Vendée Globe 2020

Jean le Cam could win this yet. Another broken foiler!

Maybe the tracker needs to update the icon they use for each boat. Currently it does show if a boat has foils or not, for Linked out & Apavia they need to show just a single (starboard) foil. 🙂 Apavia looks to have gybed back onto starboard and be back up to a reasonable speed. Temp fix to allow him to sail with the foil retracted possibly.
Certainly making for a fascinating race with mix of foilers and non foilers. Will the non foilers have an advantage when the turn at Cape Horn and have to beat more upwind in the Atlantic.

I think the winner may end up in a floating raft of driftwood at this rate.

John Le Cam was last seen “tin foiling” across the Indian Ocean in an attempt to catch up,,,

Clack clack clack! Allez!

Now linked out is filling with water!

Apparently hatches had been forced open by water pressure at 25knts. He was asleep at the time.

Anyone else still following this? Pip Hare’s videos have been good, and sounds like she’s been doing better than expected with an older non-foiling boat. And if that wasn’t enough, in the last week or so she’s lost a wind sensor so her autopilot was crippled, and had to change a rudder, and is still going and sounding cheerful.

There’s a video of her practicing changing the rudder in the harbour before setting off, and a few bits from changing it just now. I’m still struggling to get my head around how you could do that at sea, never mind in the southern ocean in a narrow gap between gales.

There’s also a recurring them off “I’m knackered and there’s a massive storm coming and I’m thousands of miles from land but I’m having a cuppa so it’ll be fine” which has at least two elements I can relate to.

Pip is a total legend and inspiration. She’s so positive, so determined and so open about the physical and emotional journey she is on.

Pip Hare has been the best thing about this race for me. I wish I had just a smidge of her strength and resilience.

Not been following as much once they got past cape of good hope.they don’t have shift, just amazing the distance the guys at the front put between them and the guys at the back.

Did Jean le cam drop off that guy he picked up or is still on board?

Some funny routes once they got around Cape Horn, thought one was going for another lap.

Did Jean le cam drop off that guy he picked up or is still on board?

Yes. They met a naval boat and went for a record time 25m swim…

Well kinda.
The navy boat sent a rib out and went to within 5m of JLC (no touching allowed) and the other guy (wearing a survival suit) stepped of the back and was in the water for about 3 seconds.

Still kind of cool though, how tight must the rules be that the boats can’t touch.

Looks like an amazing finish brewing. Hard to judge too with Boris in 2nd or 3rd but with 6 hours credit for helping the rescue.

Even more amazing to think all the way back to the start…

At the start, it was Louis Burton on Bureau Vallée who led the fleet – but Burton was over the line early, picking up a five-hour time penalty.

Who had any idea that five hours lost on the first day could potentially lose him the whole event? Fine, I know he already served it, and it was long ago, but who knows!!!

Indeed, the smallest of details…

And we have a winner – Charlie on Apivia….

Might not be the winner yet, there’s Boris and yannik still in the running

but have a look at this: Boris hits fishing boat

It could have cost him the win.

You’d have thought AIS would pick that up but then fishing boats don’t always have it running as I almost found to my cost during a TransAt.

Yannick’s got over 10 hours bonus from the rescue, could be close yet!

I though it would be neat if Boris got it – he’s not lead the race at all. If he crossed within 6 hours then he’d suddenly be there.

Amazing race this year, sad that Alex wasn’t part of it for longer.

Finding the weird drip feed of data with odd timing intervals *absolutely maddening*

Le Cam in fourth!

Well, the race isn’t over and you can already buy Hugo Boss…

https://www.imoca.org/en/imoca/sales/for-sale-or-charter-imoca-hugo-boss-2019-

He’s just landed back in Portsmouth. ‘One careful owner, never raced or rallied…’.

Hugo Boss apparently back in the Solent today. Random thought, if they had been a few days later would they have had to spend 10 days in a quarantine hotel? Been some of the most self isolated people on the planet but rules is rules 😷

Random thought, if they had been a few days later would they have had to spend 10 days in a quarantine hotel?

My boss and his Mrs are pals.
No way she is letting him stay in a hotel for a fortnight… 😂