Virtual Vendée Globe 2020

Thanks for the heads up BigG, I wouldn’t have noticed until later if it wasn’t for your message appearing in my inbox.

That is unreal, the most remote spec of land in the world, in the middle of a vast ocean and I manage to sail into it! I’ve made up 160k places in the past few days, I suspect I will loose most of them back now.

I’ve reset my course but not sure if I will actually be able to sail out or not, will see what happens.

I have always been fascinated by remote islands and, in particular, Tristan da Cunha. I suppose its nice to pay a visit.

It’s a very small place right enough, it did make me spend a little time on google wondering how achievable it would be to WFH somewhere like that but then I remembered that Waitrose don’t deliver to it so scuppered my plans. Imagine no organic red pepper hummus dip!The inhumanity doesn’t bear thinking about.

So is everyone enjoying chasing the weather and staying above the exlcusion zone? There’s a French boat making really heavy weather of some strong winds below the redline. I guess it’s the price you pay.

Hoping to pick up some decent winds in a couple of days and start to shoot across the Indian Ocean but it a seems a bit of a lottery with the winds.

Anyone entering the Tara ocean race that starts this weekend? I’m in…. Because one race to watch isn’t enough going on.

@peterno51
I think your boat Womble may be aground! Hit a very small lump of rock just off a bigger lump of rock

There’s a good little bunch of us all within spitting distance of each other (apart from a couple of front runners)

Anyone else trying the other race that appeared over the weekend?

I’m currently desperately trying to find a breeze somewhere in the bottom of the Indian ocean, it was all going pretty well until the last 36 hours. I’m sure it’ll pick up again.

I’m in the other race, the pace isn’t exactly on a par with the Vendee boats is it? Feels like I’m doing a lot of work and not making much progress.

Ha, I know what you mean about lack of progress – 20kt wind and the boat is plodding / wallowing along at 5kt. Although I’m lying around 300th – f knows how I’ve managed that.

Cheers YetiDave!

What were the odds of that Little Rock, original course plot didn’t pick it up.

Took ages to get off it too.

Quite addictive this lark.

Bentanbroken, we are either racing very closely or you are actually stalking me! Our tracks are almost identical.

There may be nearly 1 million virtual boats but the only race that means anything to me is STWanchor racing against Bentandbroken!

So how is everyone getting on? There seems to be two STw flotillas, group one off the coast of Uruguay and group two approaching Cape Horn.

I’ve just rounded the Cape so on my way home. No chance of me catching the leading group but pleased to be ahead of my more immediate rivals!

congratulations to the whole stw fleet for successfully rounding Cape Horn.

Good luck everyone for a smooth run home.

I’m currently off the coast of Uruguay, quiet enjoying the close battles between us. Amazed that a little change off the line makes ~40k place change.

I think i am going to roll the dice after making a big mistake approaching Cape Horn. Insdide of the Falklands for me I think.

I am firmly at the back of the second group:-/ Every time I manage to get close to the group something happens and I suddenly lose a massive amount of time/distance which is frustrating. Currently watching those immediately ahead of me turn the corner and get twice my boat speed. I suspect I have seen the last of them for a while which is a shame as I managed to get with three hours of someone at one stage and started to feel the excitement….

B&B, you and I were racing really closely a couple of weeks ago, pretty much in each other’s shadows. Then I went north, you went south and that was the end of our racing. Hang in there though, things change all of the time.

I’m still enjoying it! Close racing with the group in off the coast of Uruguay/Brazil – and a few different paths being taken (hugging the coast vs more out in the Atlantic). Be interesting to see where we all line up as we converge again overt he next 3-4 days!

Nick (Kapow)

In the second group. Close racing, but managed to dodge some poor weather approaching Cape Horn and now just north of the Falklands with STWanchor chasing me.

RetroEighty

Be interesting to see where we all line up as we converge again overt he next 3-4 days!

I’m guessing I’ll be down the pan Nick!! You make plans for the next couple of days and it’s looking OK and then a couple of hours later it’s all changed and you’re in the poop 🙁

@sharkbait – are you Stapleford Flier? We’ve been racing pretty close for the past few weeks!

yup!

@sharkbait – I sent you a couple of messages on VR (via their chat feature – click on the speech bubble bottom right) – not sure if you saw them?

My boat appears to want to run into South America. I really didn’t want to be this close to the coast…

What Sharkbait/Stapleford Flier says, make plans based on weather predictions which seem to be random picture generators.

Currently heading out east to avoid a building dead zone.

Womble.

@peterno51 – did you used to sail an SB3 (or SB21)??

@nickb, sadly just a standard laser for a few years.

Congratulations Rodderz! Just noticed you have finished.

Oooooo, right little dingdong going on with Stapelford Flier and somewhatbehind, dramatic finish coming up??

Is Kapow, the first of us to finish?

Womble.

Edit: just seen post above about Rodderz..

Looks like I should be the second to finish, but I have the full sails package so will exclude myself from the “official listings”. Those sails definitely came into their own in the Southern Ocean and helped me get from dead last to where I am. Kapow’s been playing a very close chase which has kept me paying more attention in the last week. From 505,925th to 73,890th now, not a bad race.

It’s been a blast sailing with you all, see you in one of the other races perhaps

G (jockonabike)

Looks like I (Kapow) should finish this evening. No pro-sails options here so reasonably pleased with the result, and just managed to edge out Stapleford Flier and somewhatbehind.

Fun sailing – I’m going to be both glad it’s all over, and miss it, in equal measure!

Nick (Kapow)

And,, I’m done.

81d, 4h, 33m, 39s.
Distance sailed 28,590.2 nm
Final place 73,846th.

See you in four years….

G

Yep I’ll not be far behind you Nick.
I got screwed by just one or two days when I woke up to find almost zero wind that hadn’t been predicted.
Shame we lost touch with the lead group but that’s the thing with this race…. If you miss the gate you’ll not get back.

Anyway, good fun – I’ll miss it as it’s a difficult time here at the moment and it took my mind off things for a few minutes each day!

Yay – I’ve finished!

83,671st
27,932.2nm
Time doesn’t seem to be registering properly yet, but I think it’s 81d, 9hr, 57min

Enjoy the last hours/days for everyone still out there!
Nick (Kapow)

Stapleford flier appears to have missed the finish circle and is currently stopped on the beach south of the finish line. May need some interesting sailing to get back against that westerly breeze….

STWanchor chasing me

Still chasing you!

Congratulations to the finishers. Shame to see Stapleford still on the rocks, I wonder if he will finish before us lot in the second group reach the finish!

I’ve enjoyed the racing so far. Considering I was down at 530,000th at one point and crashed in to land at another, I’m happy to be in 221k position now. Still mainly racing against B&B as he has been my closest competitor throughout.

Finished over the weekend in 140,671th position, from a starting position in the mid 450,000’s with a boat with no upgrades, so quite happy with that for my first circumnavigation. I think that puts me 7th in the STW Virtual Vendee, not sure if that includes Stapleford Flyers (@sharkbait) missing of the finish line or not!

Reasonable pleased with that (Somewhatbehind)
114,513th
82d 13h 42m
26626.2 NM

Had some good close battles with people along the way. Maybe see you in another one of their races

probably got another 48 hours to go :/

Shame to see Stapleford still on the rocks,

Viking burial – never liked the boat anyway!!
It’s the thought that counts 🙂

Well things are getting a bit tense for wave 2 of STW sailers. I’ve been chasing Retro80 since the Falklands and currently within touching distance, less than 5000 places between us. Womble’s decision to sail so far east seems to be costing him a lot of places and I’ve overtaken him for the first time during the race.

I should be finished at some point during tonight. I have properly enjoyed it, a bit of escapism during boring lockdown. Such a shame the race is only every 4 years.

It’s been fun watching some of the racing across the whole field. VR do run other races (some of us are currently bashing away in the South Atlantic in the Jules Verne trophy). I’m going to try to be competing in one of their events whenever I can, with the exception of the tara foundation race. Flat out at 3 knots in 25 knots of breeze made for very dull racing.

Hope to see some of you in the other events, if not then I’ll see you again in a few years

G