Don’t trust rankings, slower leaders and failing foils (Vendée Globe: update 20Jan21)
Christian Dumard, the Vendée Globe weather expert, has warned fans to beware of the rankings.
“The further we go forward, the more they give a one-sided picture,” he says. “The battle between the nine skippers at the front of the fleet is so hard fought that their position in the rankings should be taken with a pinch of salt. The skippers are ranked according to their position based on the distance left to sail to the finish.
“However, it is impossible to head straight for Les Sables d’Olonne.”
For the first time since the first Vendée Globe in 1989-1990, the last skipper will have passed the Horn before the first has finished into the Les Sables d’Olonne, or indeed even in the Bay of Biscay. So this ninth edition is clearly slower for the leaders but ultimately faster for the back markers.
Charlie Dalin (Apivia) expects to reconnect with Louis Burton – who is leeward and working NW – as they reach the south of the Azores.
“I chose the inside of the curve and we’ll see how it compares to Louis who went round the outside. But I think we will end up together at the Azores: the routings are becoming more and more precise and theoretically, I will arrive at Les Sables d’Olonne between January 27 and 28. But we will have to do a series of gybes and sail changes: there will still be work to do before the finish and we will have to manage the fronts.
“Since we went through the Doldrums, here we are coming out of a phase where we had to manage the curve with few manoeuvres and few strategic choices, but here we are entering the period where we will have to time your gybes right, set the right sailplan, managing the fronts, control your competitors and monitor maritime traffic. So you will have to be in good shape, as rested as possible or as less tired as possible! So be lucid.”
Giancarlo Pedote (Prysmian Group) says his 2015 foils are not very efficient in current conditions.
“The boat is doing well, but I have very small foils: it’s Jean-Pierre Dick’s former Absolute Dreamer, but it can’t take off like the others, which are going two or three knots faster than Prysmian Group in these conditions. In fact, the ‘tip’ (the ‘vertical’ part of the foil) is much smaller than the other boats of the same generation: Bureau Vallée 2 or Maître CoQ IV. This is also what makes the difference. I’m a bit obliged to do oceanic close-hauled sailing, because if I pull the helm, the boat doesn’t accelerate that much. It’s more like a breeze foil.”
Hear from skippers around the fleet
No news from Pip Hare this morning
Miranda Merron is feeling revived
“I’m north of the 50th parallel. This is a completely different world than the one the boat and I have lived in these last few weeks. It’s not just about survival anymore. Yesterday I was under a beautiful blue sky, great at drying the inside of the boat. Yet this morning it’s slightly raining. There’s a lot of kelp, these brown seaweed kindly wrap around the keel. Just released the keel from a huge pack of kelp. It grows abundantly on the rocks around here. I do regular back steps to get rid of them.
“The most important thing is tea stock, and it’s all good. I have plenty to hold my multiple daily cups of tea.” (09.09 20Jan21)
Watch yesterday’s action
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