down for an hour's kip. 

I wake up to freezing cold, the boat is moving much, much faster and the trimmers are on deck calling out speeds, 12, 13, 14 knots. 

Wind quickly builds to 30 knots+, we go off surfing up to 19 knots at times. 

Go on deck to a very different scene to when I went below. 

This sticks around for 40 mins or so. 

Then breeze shuts off entirely, boat is left spinning on the currents, bobbing on the waves with severe rain for an hour until breeze fills in. 

When it does fill in, it comes back at a nice leisurely 15 knots from a totally different direction and we're reaching on the opposite gybe. 

 

[Kenny Dumas]

After it all settles down and you think you’re gonna be okay is when the rogue waves show up. The choppier short period waves organize into lower frequency bigger stuff and the tail of statistical distribution shows up. You get to experience that one in 10,000 wave. 

 

[SCARECROW]

Does anyone have a better system than checking the average wind speed on Alex's Hub to work out when they get to the trough?  Got to love that what could turn out to be one of the most significant periods in the race is going to happen during the "black out"  

 

[Varan]

Sam Davies and Romain Attanasio in the NY Times

Whoops, just saw this was already posted, sorry, but worth repeating versus hiding

 

[terrafirma]

Spreadsheet shows Alex did 250.7 nm in the last 24 hrs, so that matches the 'left column'. The column next to it is a conversion, 464.3 KM.

The 'from start' section is for the best 24 hr record since the start

yes great to see him finally record a decent 24 hour run. This should give him confidence in the boats ability. 

 

[stief]

Does anyone have a better system than checking the average wind speed on Alex's Hub to work out when they get to the trough?  Got to love that what could turn out to be one of the most significant periods in the race is going to happen during the "black out"  

I wish. Great Circle had that Remora/Squid  predictive system last time (old link was https://remora.greatcircle.eu/map ) that allowed you to project courses. Forss even added the Remora/squid projections to his tracker last time (sample here), but we'll have to wait until the S-H to see if it still works.

Herman and Hitchhiker help with their projections.

 

[Miffy]

yes great to see him finally record a decent 24 hour run. This should give him confidence in the boats ability. 

lol hardly. Even the class 40 record is now 400nm in 24hrs. That’s like crawling imoca. 

 

[Varan]

I wish. Great Circle had that Remora/Squid  predictive system last time (old link was https://remora.greatcircle.eu/map ) that allowed you to project courses. Forss even added the Remora/squid projections to his tracker last time (sample here), but we'll have to wait until the S-H to see if it still works. View attachment 404628

Herman and Hitchhiker help with their projections.

Sure wish Forss was back again. The Forss tracker was the best by far. Hope Forss is doing well.

 

[Sailbydate]

lol hardly. Even the class 40 record is now 400nm in 24hrs. That’s like crawling imoca. 

It'll come, Miffy. As you say, "crawling IMOCA". These guys aren't even warmed up yet, let alone record breaking conditions being thus far absent.

536nm is his record to beat.

 

[stief]

Hmm. Windy offers boat trip projections: Might help looking down a track.

https://www.windy.com/distance/boat/43.32,-9.63;43.61,-13.80?42.209,-10.456,5,anmByh

The URL looks like it should accept lat/longs (which are available from the spreadsheet )

Something to play with  . .. . sometime.

 

[terrafirma]

lol hardly. Even the class 40 record is now 400nm in 24hrs. That’s like crawling imoca. 

In comparison to the fleet given the conditions Miffy. Shit mate thought would have gauged the focal point? They aren't in record conditions and yes we know it's crawling pace but Alex finally put a decent 24 hour time together in comparison to the competition. 

 

[Chasm]

Armel Tripon turning around? At least he has some speed. 
Isabelle also has an interesting course.

 

[Rainbow Spirit]

Armel and L'Occitane are heading the wrong way, were they on an auto TWA and Armel fell asleep? Also what's with Isabelle? She is heading SE...

 

[Varan]

Armel Tripon turning around? At least he has some speed. 
Isabelle also has an interesting course.

F×ck... Hope just a temporary setback.

 

[Chasm]

Perhaps a repeat of what Charal did ~14h ago.
At least both have their speed, so nothing too major. 

The rest of the fleet looks normal to me.

 

[kaptah]

Tripon heading to port? There is news on French Vendee site...

 

[splat]

20Nm?... and counting

 

[yl75]

The J3 hook broke for Armel, and the sail fell on the deck, some damages but repairable.

He is going to moore next to la coruna for repair by himself.

A lot of hooks issues these last days, they changed something to them ? Didn't put big enough ones ?

 

[terrafirma]

Can't see any news on Tripon and L'Occitane but doesn't look good 

 

[Sugarscoop]

Broke the J3 Hook. 

Heading for a Coruna for repairs