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Anyone keeping up with this race?

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Ben - FL
Admiral

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880 Posts

Initially Posted - 11/08/2004 : 20:49:56

The [url="http://www.vendeeglobe.fr/uk/home"]VendeeGlobe[/url] just started yesterday!

Safe voyages,
Ben
sloop Chick-a-pea,
C250wk#364

Edited by - on

John G-
Admiral

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793 Posts

Response Posted - 11/08/2004 : 21:48:35

Ben,
Thanks for the link.
I was wondering where [url="http://www.teamellen.com/ellen.asp?artid=100"]Ellen MacArthur [/url] was, she did visit the start. She is preparing a massive trimaran for a round the world record attempt.
I do see two more women in the [url="http://www.vendeeglobe.fr/uk/skippers"] Vendee skippers list [/url], [url="http://www.vendeeglobe.fr/uk/skippers/69.html"] Karen Leibovici [/url] and [url="http://www.vendeeglobe.fr/uk/skippers/70.html"]Anne Liardet [/url]. I’m rooting for the girls.

Underlined words are a HOT link.

Edited by - on

Sea Trac
Master Marine Consultant

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Vanuatu
1357 Posts

Response Posted - 11/10/2004 : 22:09:16

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">
Bruce Schwab - Mast Base Trouble
mercredi 10 novembre 2004 - 20h35

News from Bruce Schwab, currently in 14th position, 154 miles from the leader and a 24 hr average of 316.9 miles...
"Yikes, what a night. Sailing to the north of Cape Finisterre, the wind lifted enough to put up our new heavy spinnaker. It looks and works great, but after several hours I was getting really tired and the conditions were not stable enough to try to sleep with it up. The wind was starting to pick up and more was on the way so I decided to try to get a nap. About halfway through the process the wind decided it was time to blow hard, so the whole procedure was rather exciting and took a lot of energy.

Not long afterwards I jibed to the south but soon after that the latest position report showed all the leaders staying west. It is far too early to take any big flyers so it was time to jibe back despite the fact it was now a good 30kts of wind.

As I eased the windward runner forward for the jibe, I heard and felt a bit of a shock or pop but had no idea where it came from. A quick glance around didn´t show anything so I went for it.

More than one thing went awry after that. First off, the self-inflating rescue buoy assembly got snagged by the mainsheet. Suddenly in the back of the cockpit there was an inflating yellow gizmo with a strobe light on top. I had to hop on it before it blew away and find the deflating valve which was ridiculously slow. So folded it into the vestibule and this morning I finished deflating and repacking it into the container. Not having a spare CO2 cartridge to fit it, it is now out of commission.

I discovered the real trouble a few hours later when I went up in the sail locker. The shock I had felt was the main positioning spacer for the step of the mast, popping out of its spot. It had apparently been squirted out like a watermelon seed under the enormous load of the mast when I let the runner off. It was epoxied into place but without locking fasteners. When I went into the sail locker the base of our unstayed mast was sliding backwards and forwards in its compartment. NOT GOOD.

By easing off the working jib halyard and grinding the bejeezus out of the runner I was able to move the mast step to its proper (forward) position. Then I hammered the block and its wedges back where they belonged. Not having long enough bolts to lock it into place I used four drill bits and ran them through the frames and into the thick delrin spacer. It should stay put but I´m going to keep a close eye on it.

Having been up all night and exhausted, I took several 20 minute naps today, and I feel another one coming on soon....;-)

Source: www.bruceschwab.com (check out the photos of the repairs!)<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Edited by - on

Arlyn Stewart
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2984 Posts

Response Posted - 11/11/2004 : 08:03:18

I was quite dissapointed not to find a tracking service like existed in 2000. It made following the vendee globe very interesting because it showed all the currrent boat positions, tracks and weather highs and lows... It was reasonably priced, less than $20 if I remember correctly and made a daily check on what was happening greatly enjoyable...

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Ben - FL
Admiral

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880 Posts

Response Posted - 11/11/2004 : 08:17:29

Whewww. I'm exhausted just reading it. I had a turnbuckle part on the port shroud on my C-22 one time. I hate it when stuff breaks. But on Chick-a-pea I keep some one and two inch aluminum angle and vaious pieces of stainless angle and conduit I pilfered from work. I'm on the look out for a cheap cordless drill I can keep aboard. These items are stored under the aft berth where it is hard to access. That saves the other lockers for more frequently used stuff. There is also a plastic shoe box full of spare parts, nuts-bolts-washers, etc. And I keep a caulk gun down there with silicone. And do not forget the water proof duct tape and stainless tie wire. (also pilfered) My marine tool kit stays there too, and a hack saw.

I am reminded of the story of Miles Standish and the Mayflower when they used a print press to jack a broken beam back in place.

Edited by - Ben - FL on 11/11/2004 08:19:43

ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 11/11/2004 : 09:23:13

Another example of why my hat's off to these guys... around alone with no help allowed.

In the last race one of the competitiors broke their carbon-fiber mast. Jury rigged with the stub, he managed to sail into a jungle cove, rigged lines that spanned the coves, unstepped and repaired the rest of the mast, and re-stepped by himself.

In the rest of the western world, these guys are national sports heroes. In the US if it's not BBF (one of the 3 ball games) or NASCAR, there's no media coverage.

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Lightnup
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1016 Posts

Response Posted - 11/11/2004 : 09:51:56

[url="http://www.hugoboss-sailing.com/"]Hugo Boss sailing[/url]

Sponsor Hugo Boss has some awesome videos in their Media Center section in addition to a schematic showng where all the boats are in relation to each other.

Steve

Edited by - on

lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

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Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Response Posted - 11/11/2004 : 13:26:11

I was just looking at the race rules and routing information on the Vendee website. The route just says "Around Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin, Cape Horn, and back to the start point". Anyone have an idea of how many miles average the boats will cover, and the shortest possible distance it could be done in, assuming ideal wind and sea conditions everywhere along the route?
It's hard for me to imagine how it's even possible for someone to do a race like this - 100+ days singlehanding a very large, high performance sailboat, with half the distance in the stormiest place on earth- the Southern Ocean. I don't recall which race it was, but I remember seeing a video of Isabelle Autissier being rescued in the middle of a terriffic storm by the Australian Navy. Her boat had lost it's entire keel fin and bulb except for a short stub, and had capsized, and she had spent several hours clinging to that stub while waiting for rescue in gale force winds and seas exceeding 30'. I think I read somewhere that in the history of singlehanded "around alone" races, 3 or 4 boats and skippers have been lost at sea without a trace or a clue as to what happened to them. It takes a lot of guts to participate in something like that, completely alone, and knowing that you will be traversing regions of the globe so remote that rescue is next to impossible even if you have time to put out a "Mayday" call.
One thing I noticed in particular that surprised me is that Bruce Schwab's boat has an unstayed mast. I have seen this on a few smaller boats like the WylieCat 30 and Hunter Vision 32, but didn't think it would be possible on a rig as tall as what these Open 60's have.

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Lightnup
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1016 Posts

Response Posted - 11/11/2004 : 13:35:26

'Lectronic Latitude says 24,000 miles.

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Sea Trac
Master Marine Consultant

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Vanuatu
1357 Posts

Response Posted - 11/11/2004 : 13:47:22

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by lcharlot
 I don't recall which race it was, but I remember seeing a video of Isabelle Autissier being rescued in the middle of a terriffic storm by the Australian Navy.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
1998-1999 BOC Challenge (cum Around Alone, cum Seven Oceans) singlehanded around the world race, which is differentiated from the Vendee Globe in that the boats lay-over in three ports along the route. The video is Born To The Wind: 1998-1999 Around Alone.

I'm a huge fan of the singlehanded ocean racers, and own almost all the videos and books.

Edited by - on

allencl
Navigator

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USA
143 Posts

Response Posted - 11/11/2004 : 15:44:57

Arlyn,

At the bottom of the Vendee Globe homepage is a leaderboard: click on it and there will be a map link on the top right of the following page. This is a smart chart similar to last running of the race: you can display course, fleet, or top 3 leader views, or select only certain boats to display. You can also overlay current and predicted winds. It's all in French, but if you're like me and don't know the language, it's a pretty quick trial-and-error.

I think you're referring to the Virtual Spectator product from last running of the race, which I haven't seen this year- it had the 3D views of the globe, right? Well the one I mention for this year isn't quite that sophisticated but there's no charge either...

Enjoy!

Edited by - allencl on 11/11/2004 15:47:19

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