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December 31, 2012
Weekend Ski trip
Vendée Globe near the Cape
Now nearly 50 days into this seventh edition of the Vendée Globe, the two race leaders Francois Gabart on MACIF and Le Cleac’h on Banque Populaire remain locked into their intense match race that has been raging for several weeks. Two days ago when confronted with a transition zone of light, disturbed and variable breeze, the pair had an opportunity to split up. Taking a northerly route would have entailed sailing more miles, in more predicted breeze, while the southerly option was more direct but with a forecast for lighter breeze. With both options being a bit of a gamble, many watched for the split, but that wasn’t the case as the pair continues to sail side by side, separated by just over a mile as of this writing.
Every day that these two leaders stay together, it begins to look more and more like this race might remain close until the finish. After the transition zone, MACIF and Banque Pop should ride the same low to Cape Horn and round within minutes of each other. With a significant amount of upwind sailing between Cape Horn and France, it could be an upwind drag race to the equator. If the pair can emerge from the doldrums together, it looks like it may be game on up to Biscay. This is absolutely fascinating stuff and every day that it continues, a new record is set. No two boats, solo or crewed, have ever raced each other so close for so long. This is bordering on ridiculous. The pair is often well in sight of each other and have been for the majority of this race, now quickly approaching it’s final third.
Two of the world’s best sailors are sailing on equally fast designs utilizing similar meteorological data and routing software. Neither one has made a slip up and both boats have proven to be well built and thoroughly prepared. We are all witnesses to history here as the bar is being collectively raised. 80 days is under attack and the Vendée is no longer a marathon race. It is now a sprint around the world, non-stop, throwing down 500 mile days at will. Less than 20 years ago, a fully-crewed 86-foot maxi-catamaran (Commodore Explorer, skippered by Bruno Peyron) became the first to eclipse the mythical 80-day mark. And now a pair of singlehanded monohulls may go as fast or faster than Bruno and Co. Simply fascinating
Virbac-Paprec 3 and Hugo Boss gaining on leaders
While Francois Gabart and Armel Le Cleac’h may be sailing an unbelievable race at the front of the pack, let’s not forget that they are not pulling away from Jean-Pierre Dick on Virbac-Paprec 3 and Alex Thomson on Hugo Boss. In fact, it’s quite the opposite right now. At the last check in, Jean-Pierre Dick was gaining on the two leaders at a rate of some six knots, having closed the deficit to less than 390 miles, the smallest gap since the West Australia Gate some 4,400 nautical miles ago. Riding 25 knot northwesterlies at the top of a fast-moving low, Dick has managed to gain back close to 300 miles in the past 48 hours as the two leaders have been stuck in the light-air transition zone between two systems. Closing the gap, Dick could manage to further re-gain touch with the leaders by Cape Horn.
Likewise, Alex Thomson is in the same pressure, allowing him to also gain on the leaders. At 830 some miles back from the leaders and closing, Thomson has gained back everything that he had lost since the New Zealand Gate. Still plagued by hydrogenerator problems and looking for a place to fix them, Thomson is desperately needing the entire fleet to get trapped in light air so that he has an opportunity to work on his hydrogenerators without shedding hundreds of miles to the leaders. Using valuable fuel reserves to charge his batteries without full function of his hydro, it definitely begs the question of how long Alex’s fuel reserves will hold out or if he’ll be relegated to the same type of situation as Bernard Stamm, having to seek shelter to effect repairs to the damaged charging system.
What’s up next for the top 4
Predicting what will happen to the top 4 boats in this race is difficult at the moment, especially with Cape Horn in the near future. It looks as though Jean-Pierre Dick will continue gaining on Gabart and Le Cleac’h but the question is by how much. With a low spinning up off of Argentina and moving east, the two leaders could hook into southerly to southwesterly breeze that could slingshot them north after the Horn, leaving JP floundering in their wakes. If Cleac’h and Gabart don’t round the Cape in time, they could miss the low which would allow Dick to stay in touch and avoid losing miles after Cape Horn.
Even reaching Cape Horn is a bit difficult to predict as this current low that is allowing Dick to gain on Cleac’h and Gabart is already a bit softer and less organized than originally predicted. If this thing stalls or continues to fall apart, then Dick could continue making gains right up until the Cape, at which point, he could be just hours behind effectively making this a 3-boat race. One forecast shows light air across the board for the leading boats approaching Cape Horn while another forecast shows a band of pressure conveniently appearing from the East Pacific Gate to the Cape, allowing for a quick and hopefully painless rounding of the Cape. Alex Thomson on the other hand, looks to be the biggest benefactor of this current system, which could allow him to continue gaining on the leaders and even on Jean-Pierre Dick as the top 4 approach Cape Horn.
Le Cam back up to speed as “second pack” tries to reform
In our last update, Jean Le Cam looked poised to gain miles on Alex Thomson, where in reality just the opposite happened. Le Cam, who was hooking into a low moving south of New Zealand was fast for a while but stalled in the transition zone after the low dissipated. Allowing his 3 pursuers to close up rapidly and watching Alex Thomson hook into the same low as JP Dick and sail away, “King Jean” still finds himself all alone in 5th place. Synerciel has lost a further 150 miles to Hugo Boss, bringing the deficit to about a thousand miles, while Gamesa and Mirabaud are charging up from behind, some 400 miles back. Expect Le Cam to remain par for the course with both Thomson ahead and his pursuers behind over the following days.
Bubi goes aloft for mainsail headboard car repairs… again
While some boats in the fleet have dealt with recurring hydrogenerator problems throughout this race, Spain’s Javier Sanso on Acciona 100% Ecopowered has now had to climb his own mast, twice, to repair his mainsail headboard car. Stuck with 1 reef in his mainsail for nearly two days, Bubi sent himself aloft under sail this time, having anchored in the lee of Tenerife in the Canary Islands some 6 weeks ago during his first repair.
Heroic stuff from the long-time Anarchist and 8th place sailor in this race. Seemingly playing catch up during this entire race, one can only hope that Sanso and Acciona 100% Ecopowered can re-gain touch with Mirabaud, Gamesa and the rest after Cape Horn and truly show off the potential of his new Owen-Clarke design. With a boat that excels to windward, Bubi will certainly be one to watch in the predominantly upwind conditions that the fleet will likely encounter on their way from Cape Horn back to France.
Stamm’s situation improves…. and deteriorates
The good news is that after leaving his anchorage in Sandy Bay in the Auckland Islands and sailing to New Zealand’s South Island, Bernard Stamm has reportedly repaired both of his hydrogenerators and rejoined the race. The bad news is that he received assistance from a Russian research vessel when his anchor began dragging in seaweed during rough weather at anchor in Sandy Bay. As a result, the Swiss skipper of Cheminees Poujoulat has been protested by the race committee.
The problem with Stamm’s hydros occurred due to their mounting and deployment method, as stated by Bernard in a Vendée Globe Live TV interview:
“At the start in Les Sables d’Olonne, the hydrogenerators were mounted on little trucks on a track to raise and lower them out of the water. And we supported them with chainplates. Off Portugal one of the chainplates was damaged and so broke the track. And then the second also broke. We tried to remove the U-bolts and fix them firmly with lashings…. the hydros were still too loose. There was some cavitation – air being drawn in and preventing the propellors working right. The only alternative was cutting the transom.”
Encountering rainy conditions, it was difficult for Stamm to sand and prep the areas to be worked on, as well as for him to get the epoxy resins to set properly, making for a strong repair. With only a very limited amount of supplies onboard, Stamm was delayed further and further by the conditions causing the planned 1-2 day repair job to turn into a 5 day repair, including the detour to New Zealand’s South Island.
Perhaps the most meaningful element of this story is that Stamm has received outside assistance and been protested by the race committee. As reported by race director Denis Horeau on Vendée Globe Live, Stamm’s anchor was slipping in seaweed when he contacted the crew of the Russian research vessel Professor Khromov via VHF radio. The crew “responded positively” and came over to Cheminees Poujoulat and helped Stamm to retrieve his slipping anchor before attaching it to Professor Khromov, allowing Stamm to remain safely moored in Sandy Bay. Under race rules, competitors are allowed to anchor by themselves or pick up a mooring, however outside assistance is expressly prohibited. An international jury of 5 will decide Bernard’s fate once all of the facts have been compiled. Will Stamm’s “exceptional honesty” be rewarded in reporting the case to the race committee, resulting in either no penalty or a time penalty? Or will Stamm be disqualified? When breaking his engine seal upon his arrival and anchorage in Sandy Bay, Stamm was likely to be given permission to do so based on “extreme circumstances” that helped ensure his (and his boat’s) safety.
Either way, after a slipping anchor forced his last Cheminees Poujoulat aground in the Kerguelen Islands in 2008, which resulted in his retirement from the Vendée Globe, this is surely like a bad nightmare for the Swissman who is still trying to finish his first Vendée Globe, now on his third attempt. The story lines that have developed during this race are the kind of stuff that not even a Hollywood script writer could imagine. First it was Marc Guillermot losing a keel…. again. Then it was Kito de Pavant retiring on Day 2…. again. Then it was Louis Burton striking a fishing vessel… again. (last Route du Rhum in a Class 40…) Then it was Vincent Riou and PRB damaging an outrigger and retiring…. again. And now it’s Bernard Stamm (possibly) being forced to retire from the Vendée due to a dragging anchor….. again. Absolutely fascinating story lines developing in this seventh edition of the race.
Stamm has now re-started from New Zealand and was making 14 knots at the last check-in. If he is allowed to stay in the race, he will surely be one to watch. He’s got 4 boats just ahead in Akena Verandas, Acciona 100% Ecopowered, Mirabaud and Gamesa. With a new-generation Juan K design that has proven itself to be on pace with the leaders and absolutely romp to windward and in close reaching conditions, Stamm could make huge gains across the Pacific and up the Atlantic in his bid to still claim a top 5 finish.
An excellent explanation of Bernard Stamm’s rules infraction and subsequent RC protest available here. Thanks to Anarchist “popo” for the translation (make sure “transcript” is enabled in you tube)
Di Benedetto loving it at the back of the pack.
Team Plastique skipper Alessandro di Benedetto may be at the back of the pack, but he is absolutely loving the adventure that his fixed-keel Finot designed Open 60 is giving him. Just crossing Cape Leeuwin, Australia a day ago, he has gybed south into more breeze after the West Australia Gate and is now heading ENE towards the East Australia Gate. If you want to see what a truly happy sailor looks like when passing Cape Leeuwin, click here (go to 58 seconds to see AdB)
Our next update should coincide with the leaders rounding Cape Horn! Stay tuned!
-Ronnie Simpson.
Every day that these two leaders stay together, it begins to look more and more like this race might remain close until the finish. After the transition zone, MACIF and Banque Pop should ride the same low to Cape Horn and round within minutes of each other. With a significant amount of upwind sailing between Cape Horn and France, it could be an upwind drag race to the equator. If the pair can emerge from the doldrums together, it looks like it may be game on up to Biscay. This is absolutely fascinating stuff and every day that it continues, a new record is set. No two boats, solo or crewed, have ever raced each other so close for so long. This is bordering on ridiculous. The pair is often well in sight of each other and have been for the majority of this race, now quickly approaching it’s final third.
Two of the world’s best sailors are sailing on equally fast designs utilizing similar meteorological data and routing software. Neither one has made a slip up and both boats have proven to be well built and thoroughly prepared. We are all witnesses to history here as the bar is being collectively raised. 80 days is under attack and the Vendée is no longer a marathon race. It is now a sprint around the world, non-stop, throwing down 500 mile days at will. Less than 20 years ago, a fully-crewed 86-foot maxi-catamaran (Commodore Explorer, skippered by Bruno Peyron) became the first to eclipse the mythical 80-day mark. And now a pair of singlehanded monohulls may go as fast or faster than Bruno and Co. Simply fascinating
Virbac-Paprec 3 and Hugo Boss gaining on leaders
While Francois Gabart and Armel Le Cleac’h may be sailing an unbelievable race at the front of the pack, let’s not forget that they are not pulling away from Jean-Pierre Dick on Virbac-Paprec 3 and Alex Thomson on Hugo Boss. In fact, it’s quite the opposite right now. At the last check in, Jean-Pierre Dick was gaining on the two leaders at a rate of some six knots, having closed the deficit to less than 390 miles, the smallest gap since the West Australia Gate some 4,400 nautical miles ago. Riding 25 knot northwesterlies at the top of a fast-moving low, Dick has managed to gain back close to 300 miles in the past 48 hours as the two leaders have been stuck in the light-air transition zone between two systems. Closing the gap, Dick could manage to further re-gain touch with the leaders by Cape Horn.
Likewise, Alex Thomson is in the same pressure, allowing him to also gain on the leaders. At 830 some miles back from the leaders and closing, Thomson has gained back everything that he had lost since the New Zealand Gate. Still plagued by hydrogenerator problems and looking for a place to fix them, Thomson is desperately needing the entire fleet to get trapped in light air so that he has an opportunity to work on his hydrogenerators without shedding hundreds of miles to the leaders. Using valuable fuel reserves to charge his batteries without full function of his hydro, it definitely begs the question of how long Alex’s fuel reserves will hold out or if he’ll be relegated to the same type of situation as Bernard Stamm, having to seek shelter to effect repairs to the damaged charging system.
What’s up next for the top 4
Predicting what will happen to the top 4 boats in this race is difficult at the moment, especially with Cape Horn in the near future. It looks as though Jean-Pierre Dick will continue gaining on Gabart and Le Cleac’h but the question is by how much. With a low spinning up off of Argentina and moving east, the two leaders could hook into southerly to southwesterly breeze that could slingshot them north after the Horn, leaving JP floundering in their wakes. If Cleac’h and Gabart don’t round the Cape in time, they could miss the low which would allow Dick to stay in touch and avoid losing miles after Cape Horn.
Even reaching Cape Horn is a bit difficult to predict as this current low that is allowing Dick to gain on Cleac’h and Gabart is already a bit softer and less organized than originally predicted. If this thing stalls or continues to fall apart, then Dick could continue making gains right up until the Cape, at which point, he could be just hours behind effectively making this a 3-boat race. One forecast shows light air across the board for the leading boats approaching Cape Horn while another forecast shows a band of pressure conveniently appearing from the East Pacific Gate to the Cape, allowing for a quick and hopefully painless rounding of the Cape. Alex Thomson on the other hand, looks to be the biggest benefactor of this current system, which could allow him to continue gaining on the leaders and even on Jean-Pierre Dick as the top 4 approach Cape Horn.
Le Cam back up to speed as “second pack” tries to reform
In our last update, Jean Le Cam looked poised to gain miles on Alex Thomson, where in reality just the opposite happened. Le Cam, who was hooking into a low moving south of New Zealand was fast for a while but stalled in the transition zone after the low dissipated. Allowing his 3 pursuers to close up rapidly and watching Alex Thomson hook into the same low as JP Dick and sail away, “King Jean” still finds himself all alone in 5th place. Synerciel has lost a further 150 miles to Hugo Boss, bringing the deficit to about a thousand miles, while Gamesa and Mirabaud are charging up from behind, some 400 miles back. Expect Le Cam to remain par for the course with both Thomson ahead and his pursuers behind over the following days.
Bubi goes aloft for mainsail headboard car repairs… again
While some boats in the fleet have dealt with recurring hydrogenerator problems throughout this race, Spain’s Javier Sanso on Acciona 100% Ecopowered has now had to climb his own mast, twice, to repair his mainsail headboard car. Stuck with 1 reef in his mainsail for nearly two days, Bubi sent himself aloft under sail this time, having anchored in the lee of Tenerife in the Canary Islands some 6 weeks ago during his first repair.
Heroic stuff from the long-time Anarchist and 8th place sailor in this race. Seemingly playing catch up during this entire race, one can only hope that Sanso and Acciona 100% Ecopowered can re-gain touch with Mirabaud, Gamesa and the rest after Cape Horn and truly show off the potential of his new Owen-Clarke design. With a boat that excels to windward, Bubi will certainly be one to watch in the predominantly upwind conditions that the fleet will likely encounter on their way from Cape Horn back to France.
Stamm’s situation improves…. and deteriorates
The good news is that after leaving his anchorage in Sandy Bay in the Auckland Islands and sailing to New Zealand’s South Island, Bernard Stamm has reportedly repaired both of his hydrogenerators and rejoined the race. The bad news is that he received assistance from a Russian research vessel when his anchor began dragging in seaweed during rough weather at anchor in Sandy Bay. As a result, the Swiss skipper of Cheminees Poujoulat has been protested by the race committee.
The problem with Stamm’s hydros occurred due to their mounting and deployment method, as stated by Bernard in a Vendée Globe Live TV interview:
“At the start in Les Sables d’Olonne, the hydrogenerators were mounted on little trucks on a track to raise and lower them out of the water. And we supported them with chainplates. Off Portugal one of the chainplates was damaged and so broke the track. And then the second also broke. We tried to remove the U-bolts and fix them firmly with lashings…. the hydros were still too loose. There was some cavitation – air being drawn in and preventing the propellors working right. The only alternative was cutting the transom.”
Encountering rainy conditions, it was difficult for Stamm to sand and prep the areas to be worked on, as well as for him to get the epoxy resins to set properly, making for a strong repair. With only a very limited amount of supplies onboard, Stamm was delayed further and further by the conditions causing the planned 1-2 day repair job to turn into a 5 day repair, including the detour to New Zealand’s South Island.
Perhaps the most meaningful element of this story is that Stamm has received outside assistance and been protested by the race committee. As reported by race director Denis Horeau on Vendée Globe Live, Stamm’s anchor was slipping in seaweed when he contacted the crew of the Russian research vessel Professor Khromov via VHF radio. The crew “responded positively” and came over to Cheminees Poujoulat and helped Stamm to retrieve his slipping anchor before attaching it to Professor Khromov, allowing Stamm to remain safely moored in Sandy Bay. Under race rules, competitors are allowed to anchor by themselves or pick up a mooring, however outside assistance is expressly prohibited. An international jury of 5 will decide Bernard’s fate once all of the facts have been compiled. Will Stamm’s “exceptional honesty” be rewarded in reporting the case to the race committee, resulting in either no penalty or a time penalty? Or will Stamm be disqualified? When breaking his engine seal upon his arrival and anchorage in Sandy Bay, Stamm was likely to be given permission to do so based on “extreme circumstances” that helped ensure his (and his boat’s) safety.
Either way, after a slipping anchor forced his last Cheminees Poujoulat aground in the Kerguelen Islands in 2008, which resulted in his retirement from the Vendée Globe, this is surely like a bad nightmare for the Swissman who is still trying to finish his first Vendée Globe, now on his third attempt. The story lines that have developed during this race are the kind of stuff that not even a Hollywood script writer could imagine. First it was Marc Guillermot losing a keel…. again. Then it was Kito de Pavant retiring on Day 2…. again. Then it was Louis Burton striking a fishing vessel… again. (last Route du Rhum in a Class 40…) Then it was Vincent Riou and PRB damaging an outrigger and retiring…. again. And now it’s Bernard Stamm (possibly) being forced to retire from the Vendée due to a dragging anchor….. again. Absolutely fascinating story lines developing in this seventh edition of the race.
Stamm has now re-started from New Zealand and was making 14 knots at the last check-in. If he is allowed to stay in the race, he will surely be one to watch. He’s got 4 boats just ahead in Akena Verandas, Acciona 100% Ecopowered, Mirabaud and Gamesa. With a new-generation Juan K design that has proven itself to be on pace with the leaders and absolutely romp to windward and in close reaching conditions, Stamm could make huge gains across the Pacific and up the Atlantic in his bid to still claim a top 5 finish.
An excellent explanation of Bernard Stamm’s rules infraction and subsequent RC protest available here. Thanks to Anarchist “popo” for the translation (make sure “transcript” is enabled in you tube)
Di Benedetto loving it at the back of the pack.
Team Plastique skipper Alessandro di Benedetto may be at the back of the pack, but he is absolutely loving the adventure that his fixed-keel Finot designed Open 60 is giving him. Just crossing Cape Leeuwin, Australia a day ago, he has gybed south into more breeze after the West Australia Gate and is now heading ENE towards the East Australia Gate. If you want to see what a truly happy sailor looks like when passing Cape Leeuwin, click here (go to 58 seconds to see AdB)
Our next update should coincide with the leaders rounding Cape Horn! Stay tuned!
-Ronnie Simpson.
December 28, 2012
Sydney to Hobart
Wild Oats XI claimed a sixth victory in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Thursday after producing a record time to see off the opposition.
The super-maxi crossed the line with an official time of one day, 18 hours, 23 minutes and 12 seconds to claim victory in the prestigious 628-nautical mile bluewater classic.
It broke its own previous record of one day, 18 hours, 40 minutes and 10 seconds, which it set back in 2005.
It also won the race every year from 2005-08 and in 2010 but last year was narrowly beaten by Investec Loyal, which finished a distant second this time under the new name of Ragamuffin Loyal.
"Last year we were beaten by by three minutes, which was very disappointing. This year we beat them by much more," skipper Mark Richards told the race's official website after coming home with 45 nautical miles to spare.
The record had looked like slipping out of his grasp as conditions lightened going up the Derwent River, but Richards ordered a bigger mainsail to keep momentum going.
"We just kept chipping away. You expect it to be light in the Derwent and it did get lighter towards the end. This is a very testing event and the Derwent is very, very, testing. It's always a tough race," he said.
"We had some very hard and fast running conditions; we blew out a spinnaker and had some gear failure, so it wasn't all smooth sailing."
Most of the crew have been together since 2005, with Steve Jarvin celebrating his 25th race with a record 10th line honors victory.
Wild Oats became only the second boat in the event to break its own record.
"We'll try to do it again next year," owner Bob Oatley said.
"New wings on the keel helped enormously I'm sure, so did the new jib. The design, the crew, the sails and the modifications are what makes the boat fast."
Ragamuffin Loyal, skippered by 85-year-old Syd Fischer, was confirmed in second ahead of Lahana after being cleared of making an early start on Wednesday. An international jury ruled Friday that race officials had failed to inform Fischer that he had jumped the gun.
Fischer was left to rue problems with damaged headsail equipment on the first night of the race.
"We had a bit of trouble," he said after finishing his 44th Sydney-Hobart in one day, 23 hours and eight minutes and 44 seconds.
"We're new to the boat, we've only had it two months. I think we did pretty well. The boys pushed the boat really hard, it's just unfortunate that things broke or went wrong."
The race, being held for the 68th time, is known as one of the toughest in the world. The 1998 edition ended with just 44 of the 115 entries completing the journey, as five boats sank and six people died.
Living Doll was the first yacht of the 76-strong fleet to withdraw from this year's event, suffering a broken rudder near the middle of Bass Strait, 90 nautical miles north east of Flinders Island.
"The Race Committee has been advised that the crew are all in good shape and that they are managing by themselves. They have not asked any other yacht to stand by," the Sydney-Hobart website reported Thursday.
The super-maxi crossed the line with an official time of one day, 18 hours, 23 minutes and 12 seconds to claim victory in the prestigious 628-nautical mile bluewater classic.
It broke its own previous record of one day, 18 hours, 40 minutes and 10 seconds, which it set back in 2005.
It also won the race every year from 2005-08 and in 2010 but last year was narrowly beaten by Investec Loyal, which finished a distant second this time under the new name of Ragamuffin Loyal.
"Last year we were beaten by by three minutes, which was very disappointing. This year we beat them by much more," skipper Mark Richards told the race's official website after coming home with 45 nautical miles to spare.
The record had looked like slipping out of his grasp as conditions lightened going up the Derwent River, but Richards ordered a bigger mainsail to keep momentum going.
"We just kept chipping away. You expect it to be light in the Derwent and it did get lighter towards the end. This is a very testing event and the Derwent is very, very, testing. It's always a tough race," he said.
"We had some very hard and fast running conditions; we blew out a spinnaker and had some gear failure, so it wasn't all smooth sailing."
Most of the crew have been together since 2005, with Steve Jarvin celebrating his 25th race with a record 10th line honors victory.
"We'll try to do it again next year," owner Bob Oatley said.
"New wings on the keel helped enormously I'm sure, so did the new jib. The design, the crew, the sails and the modifications are what makes the boat fast."
Ragamuffin Loyal, skippered by 85-year-old Syd Fischer, was confirmed in second ahead of Lahana after being cleared of making an early start on Wednesday. An international jury ruled Friday that race officials had failed to inform Fischer that he had jumped the gun.
Fischer was left to rue problems with damaged headsail equipment on the first night of the race.
"We had a bit of trouble," he said after finishing his 44th Sydney-Hobart in one day, 23 hours and eight minutes and 44 seconds.
"We're new to the boat, we've only had it two months. I think we did pretty well. The boys pushed the boat really hard, it's just unfortunate that things broke or went wrong."
The race, being held for the 68th time, is known as one of the toughest in the world. The 1998 edition ended with just 44 of the 115 entries completing the journey, as five boats sank and six people died.
Living Doll was the first yacht of the 76-strong fleet to withdraw from this year's event, suffering a broken rudder near the middle of Bass Strait, 90 nautical miles north east of Flinders Island.
"The Race Committee has been advised that the crew are all in good shape and that they are managing by themselves. They have not asked any other yacht to stand by," the Sydney-Hobart website reported Thursday.
Some Vendee news...
Bernard Stamm:
A spell of more peaceful life in the Pacific is proving something of a welcomed tonic for the two Vendée Globe leaders. Despite the fact that Armel Le Cléac’h and François Gabart - side be side just three miles apart - have been forced to concede 300 miles since Boxing Day to the fast moving Jean-Pierre Dick, second placed François Gabart asserted today that the interlude of lighter winds has been good for him to recuperate and to check Macif before the race rookie’s first passage of Cape Horn.
Dick was 685 miles behind the leading pairing on Boxing Day. Even this afternoon he was still winding them in with his speed advantage of five knots. Most recent routing predictions still have Virbac-Paprec 3 catching to within 18 hours of the leaders who are expected at Cape Horn during the middle hours of January 1st.
Bernard Stamm raised his anchor at around 0600hrs UTC this morning from his spot off Allan’s Beach at Dunedin NZ and, without fanfare, returned quietly to the Vendée Globe race course. Having repaired both his hydrogenerators it was an exhausted rather than elated Stamm who briefly joined Vendée Globe LIVE to confirm he is back in the race. His first concerns were to make sure that his batteries charged successfully, then to get some very much needed sleep. With both of the hydrognerator propellors re-attached to the back of the boat he started slowly, but by the late afternoon was making 14.7kts. The hard driving Swiss skipper has lost six places since his power generating problems hit but he is no stranger to playing catch up. His initial target is a fast moving one, Arnaud Boissières on Akena Vérandas, is some 60 miles ahead in ninth place.
Arnaud Boissières
Can it be "The Mysterious Island"?
Oh no, it's the Campbell Island, perched away on the other side of the world! An uninhabited island for good reason, it is far from everything (or close to anything if you want)!
In any case, it is as beautiful as mysterious or strange!
A spell of more peaceful life in the Pacific is proving something of a welcomed tonic for the two Vendée Globe leaders. Despite the fact that Armel Le Cléac’h and François Gabart - side be side just three miles apart - have been forced to concede 300 miles since Boxing Day to the fast moving Jean-Pierre Dick, second placed François Gabart asserted today that the interlude of lighter winds has been good for him to recuperate and to check Macif before the race rookie’s first passage of Cape Horn.
Dick was 685 miles behind the leading pairing on Boxing Day. Even this afternoon he was still winding them in with his speed advantage of five knots. Most recent routing predictions still have Virbac-Paprec 3 catching to within 18 hours of the leaders who are expected at Cape Horn during the middle hours of January 1st.
Bernard Stamm raised his anchor at around 0600hrs UTC this morning from his spot off Allan’s Beach at Dunedin NZ and, without fanfare, returned quietly to the Vendée Globe race course. Having repaired both his hydrogenerators it was an exhausted rather than elated Stamm who briefly joined Vendée Globe LIVE to confirm he is back in the race. His first concerns were to make sure that his batteries charged successfully, then to get some very much needed sleep. With both of the hydrognerator propellors re-attached to the back of the boat he started slowly, but by the late afternoon was making 14.7kts. The hard driving Swiss skipper has lost six places since his power generating problems hit but he is no stranger to playing catch up. His initial target is a fast moving one, Arnaud Boissières on Akena Vérandas, is some 60 miles ahead in ninth place.
Can it be "The Mysterious Island"?
Oh no, it's the Campbell Island, perched away on the other side of the world! An uninhabited island for good reason, it is far from everything (or close to anything if you want)!
In any case, it is as beautiful as mysterious or strange!
December 27, 2012
Good and Bad...
San Francisco was battered by wind and rain, every storm leaves a number of boats either on the rocks or sunk. A lot of people have boats to just keep a slip, they don't check on the boat, they don't care. The slip is valuable if it is in a stop where people want to keep a boat. So when a storm blows through, a few boats go for a wonder. Some just sink in the slip.
December 26, 2012
Vendee
Sydney to Hobart race
December 24, 2012
Apollo 8: Christmas at the Moon
Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, entered lunar orbit on Christmas
Eve, Dec. 24, 1968. That evening, the astronauts held a live broadcast from
lunar orbit, during which they showed pictures of the Earth and moon as seen
from their spacecraft.Christmas Eve, 1968. As one of the most turbulent, tragic years in American history drew to a close, millions around the world were watching and listening as the Apollo 8 astronauts -- Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders -- became the first humans to orbit another world.
As their command module floated above the lunar surface, the astronauts beamed back images of the moon and Earth and took turns reading from the book of Genesis, closing with a wish for everyone "on the good Earth."
"We were told that on Christmas Eve we would have the largest audience that had ever listened to a human voice," recalled Borman during 40th anniversary celebrations in 2008. "And the only instructions that we got from NASA was to do something appropriate."
"The first ten verses of Genesis is the foundation of many of the world's religions, not just the Christian religion," added Lovell. "There are more people in other religions than the Christian religion around the world, and so this would be appropriate to that and so that's how it came to pass."
The mission was also famous for the iconic "Earthrise" image, snapped by Anders, which would give humankind a new perspective on their home planet. Anders has said that despite all the training and preparation for an exploration of the moon, the astronauts ended up discovering Earth.
The Apollo 8 astronauts got where they were that Christmas Eve because of a bold, improvisational call by NASA. With the clock ticking on President Kennedy's challenge to land on the moon by decade's end, delays with the lunar module were threatening to slow the Apollo program. So NASA decided to change mission plans and send the Apollo 8 crew all the way to the moon without a lunar module on the first manned flight of the massive Saturn V rocket.
The crew rocketed into orbit on December 21, and after circling the moon 10 times on Christmas Eve, it was time to come home. On Christmas morning, mission control waited anxiously for word that Apollo 8's engine burn to leave lunar orbit had worked. They soon got confirmation when Lovell radioed, "Roger, please be informed there is a Santa Claus."
The crew splashed down in the Pacific on December 27. A lunar landing was still months away, but for the first time ever, men from Earth had visited the moon and returned home safely.
Vendée Globe Update
Nearly 44 days into this Vendée Globe race and the leaders are still basically tied. This epic, record-smashing singlehanded match race around the world continues into it’s seventh week quickly becoming the stuff of legend. No dramatization in this writing, the two leaders Francois Gabart on MACIF and Armel Le Cleac’h on Banque Populaire continue to swap the lead on an almost daily basis, still separated by just a handful of miles; 7.5 as of this writing. The nearly identical VPLP-Verdier sisterships are consistently posting up duplicate speeds of one another, down to the tenth of a knot. Reviewing the Vendée tracker before writing this article only reinforces the extraordinary nature of this race. South of everything but Antarctica and more than halfway around the world, the guys are literally trading gybes, often in sight of one another, at sustained average speeds in the upper-teens and low-twenties. Solo. Fascinating stuff. Now a quarter of their way across the Pacific Ocean, the two have recently dispatched the New Zealand gate, with Le Cleac’h pinging the gate first and then gybing south, some 70 miles west of where Gabart crossed the gate and gybed. Cleac’h and Gabart now have just two gates (out of 8) left before reaching Cape Horn and beginning their trip home up the North Atlantic.
No close Vendée Globe match race would be complete without some brilliant psychological warfare, this edition being no exception. First, it was JP Dick not reporting that anything was wrong with Virbac-Paprec 3, only reporting the damage after heroically going aloft and fixing the problem. And now it’s 29-year old Vendée rookie Francois Gabart’s turn to play some psychological games as he has done by reporting “Spoon damage” on MACIF. With the rest of the fleet stopping to fix problems, nursing wounded boats around the globe and climbing their own rigs, the race leader is posting before and after pictures of 3 broken “sporks” and then a repaired one, taped together with black electrical tape.
Virbac-Paprec 3 meanwhile continues sailing in third place, sailing a race almost equally incredible to the two leaders. Reaching the New Zealand gate after the leaders, Dick sailed well North of the entire thing, aiming straight for the trough of compressed breeze between a strong developing high east of New Zealand the low that Cleac’h and Gabart are hooking into at the moment. Broad-reaching east northeast in 25-35 knots of northwesterly breeze, Dick threw down a nearly 480 mile day on Saturday to re-claim 120 hard-fought miles from the leaders, bringing the gap down to nearly 500. Maintaining high speeds and again on-pace with the leaders since his up-the-rig heroics, the two-time Barcelona Champ was slightly slower on the last check-in but looks poised to stay in solid breeze in the trough, potentially working his way back up to the leaders when this low dissipates and the leaders hit the next ridge of high pressure. If Virbac-Paprec 3 can stay close to the leaders and catch the next low before MACIF and Banque Populaire, then we could potentially have a 3-horse VPLP match race to Cape Horn. That next low after this one could take all 3 leaders to the Cape.
Thomson maintains while Stamm heads to Auckland Islands for repairs
Now sailing all alone in 4th place since the loss of his Swiss match racing partner Bernard Stamm and Cheminees Poujoulat, Englishman Alex Thomson is merely trying to maintain his position, still just under 900 miles from the leaders who look poised to extend further as they catch onto this next low. Spending the majority of his past day working on his hydrogenerator like his fallen comrade Stamm, Thomson was expected to reach lighter northerlies this morning that should allow him a productive day of work on repairing his hydros and restoring power to Hugo Boss, the only previous-generation boat in the top 5. Considering the hydrogenerator and rudder tie bar problems that Alex has had to deal with, not to mention a couple of days of major losses after getting dropped off the low a week ago, it’s absolutely incredible that he is where is in the fleet right now, situated just under 894 miles behind the leaders. Facing more unstable weather in the trough between two systems, Alex should shed more miles in the next 3 days, and now has to begin looking behind him. With Stamm stopping in the Aucklands and a hard-charging Jean Le Cam just 840 miles behind, Alex finds himself out of touch with the leaders who have pulled away and now has to nurse his boat back to health and fend off a crazed brit-hunting Frenchman in 3-time Figaro winner and 1-time Vendée Globe runner up Jean Le Cam on Synerciel; a very similar boat to Hugo Boss, with both of them being now 6-year old Farr designs.
Bernard Stamm meanwhile has had to seek shelter in Sandy Bay, south of Enderby Island, located in the northeastern part of the Auckland Islands archipelago. Relegated to stopping as his hydrogenerator has stopped working and his diesel fuel spares are dwindling, the Swiss sailor was surely haunted by the prospect of anchoring out at nearly the same latitude as Kerguelen Island, the sight of his retirement in the previous edition of the Vendée Globe. The memories of encountering rough conditions and being washed aground while trying to anchor are all too fresh in Bernard’s mind, with him reporting to the race committee just before 6 AM this morning that he had broken his engine seal and had to use his motor to reach his anchorage with winds up to 40 knots in the area. In the last Vendée Globe, Marc Guillermot on Safran was allowed to use his engine to anchor in this exact spot in the last Vendée Globe, a race in which he re-started and finished third. Race Director Denis Horeau fully supports Stamm’s actions and is likely to allow Cheminees Poujoulat to re-start after his repairs are completed and all information is submitted to the race committee.
While the close race between Alex Thomson and Bernard Stamm may have come to an end, the poetic nature of this duel will go down in Vendée history. Both men are still trying to finish their first Vendée, now each on their third attempt. Both have long been plagued with hydrogenerator problems amongst a myriad of other issues, and both had been match racing each other, swapping the lead repeatedly and often separated by miles, just like our two leaders Cleac’h and Gabart. Stamm even led the race overall for a while when approaching the Crozet Ice Gate. Bernard plans to also conduct a sail repair, rebuild and repair his central winch-grinding pedestal and repair his broken hydros in 24 to 48 hours and leave before Christmas Day and it
s forecasted challenging conditions and strong northerly breeze.
Le Cam is the man
The King is back. Everyone loves a comeback story and in the next two weeks, “King Jean” will be it. After wrapping a net around his keel in the South Atlantic and battling hard across the Indian Ocean, Le Cam has now managed to drop his longtime rivals Mike Golding and Dominique Wavre behind, sailing his new-to-him chartered Farr designed Synerciel (ex-Gitana Eighty who led the last Vendée early before dismasting a month in with Loick Peyron at the helm). Maintaining a gap of about 840 miles to Hugo Boss, Le Cam and Thomson were both making 16 knots at the last check-in. Thomson was forecast to hit light northerlies, while Le Cam was looking to outrun a brief hole before hooking into a low that will carry him under New Zealand and away from his pursuers. Depending on what this low does and how fast Le Cam can sail, he could likely find himself once again on the same weather system and in the same patterns as Thomson. Watch for the 3-time Figaro winner to pass the parked Cheminees Poujoulat and begin reeling in Hugo Boss. The Brit-hunting Le Cam already took care of Gamesa, finishing him off by sailing away and then adding “I think Mike has a problem with his sails because it’s not possible to sail like he does with the current wind directions.”
A battle of attrition and speed, Jean Le Cam is about to find himself in the top 5 and gaining on fourth place. Amazing stuff from the 53 year old multi-time Vendée veteran who sports the best hair in the Vendée, only rivaled by The Professor himself.
Misery loves company
Gamesa, Mirabaud and Acciona 100% Ecopowered are suffering in the light and moderate breezes in between two highs at the moment with a low building below them. Quickly allowing Jean Le Cam to sail away, the 3 boat race is going quite slowly with Golding and Sanso taking painful gybes south at just 10 knots and 7 knots of boat speed respectively. Dominique Wavre on Mirabaud was making 13 knots at the last check-in, right in between the two, but the forecast is bleak for these three in the middle of the fleet. Currently passing under Tasmania, the trio should continue struggling with light airs before catching breeze on the back of Le Cam’s low, again stalling on the ridge after the low, further losing miles. And then there were three. With 4 boats, it was fun while it lasted, but now it’s back to a three way battle for seventh place with Jean Le Cam being traded for Javier Sanso.
Elsewhere
At the back of the pack, Arnaud Boissieres on Akena Verandas continues to sail by himself in 10th place while Bertrand de Broc and Tanguy de Lamotte both currently negotiate the West Australia gate. The trio is spread out but should soon all be in solid breeze from an east-moving low that should carry them under Australia and to the East Australia gate before stalling out and heading south. Maintaining 13th position is an always-smiling and laughing Alessandro di Benedetto sailing fast in his ancient fixed-keel Team Plastique, averaging more than 16 knots over one four-hour stretch. Alessandro should continue to stay in breeze and make a rapid passage from the Amsterdam gate to the West Australia gate before entering the Pacific Ocean.
-Ronnie Simpson
No close Vendée Globe match race would be complete without some brilliant psychological warfare, this edition being no exception. First, it was JP Dick not reporting that anything was wrong with Virbac-Paprec 3, only reporting the damage after heroically going aloft and fixing the problem. And now it’s 29-year old Vendée rookie Francois Gabart’s turn to play some psychological games as he has done by reporting “Spoon damage” on MACIF. With the rest of the fleet stopping to fix problems, nursing wounded boats around the globe and climbing their own rigs, the race leader is posting before and after pictures of 3 broken “sporks” and then a repaired one, taped together with black electrical tape.
With Gabart smiling, wearing Santa hats, claiming “he’s ready for Christmas” and joking around in videos and interviews, he is simply rubbing salt into the wounds of a battered fleet of pursuers struggling to keep up. Even Armel Le Cleac’h is sounding worn-down and melancholy, with his last Vendée Globe Live TV interview sounding quite brief and dejected, despite him trying to sound upbeat:
“It’s dark night outside. There is some sea. The weather conditions are going to be harder in the hours to come. The depression is coming on us. Christmas is going to be tonic.”
Is Cleac’h tired? Is Gabart really as fresh as he appears? Or are they having the same tough times that their 3 pursuers; Dick, Thomson and Stamm, have had? Are they having as smooth of a race as they show? Only time will tell. Perhaps something, or someone will finally break, but for now the two look set to continue sailing fast on starboard tack, headed straight for the penultimate gate, the West Pacific gate. After slowing in some moderate westerlies, the pair looks set to hook into an east-moving low that will keep them reaching fast in 25-35 southwesterlies. Watch for the leaders to maintain their slightly north of east heading and rhumb-line it the next gate. Again sailing in better conditions than the rest of the fleet, the leaders should continue extending on everyone but possibly Virbac-Paprec 3.
Thomson maintains while Stamm heads to Auckland Islands for repairs
Now sailing all alone in 4th place since the loss of his Swiss match racing partner Bernard Stamm and Cheminees Poujoulat, Englishman Alex Thomson is merely trying to maintain his position, still just under 900 miles from the leaders who look poised to extend further as they catch onto this next low. Spending the majority of his past day working on his hydrogenerator like his fallen comrade Stamm, Thomson was expected to reach lighter northerlies this morning that should allow him a productive day of work on repairing his hydros and restoring power to Hugo Boss, the only previous-generation boat in the top 5. Considering the hydrogenerator and rudder tie bar problems that Alex has had to deal with, not to mention a couple of days of major losses after getting dropped off the low a week ago, it’s absolutely incredible that he is where is in the fleet right now, situated just under 894 miles behind the leaders. Facing more unstable weather in the trough between two systems, Alex should shed more miles in the next 3 days, and now has to begin looking behind him. With Stamm stopping in the Aucklands and a hard-charging Jean Le Cam just 840 miles behind, Alex finds himself out of touch with the leaders who have pulled away and now has to nurse his boat back to health and fend off a crazed brit-hunting Frenchman in 3-time Figaro winner and 1-time Vendée Globe runner up Jean Le Cam on Synerciel; a very similar boat to Hugo Boss, with both of them being now 6-year old Farr designs.
Bernard Stamm meanwhile has had to seek shelter in Sandy Bay, south of Enderby Island, located in the northeastern part of the Auckland Islands archipelago. Relegated to stopping as his hydrogenerator has stopped working and his diesel fuel spares are dwindling, the Swiss sailor was surely haunted by the prospect of anchoring out at nearly the same latitude as Kerguelen Island, the sight of his retirement in the previous edition of the Vendée Globe. The memories of encountering rough conditions and being washed aground while trying to anchor are all too fresh in Bernard’s mind, with him reporting to the race committee just before 6 AM this morning that he had broken his engine seal and had to use his motor to reach his anchorage with winds up to 40 knots in the area. In the last Vendée Globe, Marc Guillermot on Safran was allowed to use his engine to anchor in this exact spot in the last Vendée Globe, a race in which he re-started and finished third. Race Director Denis Horeau fully supports Stamm’s actions and is likely to allow Cheminees Poujoulat to re-start after his repairs are completed and all information is submitted to the race committee.
While the close race between Alex Thomson and Bernard Stamm may have come to an end, the poetic nature of this duel will go down in Vendée history. Both men are still trying to finish their first Vendée, now each on their third attempt. Both have long been plagued with hydrogenerator problems amongst a myriad of other issues, and both had been match racing each other, swapping the lead repeatedly and often separated by miles, just like our two leaders Cleac’h and Gabart. Stamm even led the race overall for a while when approaching the Crozet Ice Gate. Bernard plans to also conduct a sail repair, rebuild and repair his central winch-grinding pedestal and repair his broken hydros in 24 to 48 hours and leave before Christmas Day and it
s forecasted challenging conditions and strong northerly breeze.
Le Cam is the man
The King is back. Everyone loves a comeback story and in the next two weeks, “King Jean” will be it. After wrapping a net around his keel in the South Atlantic and battling hard across the Indian Ocean, Le Cam has now managed to drop his longtime rivals Mike Golding and Dominique Wavre behind, sailing his new-to-him chartered Farr designed Synerciel (ex-Gitana Eighty who led the last Vendée early before dismasting a month in with Loick Peyron at the helm). Maintaining a gap of about 840 miles to Hugo Boss, Le Cam and Thomson were both making 16 knots at the last check-in. Thomson was forecast to hit light northerlies, while Le Cam was looking to outrun a brief hole before hooking into a low that will carry him under New Zealand and away from his pursuers. Depending on what this low does and how fast Le Cam can sail, he could likely find himself once again on the same weather system and in the same patterns as Thomson. Watch for the 3-time Figaro winner to pass the parked Cheminees Poujoulat and begin reeling in Hugo Boss. The Brit-hunting Le Cam already took care of Gamesa, finishing him off by sailing away and then adding “I think Mike has a problem with his sails because it’s not possible to sail like he does with the current wind directions.”
A battle of attrition and speed, Jean Le Cam is about to find himself in the top 5 and gaining on fourth place. Amazing stuff from the 53 year old multi-time Vendée veteran who sports the best hair in the Vendée, only rivaled by The Professor himself.
Misery loves company
Gamesa, Mirabaud and Acciona 100% Ecopowered are suffering in the light and moderate breezes in between two highs at the moment with a low building below them. Quickly allowing Jean Le Cam to sail away, the 3 boat race is going quite slowly with Golding and Sanso taking painful gybes south at just 10 knots and 7 knots of boat speed respectively. Dominique Wavre on Mirabaud was making 13 knots at the last check-in, right in between the two, but the forecast is bleak for these three in the middle of the fleet. Currently passing under Tasmania, the trio should continue struggling with light airs before catching breeze on the back of Le Cam’s low, again stalling on the ridge after the low, further losing miles. And then there were three. With 4 boats, it was fun while it lasted, but now it’s back to a three way battle for seventh place with Jean Le Cam being traded for Javier Sanso.
Elsewhere
At the back of the pack, Arnaud Boissieres on Akena Verandas continues to sail by himself in 10th place while Bertrand de Broc and Tanguy de Lamotte both currently negotiate the West Australia gate. The trio is spread out but should soon all be in solid breeze from an east-moving low that should carry them under Australia and to the East Australia gate before stalling out and heading south. Maintaining 13th position is an always-smiling and laughing Alessandro di Benedetto sailing fast in his ancient fixed-keel Team Plastique, averaging more than 16 knots over one four-hour stretch. Alessandro should continue to stay in breeze and make a rapid passage from the Amsterdam gate to the West Australia gate before entering the Pacific Ocean.
-Ronnie Simpson
December 23, 2012
Winter has arrived
Shopping
Even though it is half price, you can walk out with $300 or $400 dollars worth of spent items. It is not uncommon to see people spend $500. Since it would be $1000 at a retail store, people go kind of crazy. I get stuff sometimes that I don't really need, I have a ton of running shirts and shorts, jackets now, I never would have had so much stuff if I didn't have the chance to get it for half price.
This weekend, being the weekend before Christmas, the line to get in was long. I had to wait 35 minutes to get to the door and I was wondering about the checkout line. It can be as long inside as out. But I was pleasantly surprised in that there was no line at all inside the store, though it was crowded. I am not going to need to shop for much in the near future, but it is nice to know I will be able to once in a while. I can't think my friend more.
December 21, 2012
Rolex Sydney Hobart is coming!!!
Over the past 67 years, the Rolex Sydney Hobart has become an icon of Australia's summer sport, ranking in public interest with such national events as the Melbourne Cup horse race, the Davis Cup tennis and the cricket tests between Australia and England. No regular annual yachting event in the world attracts such huge media coverage than does the start on Sydney Harbour.
Over the years, the Rolex Sydney Hobart and Cruising Yacht Club of Australia have had marked influence on international ocean yacht racing. The club has influenced the world in race communications and sea safety, maintaining the highest standards for yacht race entry. The club's members have also fared well in major ocean racing events overseas, with victories in the Admiral's Cup, Kenwood Cup, One Ton Cup, the Fastnet Race and the BOC Challenge solo race around the word, not to mention the America's Cup.
From the spectacular start in Sydney Harbour, the fleet sails out into the Tasman Sea, down the south-east coast of mainland Australia, across Bass Strait (which divides the mainland from the island State of Tasmania), then down the east coast of Tasmania. At Tasman Island the fleet turns right into Storm Bay for the final sail up the Derwent River to the historic port city of Hobart.
People who sail the race often say the first and last days are the most exciting. The race start on Sydney Harbour attracts hundreds of spectator craft and hundreds of thousands of people lining the shore as helicopters buzz above the fleet, filming for TV around the world.
The final day at sea is exciting with crews fighting to beat their rivals but also looking forward to the traditional Hobart welcome, and having a drink to relax and celebrate their experience.
Between the first and last days the fleet sails past some of the most beautiful landscape and sea scapes found anywhere in the world.
The New South Wales coast is a mixture of sparkling beaches, coastal townships and small fishing villages, although for most of the race south the yachts can be anywhere between the coastline and 40 miles offshore.
During the race, many boats are within sight of each other and crews listen closely to the information from the twice-daily radio position schedules ("skeds" as they are called). In more recent years, crews have been able to pin point the entire fleet's whereabouts and follow each boat's progress against their own using on board computers and Yacht Tracker on the official race website.
Bass Strait (nicknamed the 'paddock) has a dangerous personality. It can be dead calm or spectacularly grand. The water is relatively shallow and the winds can be strong, these two elements often coming to create a steep and difficult sea for yachts.
The third leg after the 'paddock' - down the east coast of Tasmania takes the fleet past coastal holiday resorts and fishing ports with towering mountains in the background. Approaching Tasman Island, the coastline comprises massive cliffs, sometimes shrouded in fog.
The winds are often fickle and can vary in strength and direction within a few miles. Sailing becomes very tactical.
After turning right at Tasman Island, sailors often think the race is near completed, but at this point there is still 40 miles of often hard sailing to go. Yachts can be left behind in the maze of currents and wind frustrations.
Even when they round the Iron Pot, a tiny island that was once a whaling station, there is still a further 11 miles up the broad reaches of the Derwent River to the finish line off Hobart's historic Battery Point, with Mount Wellington towering over the city.
No matter the time of day or night, the first yacht to finish receives an escort of official, spectator and media boats as it sails towards the finish line.
Hundreds of people crowd the foreshores of Sullivans Cove to cheer the yachts and their crews while volunteers from the finishing club, the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, meet the weary crews with open arms and famous Tasmanian hospitality, and escort them to their berth in the Kings Pier marina.
It's an event that Tasmanians love to host in the middle of Hobart's Taste of Tasmania Festival.
Then it's time to celebrate or commiserate, swap yarns about the race with other crews over a few beers in Hobart's famous waterfront pubs such as the Customs House Hotel or the Rolex Sydney Hobart Dockside Bar.
As the then Governor of Tasmania, Sir Guy Green, observed at the prizegiving for the 2001 race, it is indeed an egalitarian event, attracting yachts as small as 30-footers and as big as 98-footers, sailed by crews who range from weekend club sailors to professionals from the America's Cup and Volvo Ocean Race circuits.
The Rolex Sydney Hobart Race 2011 is a classic long ocean race open to anyone who owns a yacht that qualifies for this challenging event and which meets all the safety requirements of a Category 1 safety race.
In the earliest years of the Sydney Hobart Race all the yachts were built from timber - heavy displacement cutters, sloops, yawls, schooners and ketches designed more for cruising than racing.
The increasing popularity of the 628 nautical Christmas-New Year sail south to Hobart quickly began to attract new designs and innovative ideas in boat-building, sails and rigs…dacron sails and aluminium masts and in the early 1950s, the first boats built of GRP (glass reinforced plastic) or fibreglass as is the more common phrase. Then came aluminium, steel (mostly home-built) and even one maxi yacht built of ferro cement.
Innovative Australian yacht designers such as the Halvorsen brothers, Trygve and Magnus, and the late Allan Payne and Bob Miller (Ben Lexcen) produced faster boats and the race was on to create line and overall handicap winners. Prof. Peter Joubert, a part-time designer of stout cruiser/racers, and John King were other Australians who produced winning boats.
Following in their wake are currently successful designers such as Iain Murray and his partners, Andy Dovell and Ian "Fresh" Burns, along with Scott Jutson, David Lyons and Robert Hick.
New Zealander Bruce Farr, now based on the US, led the move towards light displacement yachts and is by far the most successful designer of Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race overall winners under different international handicap systems, first IOR (International Offshore Rule), then IMS (International Measurement System), and now IRC.
The space age has had a significant spin-off for yacht racing, first in the America's Cup and then in the design and construction of ocean racing yachts, introducing composite construction of boat hulls, using Kelvar and other manmade fibres in moulding the hulls in high-tech ovens.
In the past few years carbon fibre has been used successfully to build yacht hulls, masts and spars and in the construction of working sails (mainsails and genoas/jibs). The double line honours winner Wild Oats XI is the latest example of almost total use of carbon fibre in its hull, mast, boom and working sails.
The fleet in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is virtually all sloops (mainsail and one foresail genoa or jibs) but several of the maxi yachts with a big fore-triangle (between the foredeck, the forestay and the mast) are successfully using two headsails on close reaching races, theoretically making them cutters.
The 2006 fleet ranged in size from the 30 foot Maluka, the 1932 built gaff rigged timber boat, through to the one-design Sydney 38s including Another Challenge, Challenge and Star Dean Willcocks, then the grand prix IRC boats in the 45 to 60-foot group, including the two new Reichel/Pugh boats, Yendys and Loki, the Cookson 50s Quantum Racing and Living Doll and the TP52 Wot Yot which will be joined by sistership Ragamuffin, Syd Fischer's latest yacht of that name, for the 2007 race.
Then there are regulars, the club cruiser/racers that sail in the race almost every year. The Rum Consortium's Phillip's Foote Witchdoctor is preparing for its 27th race south after breaking the record for the most races undertaken by a yacht in the 2006 race.
John Walker's Impeccable is lining up for its 24th Rolex Sydney Hobart this year, Polaris of Belmont for its 23rd and Margaret Rintoul II, which is making its Rolex Sydney Hobart comeback under new owner Mike Freebairn following a nine year absence, is being groomed for its 22nd race to Hobart.
In 2006 there were three maximum length 30m maxis, Skandia, Wild Oats XI and Maximus and two Volvo 70s, ABN AMRO ONE and Ichi Ban, the latter modified to a Jones 70 prior to Boxing Day. The Volvo 60s CMC Markets Getaway Sailing and DHL also raced south.
The oldest and smallest boat in the fleet was Maluka, see above.
In 2007, four 30m maxis will took centre stage. Bob Oatley's Wild Oats XI secured a hat trick of line honours wins after some tough competition from Mike Slade's brand new ICAP Leopard, which smashed the 2007 Rolex Fastnet Race record in August.
Champion Australian maxi Brindabella, the line honours winner in 1997, returned to the event under new owner Andrew Short and raced under the name ofToyota Aurion V6.
Roger Sturgeon's STP65Rosebud, from the USA was declared the overall winner of the 63rd Rolex Sydney Hobart
In 2008,Wild Oats XIclaimed an historic fourth line honours win with Bob Steel's TP52Questdeclared the overall winner. In a true act of generosity, Steel prsented his sailing master, Mike Green, with his Rolex Yacht master timepiece at the official prizegiving of the 64th Rolex Sydney Hobart.
Neville Crichton's Alfa Romeo from New Zealand won the protracted line honours clash of the eight super maxis in the 65th edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, ending the four-year dominance of Wild Oats XI, the race record holder from NSW owned by Bob Oatley and skippered by Mark Richards.
Alfa Romeo finished the race in 2 days 9 hours 2 minutes 10 seconds but it was a South Australian yacht Two True, a brand new Beneteau First 40, owned by orthopaedic surgeon Andrew Saies, that won the race overall. Before being declared the winner, Saies had to wait a nail-biting 24 hours and survive a protest hearing relating to an incident on Sydney Harbour at the start of the 628 nautical mile race. Once the international jury dismissed the protest, Saies' Two True was declared the overall winner.
The 2009 Rolex Sydney Hobart race will be remembered by competitors as: "the most benign and mentally frustrating Hobart ever", largely due to the light to moderate winds experienced by the fleet of 100 yachts. It will also be remembered as the year the race organisers, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia extended the length overall from 98 feet (30m) to 100 feet (30.48m); and ran an ORCi division rule as a test of the rule.
The 66th edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race was the most physically demanding since 2004, when 56 boats retired, overcome by the conditions. The 2010 fleet withstood battering headwinds and gale-force conditions down the coast and through the notorious Bass Strait.
A fleet of 87 started the 628 nautical mile race, but 69 crossed the finish line, with 18 yachts retiring, mostly bashed about by the southerly buster on the second day. Andrew Lawrence's Jazz Player was the first casualty on the first night at sea after she tore her mainsail.
Mid-southerly on the second day, Rolex photographer Carlo Borlenghi reported from a helicopter: "There are yachts with triple-reefs, some with storm headsails, and others racing bare-poles (no sails). In a decade of covering the race I've never seen seas like those."
Although all arrived in Hobart relatively unscathed, the race was not without incident. The first occurred just inside South Head shortly after the start when Grant Wharington's Wild Thing was involved in a collision with a media boat, but suffered no visible damage.
Ludde Ingvall's YuuZoolost two crewmen overboard within five hours of the start, but recovered them quickly.
During the course of the southerly buster on December 27, Peter Rodgers, reported a crew with a head injury aboard She, who was taken to Ulladulla and a waiting ambulance. He was later released from hospital.
A Dodo crewman broke his arm and was transferred to Eden and taken to hospital, while 25-race veteran Bacardi, a sturdy 32 year-old Peterson 44, dropped her rig off the NSW south coast.
Commenting on the race conditions Ran encountered this time, as opposed to 2009, Zennstrom said, "I think I have now definitely seen what the race is all about. It was tough crossing Bass Strait; 35 knots of wind and big seas. The whole experience has been fantastic."
Over the years, the Rolex Sydney Hobart and Cruising Yacht Club of Australia have had marked influence on international ocean yacht racing. The club has influenced the world in race communications and sea safety, maintaining the highest standards for yacht race entry. The club's members have also fared well in major ocean racing events overseas, with victories in the Admiral's Cup, Kenwood Cup, One Ton Cup, the Fastnet Race and the BOC Challenge solo race around the word, not to mention the America's Cup.
From the spectacular start in Sydney Harbour, the fleet sails out into the Tasman Sea, down the south-east coast of mainland Australia, across Bass Strait (which divides the mainland from the island State of Tasmania), then down the east coast of Tasmania. At Tasman Island the fleet turns right into Storm Bay for the final sail up the Derwent River to the historic port city of Hobart.
People who sail the race often say the first and last days are the most exciting. The race start on Sydney Harbour attracts hundreds of spectator craft and hundreds of thousands of people lining the shore as helicopters buzz above the fleet, filming for TV around the world.
The final day at sea is exciting with crews fighting to beat their rivals but also looking forward to the traditional Hobart welcome, and having a drink to relax and celebrate their experience.
Between the first and last days the fleet sails past some of the most beautiful landscape and sea scapes found anywhere in the world.
The New South Wales coast is a mixture of sparkling beaches, coastal townships and small fishing villages, although for most of the race south the yachts can be anywhere between the coastline and 40 miles offshore.
During the race, many boats are within sight of each other and crews listen closely to the information from the twice-daily radio position schedules ("skeds" as they are called). In more recent years, crews have been able to pin point the entire fleet's whereabouts and follow each boat's progress against their own using on board computers and Yacht Tracker on the official race website.
Bass Strait (nicknamed the 'paddock) has a dangerous personality. It can be dead calm or spectacularly grand. The water is relatively shallow and the winds can be strong, these two elements often coming to create a steep and difficult sea for yachts.
The third leg after the 'paddock' - down the east coast of Tasmania takes the fleet past coastal holiday resorts and fishing ports with towering mountains in the background. Approaching Tasman Island, the coastline comprises massive cliffs, sometimes shrouded in fog.
The winds are often fickle and can vary in strength and direction within a few miles. Sailing becomes very tactical.
After turning right at Tasman Island, sailors often think the race is near completed, but at this point there is still 40 miles of often hard sailing to go. Yachts can be left behind in the maze of currents and wind frustrations.
Even when they round the Iron Pot, a tiny island that was once a whaling station, there is still a further 11 miles up the broad reaches of the Derwent River to the finish line off Hobart's historic Battery Point, with Mount Wellington towering over the city.
No matter the time of day or night, the first yacht to finish receives an escort of official, spectator and media boats as it sails towards the finish line.
Hundreds of people crowd the foreshores of Sullivans Cove to cheer the yachts and their crews while volunteers from the finishing club, the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, meet the weary crews with open arms and famous Tasmanian hospitality, and escort them to their berth in the Kings Pier marina.
It's an event that Tasmanians love to host in the middle of Hobart's Taste of Tasmania Festival.
Then it's time to celebrate or commiserate, swap yarns about the race with other crews over a few beers in Hobart's famous waterfront pubs such as the Customs House Hotel or the Rolex Sydney Hobart Dockside Bar.
As the then Governor of Tasmania, Sir Guy Green, observed at the prizegiving for the 2001 race, it is indeed an egalitarian event, attracting yachts as small as 30-footers and as big as 98-footers, sailed by crews who range from weekend club sailors to professionals from the America's Cup and Volvo Ocean Race circuits.
The Rolex Sydney Hobart Race 2011 is a classic long ocean race open to anyone who owns a yacht that qualifies for this challenging event and which meets all the safety requirements of a Category 1 safety race.
In the earliest years of the Sydney Hobart Race all the yachts were built from timber - heavy displacement cutters, sloops, yawls, schooners and ketches designed more for cruising than racing.
The increasing popularity of the 628 nautical Christmas-New Year sail south to Hobart quickly began to attract new designs and innovative ideas in boat-building, sails and rigs…dacron sails and aluminium masts and in the early 1950s, the first boats built of GRP (glass reinforced plastic) or fibreglass as is the more common phrase. Then came aluminium, steel (mostly home-built) and even one maxi yacht built of ferro cement.
Innovative Australian yacht designers such as the Halvorsen brothers, Trygve and Magnus, and the late Allan Payne and Bob Miller (Ben Lexcen) produced faster boats and the race was on to create line and overall handicap winners. Prof. Peter Joubert, a part-time designer of stout cruiser/racers, and John King were other Australians who produced winning boats.
Following in their wake are currently successful designers such as Iain Murray and his partners, Andy Dovell and Ian "Fresh" Burns, along with Scott Jutson, David Lyons and Robert Hick.
New Zealander Bruce Farr, now based on the US, led the move towards light displacement yachts and is by far the most successful designer of Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race overall winners under different international handicap systems, first IOR (International Offshore Rule), then IMS (International Measurement System), and now IRC.
The space age has had a significant spin-off for yacht racing, first in the America's Cup and then in the design and construction of ocean racing yachts, introducing composite construction of boat hulls, using Kelvar and other manmade fibres in moulding the hulls in high-tech ovens.
In the past few years carbon fibre has been used successfully to build yacht hulls, masts and spars and in the construction of working sails (mainsails and genoas/jibs). The double line honours winner Wild Oats XI is the latest example of almost total use of carbon fibre in its hull, mast, boom and working sails.
The 2006 fleet ranged in size from the 30 foot Maluka, the 1932 built gaff rigged timber boat, through to the one-design Sydney 38s including Another Challenge, Challenge and Star Dean Willcocks, then the grand prix IRC boats in the 45 to 60-foot group, including the two new Reichel/Pugh boats, Yendys and Loki, the Cookson 50s Quantum Racing and Living Doll and the TP52 Wot Yot which will be joined by sistership Ragamuffin, Syd Fischer's latest yacht of that name, for the 2007 race.
Then there are regulars, the club cruiser/racers that sail in the race almost every year. The Rum Consortium's Phillip's Foote Witchdoctor is preparing for its 27th race south after breaking the record for the most races undertaken by a yacht in the 2006 race.
John Walker's Impeccable is lining up for its 24th Rolex Sydney Hobart this year, Polaris of Belmont for its 23rd and Margaret Rintoul II, which is making its Rolex Sydney Hobart comeback under new owner Mike Freebairn following a nine year absence, is being groomed for its 22nd race to Hobart.
In 2006 there were three maximum length 30m maxis, Skandia, Wild Oats XI and Maximus and two Volvo 70s, ABN AMRO ONE and Ichi Ban, the latter modified to a Jones 70 prior to Boxing Day. The Volvo 60s CMC Markets Getaway Sailing and DHL also raced south.
The oldest and smallest boat in the fleet was Maluka, see above.
In 2007, four 30m maxis will took centre stage. Bob Oatley's Wild Oats XI secured a hat trick of line honours wins after some tough competition from Mike Slade's brand new ICAP Leopard, which smashed the 2007 Rolex Fastnet Race record in August.
Champion Australian maxi Brindabella, the line honours winner in 1997, returned to the event under new owner Andrew Short and raced under the name ofToyota Aurion V6.
Roger Sturgeon's STP65Rosebud, from the USA was declared the overall winner of the 63rd Rolex Sydney Hobart
In 2008,Wild Oats XIclaimed an historic fourth line honours win with Bob Steel's TP52Questdeclared the overall winner. In a true act of generosity, Steel prsented his sailing master, Mike Green, with his Rolex Yacht master timepiece at the official prizegiving of the 64th Rolex Sydney Hobart.
Neville Crichton's Alfa Romeo from New Zealand won the protracted line honours clash of the eight super maxis in the 65th edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, ending the four-year dominance of Wild Oats XI, the race record holder from NSW owned by Bob Oatley and skippered by Mark Richards.
Alfa Romeo finished the race in 2 days 9 hours 2 minutes 10 seconds but it was a South Australian yacht Two True, a brand new Beneteau First 40, owned by orthopaedic surgeon Andrew Saies, that won the race overall. Before being declared the winner, Saies had to wait a nail-biting 24 hours and survive a protest hearing relating to an incident on Sydney Harbour at the start of the 628 nautical mile race. Once the international jury dismissed the protest, Saies' Two True was declared the overall winner.
The 2009 Rolex Sydney Hobart race will be remembered by competitors as: "the most benign and mentally frustrating Hobart ever", largely due to the light to moderate winds experienced by the fleet of 100 yachts. It will also be remembered as the year the race organisers, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia extended the length overall from 98 feet (30m) to 100 feet (30.48m); and ran an ORCi division rule as a test of the rule.
The 66th edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race was the most physically demanding since 2004, when 56 boats retired, overcome by the conditions. The 2010 fleet withstood battering headwinds and gale-force conditions down the coast and through the notorious Bass Strait.
A fleet of 87 started the 628 nautical mile race, but 69 crossed the finish line, with 18 yachts retiring, mostly bashed about by the southerly buster on the second day. Andrew Lawrence's Jazz Player was the first casualty on the first night at sea after she tore her mainsail.
Mid-southerly on the second day, Rolex photographer Carlo Borlenghi reported from a helicopter: "There are yachts with triple-reefs, some with storm headsails, and others racing bare-poles (no sails). In a decade of covering the race I've never seen seas like those."
Although all arrived in Hobart relatively unscathed, the race was not without incident. The first occurred just inside South Head shortly after the start when Grant Wharington's Wild Thing was involved in a collision with a media boat, but suffered no visible damage.
Ludde Ingvall's YuuZoolost two crewmen overboard within five hours of the start, but recovered them quickly.
During the course of the southerly buster on December 27, Peter Rodgers, reported a crew with a head injury aboard She, who was taken to Ulladulla and a waiting ambulance. He was later released from hospital.
A Dodo crewman broke his arm and was transferred to Eden and taken to hospital, while 25-race veteran Bacardi, a sturdy 32 year-old Peterson 44, dropped her rig off the NSW south coast.
Commenting on the race conditions Ran encountered this time, as opposed to 2009, Zennstrom said, "I think I have now definitely seen what the race is all about. It was tough crossing Bass Strait; 35 knots of wind and big seas. The whole experience has been fantastic."
Expedition 34
Expedition 34 Flight Engineers Tom Marshburn, Roman Romanenko and Chris Hadfield
docked their Soyuz TMA-07M spacecraft to the International Space Station’s
Rassvet module at 9:09 a.m. EST on Friday after spending two days in orbit.
The hatches between the Soyuz and the Rassvet module are set to be opened at 11:45 a.m. when Expedition 34 Commander Kevin Ford and Flight Engineers Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin will greet their new crewmates. Once the hatches are opened, the six-member crew is set to take part in a welcome ceremony with family members and mission officials then participate in a safety briefing.
Parachutes
December 20, 2012
Vendee update
After less than 40 days at sea, this seventh edition of the Vendée Globe is amazingly more than halfway over for the two leaders Francois Gabart on MACIF and Armel Le Cleac’h on Banque Populaire. Passing the boundary of 146° 55‘ east longitude that officially separates the Southern Indian Ocean from the Pacific Ocean, these two match-racing VPLP-Verdier designed sisterships at the pointy end of the fleet are still maintaining their record-setting pace, still more than 2 days ahead of the reference time. Continuing to swap the lead repeatedly with one boat extending out to a lead of a few dozen miles before being tracked down and passed by the other, the duo of Le Cleac’h and Gabart were separated by just 3 nautical miles as of this writing, having sailed more than 12,000. Incredible stuff at the front of the fleet.
Jean-Pierre Dick’s Indian Ocean heroics
Le Cleac’h and Gabart’s closest pursuer, Jean-Pierre Dick on Virbac-Paprec 3 rapidly fell off the pace nearly a week ago, watching an 80 mile deficit become more than 400 miles in what seemed like an instant. The two-time Barcelona World Race champ had fallen off the back of the low that was at the time propelling the leaders towards the West Australia Gate, causing the massive loss of distance to Cleac’h and Gabart. Apparently though, it wasn’t just lighter breeze that slowed the Vendée veteran, as the world learned yesterday that he had a problem with his “halyard hook”, which holds the top of his small fractional gennaker and spinnaker. Without being able to fly the two sails, critical in the breezy reaching and running conditions of the Southern Indian Ocean, Dick continued to bleed miles and would have had no chance of mounting a charge to close the deficit to the leaders, now at more than 500 miles.
In another daring display of heroism and courage that embodies the spirit of this epic solo, non-stop around the world race, Dick knew what he had to do if he wished to remain competitive:
“I had been waiting for favorable weather conditions to climb up the mast for several days…. It is a risky type of operation but I had no choice. You’re by yourself, there’s strong wind and a rough sea and, to top it all, it’s cold and you’re in the screaming fifties. Needless to say, you ask yourself a lot of questions before climbing up there….
I waited until the conditions were calmer and I set Virbac-Paprec 3 running downwind to slow her down to 10 knots. Climbing up the mast and going down was quite perilous, you’re shaken right and left, I wasn’t very confident. I managed to replace the damaged part….. I’m very happy I did it because in this part of the world, you don’t get that many opportunities to go and become an aerial acrobat. Virbac-Paprec 3’s potential is back to what it used to be, which is great news for the rest of the race.”
Ascending 20-meters out of 29, Dick was aloft for approximately two hours. Anyone who has ever been sent aloft for more than about 15 minutes can tell you that your inner legs and groin area will absolutely be on fire from restricted blood flow and pressure, let alone the associated numbness as parts of your body begin to “fall asleep”. The only thing more painful than this would surely be coming down prematurely and having to make another trip up and down the rig. Once back in the cockpit, an elated and exhausted JP Dick took a quick self-interview before taking a well-deserved nap.
Another very interesting note is that just hours before his trip up the rig, Dick was interviewed by Vendée Globe TV and remarked that “It’s magical here. Beautiful.” before admitting that it was a bit stressful at times. The third-placed skipper made absolutely no mention of his boat problems, impending mast climb or anything out of the ordinary. The psychological games that some of these 13 Vendée Globe sailors are playing with one another is absolutely incredible. One can only wonder what stories will come to light once the race is over and the always smiling Francois Gabart and robotic, unemotional Armel Le Cleac’h confess to problems, drama and repairs that took place on board. Absolutely incredible stuff from the skipper of Virbac-Paprec 3.
Thomson and Stamm now match racing
Alex Thomson and Bernard Stamm have maintained their incredibly close battle for fourth place, now separated by just 14 miles. The Englishman Thomson on his Farr-designed Hugo Boss reports that his autopilot accidentally gybed the boat in about 25 knots of wind. Says Thomson:
Le Cam, meanwhile had a big scare when his Farr-designed Synerciel sustained what the Frenchman called “the crash of his life”. Strong words from the multi-time Vendée veteran. Sailing in 40-45 knots of breeze, “King Jean” says that Synerciel:
Jean-Pierre Dick’s Indian Ocean heroics
Le Cleac’h and Gabart’s closest pursuer, Jean-Pierre Dick on Virbac-Paprec 3 rapidly fell off the pace nearly a week ago, watching an 80 mile deficit become more than 400 miles in what seemed like an instant. The two-time Barcelona World Race champ had fallen off the back of the low that was at the time propelling the leaders towards the West Australia Gate, causing the massive loss of distance to Cleac’h and Gabart. Apparently though, it wasn’t just lighter breeze that slowed the Vendée veteran, as the world learned yesterday that he had a problem with his “halyard hook”, which holds the top of his small fractional gennaker and spinnaker. Without being able to fly the two sails, critical in the breezy reaching and running conditions of the Southern Indian Ocean, Dick continued to bleed miles and would have had no chance of mounting a charge to close the deficit to the leaders, now at more than 500 miles.
In another daring display of heroism and courage that embodies the spirit of this epic solo, non-stop around the world race, Dick knew what he had to do if he wished to remain competitive:
“I had been waiting for favorable weather conditions to climb up the mast for several days…. It is a risky type of operation but I had no choice. You’re by yourself, there’s strong wind and a rough sea and, to top it all, it’s cold and you’re in the screaming fifties. Needless to say, you ask yourself a lot of questions before climbing up there….
I waited until the conditions were calmer and I set Virbac-Paprec 3 running downwind to slow her down to 10 knots. Climbing up the mast and going down was quite perilous, you’re shaken right and left, I wasn’t very confident. I managed to replace the damaged part….. I’m very happy I did it because in this part of the world, you don’t get that many opportunities to go and become an aerial acrobat. Virbac-Paprec 3’s potential is back to what it used to be, which is great news for the rest of the race.”
Ascending 20-meters out of 29, Dick was aloft for approximately two hours. Anyone who has ever been sent aloft for more than about 15 minutes can tell you that your inner legs and groin area will absolutely be on fire from restricted blood flow and pressure, let alone the associated numbness as parts of your body begin to “fall asleep”. The only thing more painful than this would surely be coming down prematurely and having to make another trip up and down the rig. Once back in the cockpit, an elated and exhausted JP Dick took a quick self-interview before taking a well-deserved nap.
Another very interesting note is that just hours before his trip up the rig, Dick was interviewed by Vendée Globe TV and remarked that “It’s magical here. Beautiful.” before admitting that it was a bit stressful at times. The third-placed skipper made absolutely no mention of his boat problems, impending mast climb or anything out of the ordinary. The psychological games that some of these 13 Vendée Globe sailors are playing with one another is absolutely incredible. One can only wonder what stories will come to light once the race is over and the always smiling Francois Gabart and robotic, unemotional Armel Le Cleac’h confess to problems, drama and repairs that took place on board. Absolutely incredible stuff from the skipper of Virbac-Paprec 3.
Thomson and Stamm now match racing
Alex Thomson and Bernard Stamm have maintained their incredibly close battle for fourth place, now separated by just 14 miles. The Englishman Thomson on his Farr-designed Hugo Boss reports that his autopilot accidentally gybed the boat in about 25 knots of wind. Says Thomson:
“It was not an enjoyable moment, having your whole world turn on its side in an instant. I felt the boat start to go and jumped out of my bunk to try and get to the helm to stop it but I only got as far as the companion way before she went, and then she was on her side. It took me a while to get the boat upright again and then gybe back. I did a check around the boat and it seems that I got away with no serious damage. It is really rough out here. Very bumpy and really confused waves. I am trying not to go too fast at the moment as she starts to slam a bit.”
Still suffering from an energy shortage due to the loss of one of his hydrogenerators, Thomson is continuing his incredible race, relaying that the conditions were too rough to use his last functioning hydro. Limping the boat around the globe, Alex is spending more time at the helm than usual and is oftentimes going without much of his communications equipment. Relying on diesel fuel in these rough Southern Ocean conditions, Alex is surely going to be running short on fuel when coming back up the Atlantic and will undoubtedly try to save his last hydrogenerator for the smoother conditions of the Atlantic. Also commenting on the rough conditions with steep wave sets and confused cross-seas, a frustrated Thomson admitted that he couldn’t push as hard as nearby rival Bernard Stamm due to a difference in boat design. The wider, more bouyant bow section of the Juan K-designed Cheminees Poujoulat was more efficient in the steep conditions and less prone to slamming, allowing for safer, faster sailing. An envious Thomson stated to Vendée Globe TV a few days ago “Yes, i’m well aware that Bernard is 3 knots faster”.
Things aren’t much easier for Stamm who is also dealing with his own hydrogenerator problems, a broken cockpit grinder, ripped sail and lingering effects from the painful dental surgery that we reported on last week. A fascinating and challenging race for 4th place between two skippers that have dealt with a significant amount of adversity yet are keeping the hammer down in the Southern Indian Ocean.
What’s up next for the top 5
For the first time in 10 days, the top 5 will all be in the same weather system with the pack clinging onto a low-pressure that has come up from the Southern Tasman Sea. Expect the top 5 to pull away even further from the rest of the fleet with the potential for Virbac-Paprec 3 and Hugo Boss/ Cheminees Poujoulat to close up slightly on the leaders MACIF and Banque Populaire as the two leaders reach the ridge of high-pressure after the low. The always candid Mike Golding and highly animated Jean Le Cam will surely be worth a few angry and entertaining videos once they get closed off by a ridge on the back side of the low and watch the lead 5 put another thousand miles on them. Let’s hope that Hugo Boss and Cheminees Poujoulat can stay on the bus this time to close the gap and once again make this a 5-horse race. JP Dick is rejuvenated, his boat is fixed and his dogged determination and courage shows that he will do anything he can to not lose touch with the leaders. He should gain back the 130 miles that he lost ascending his mast once the leaders hit the ridge, again closing the gap to less than 400.
Second pack reforms, this time with Bubi
A couple of days ago it looked like sixth-placed Jean Le Cam was pulling away from Mike Golding with Dominique Wavre off the pace and Javier Sanso a further 500 behind. The “second pack” had fallen apart. My how things change. In just 72 hours the gap has closed to under 300 miles between Le Cam in sixth and Bubi in ninth, once again creating a second pack, but this time with four boats instead of three. The 4-boat group is sailing 1600-1900 miles behind the leaders
Javier “Bubi” Sanso on his new-generation Owen Clarke designed Acciona 100% Ecopowered is capping off an absolutely incredible run from behind, having played catch-up since ascending his mast for repairs in the lee of Tenerife in the Canary Islands early in the race. With a best-in-fleet 420.6 miles sailed on Tuesday, the ninth-placed Spaniard has gained on eighth-placed Swiss sailor Dominique Wavre to the tune of some 700 miles in the past 10 days.Le Cam, meanwhile had a big scare when his Farr-designed Synerciel sustained what the Frenchman called “the crash of his life”. Strong words from the multi-time Vendée veteran. Sailing in 40-45 knots of breeze, “King Jean” says that Synerciel:
“Went down a huge wave and crashed at the bottom. It’s like driving your car full speed and crashing into a huge pile of butter. I hit the rudder jack partition because the navigation table seat where I sat was snatched (broken- Ronnie note)…. This guy is fine, and so is the boat. I didn’t break anything but my knee, hand and back are pretty sore and I hit my head pretty hard. So I went to bed to recover a bit from the shock. I had already experienced crashes, but nothing like that! Seen from the outside, I’m sure the rudder blades were out of the water. I’m glad nothing went all over the place on board, except for me and my seat!”
This second pack is about to engage in an epic battle that could rage on for some time. With Le Cam, Golding and Wavre having battled closely since the North Atlantic, even earning the name “the Gun-Slinging Uncles” from the French press, the addition of Bubi should make this battle even more exciting. Sailing a newer, faster boat, expect Bubi (longtime Anarchist and SA fan) to soon displace Dominique Wavre on Mirabaud for eighth place. Mike Golding and Gamesa are closing up on King Jean and Synerciel, and will both be difficult for Bubi to pass. The pack is going to encounter light and unsettled conditions before seeing another depression south of Australia. It’s unclear if this depression will be an obstacle for the four skippers or a fast low that they can all hook into and ride. One thing is for sure, going North will pay. None of the routing shows that sailing south of the East Australia Gate will be an option. I’m thinking that this is going to be an exciting tactical four-way battle that we will all be able to enjoy into the New Year.
Elsewhere in the fleet, positions remain the same with Arnaud Boissieres in 10th, Bertrand de Broc in 11th, Tanguy de Lamotte in 12th and Alessandro di Benedetto bringing up the rear.
-Ronnie Simpson
December 19, 2012
Vendee
In Saturn's Shadow
This marvelous panoramic view was created by combining a total of 165 images taken by the Cassini wide-angle camera over nearly three hours on Sept. 15, 2006. The full mosaic consists of three rows of nine wide-angle camera footprints; only a portion of the full mosaic is shown here. Color in the view was created by digitally compositing ultraviolet, infrared and clear filter images and was then adjusted to resemble natural color.
The mosaic images were acquired as the spacecraft drifted in the darkness of Saturn's shadow for about 12 hours, allowing a multitude of unique observations of the microscopic particles that compose Saturn's faint rings.
Ring structures containing these tiny particles brighten substantially at high phase angles: i.e., viewing angles where the sun is almost directly behind the objects being imaged.
Saturn's Shadow
Just in time for the holidays, NASA's Cassini spacecraft, in orbit around Saturn for more than eight years now, has delivered another glorious, backlit view of the planet Saturn and its rings.
On Oct. 17, 2012, during its 174th orbit around the gas giant, Cassini was deliberately positioned within Saturn's shadow, a perfect location from which to look in the direction of the sun and take a backlit view of the rings and the dark side of the planet. Looking back towards the sun is a geometry referred to by planetary scientists as "high solar phase;" near the center of your target's shadow is the highest phase possible. This is a very scientifically advantageous and coveted viewing position, as it can reveal details about both the rings and atmosphere that cannot be seen in lower solar phase.
The last time Cassini had such an unusual perspective on Saturn and its rings, at sufficient distance and with sufficient time to make a full system mosaic, occurred in September 2006, when it captured a mosaic, processed to look like natural color, entitled "In Saturn's Shadow." In that mosaic, planet Earth put in a special appearance, making "In Saturn's Shadow" one of the most popular Cassini images to date.
The mosaic being released today by the mission and the imaging team, in celebration of the 2012 holiday season, does not contain Earth; along with the sun, our planet is hidden behind Saturn. However, it was taken when Cassini was closer to Saturn and therefore shows more detail in the rings than the one taken in 2006.
The new processed mosaic, composed of 60 images taken in the violet, visible and near infrared part of the spectrum.
Of all the many glorious images we have received from Saturn, none are more strikingly unusual than those taken from Saturn's shadow," said Carolyn Porco, Cassini's imaging team lead based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
The last time Cassini had such an unusual perspective on Saturn and its rings, at sufficient distance and with sufficient time to make a full system mosaic, occurred in September 2006, when it captured a mosaic, processed to look like natural color, entitled "In Saturn's Shadow." In that mosaic, planet Earth put in a special appearance, making "In Saturn's Shadow" one of the most popular Cassini images to date.
The mosaic being released today by the mission and the imaging team, in celebration of the 2012 holiday season, does not contain Earth; along with the sun, our planet is hidden behind Saturn. However, it was taken when Cassini was closer to Saturn and therefore shows more detail in the rings than the one taken in 2006.
The new processed mosaic, composed of 60 images taken in the violet, visible and near infrared part of the spectrum.
Of all the many glorious images we have received from Saturn, none are more strikingly unusual than those taken from Saturn's shadow," said Carolyn Porco, Cassini's imaging team lead based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
Wild Oats XI
Yesterday, joint owners Bob Oatley and his son Sandy pushed the button to lift the 100ft sloop from Sydney Harbour to reveal the small "winglets" they hope will give their ocean-racer an edge over its rivals in this year's race.
But Wild Oats XI will not be the only yacht sporting new sails and some underwater surprises in this year's race. Grant Wharington's super-maxi Wild Thing, which has suffered a string a failures in recent Hobart races, is ready to go again with a complete set of new sails and a modified underwater shape that makes it two feet longer and more than three feet wider.
Wharington won line honours with Wild Thing in 2003 but the following year, when leading the race, the yacht lost its canting keel and capsized. In 2008, after being rebuilt, it finished second to Wild Oats XI. Three years ago the boat lost its mast a few weeks before the race and, despite flying in a replacement spar from France, was forced to retire just after the start.
In 2010, Wild Thing was damaged in a collision with a media boat at the start but still managed to finish fifth across the line.
As of last night, the fleet for the Boxing Day start stood at 77.
Sandy Oatley said the shark-fin shaped wings on the rear of the yacht's massive 12-tonne keel bulb would act like the winglets seen on the wingtips of many international long-haul aircraft. He said they helped cut turbulence and allowed the yacht to sail faster.
Wild Oats XI set the record for line honours in the 628 nautical mile race in 2005, taking just 1 day, 18 hours, 40 minutes and 10 seconds. The boat's skipper, Mark Richards, believes that given the right conditions Wild Oats XI could now reach Hobart in less than 24 hours.
In recent offshore passages, Richards and his crew have clocked continuous speeds of up to 35 knots, and the yacht would have to average only 27 knots to reach Hobart in under a day.
"Last year's line honours result (when Wild Oats XI was beaten by super-maxi Investec Loyal by just over three minutes) confirmed that every second counts, so this year we have gone in search of where we can gain seconds as well as, possibly, hours," Richards said.
"The winglets on the keel will make us just that little bit faster in all weather, and the new retractable centreboard will give us more speed in light winds, as will our new huge Code Zero headsail. That sail is like replacing a rifle with a cannon."
But Wild Oats XI will not be the only yacht sporting new sails and some underwater surprises in this year's race. Grant Wharington's super-maxi Wild Thing, which has suffered a string a failures in recent Hobart races, is ready to go again with a complete set of new sails and a modified underwater shape that makes it two feet longer and more than three feet wider.
Wharington won line honours with Wild Thing in 2003 but the following year, when leading the race, the yacht lost its canting keel and capsized. In 2008, after being rebuilt, it finished second to Wild Oats XI. Three years ago the boat lost its mast a few weeks before the race and, despite flying in a replacement spar from France, was forced to retire just after the start.
In 2010, Wild Thing was damaged in a collision with a media boat at the start but still managed to finish fifth across the line.
Earlier this year, Wharington cut the yacht in half just aft of the mast and grafted on a new stern section that took it to the race's maximum length of 100 feet, and widened the stern.
With a new low-key but cashed-up American partner, Wharington will be starting in what is virtually a new boat with new sails. He will also be sailing with a full crew rather than the reduced crews he favoured in past races to save weight.
The third contender in the battle for line honours glory, Syd Fischer's super-maxi Ragamuffin Loyal, will be sailing again tomorrow after having its mast re-stepped today, following an incident last week.
Ragamuffin Loyal's rigging was damaged when the yacht hit the Anzac Bridge that spans Blackwattle Bay near Fischer's Sydney City Marine boatyard.
Fischer, who is attempting to take line honours for the third time at the age of 85 and in his 44th race, said he was quietly confident of giving the more fancied Wild Oats XI a real run for its money.
Unlike the past few years, Ragamuffin Loyal will not sail with a gaggle of sporting identities and media celebrities aboard but with Fischer's race-hardened crew from his previous Ragamuffin. The only "celebrity blow-in" in the crew will be recently retired swimming champion Geoff Huegill.
Fischer only met Huegill for the first time last week but is said to be enormously impressed by the keenness and fitness of the man mountain.
December 18, 2012
Orion Spacecraft
Technicians prepare to fit a special fixture around an Orion capsule inside the high bay of the Operations & Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The fixture is designed to enable precise pre-launch processing of the Orion spacecraft. Orion will be the most advanced spacecraft ever designed and carry astronauts farther into space than ever before. It will sustain astronauts during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space and emergency abort capability. Orion will be launched by NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), a heavy-lift rocket that will provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit. Designed to be flexible for launching spacecraft for crew and cargo missions, SLS will enable new missions of exploration and expand human presence across the solar system.
Ebb and Flow are no more
The twin spacecraft of NASA’s GRAIL mission have completed their final rocket burns. Their pre-planned lunar impact occurred at about 2:28 p.m. PST (5:28 EST). Ebb and Flow completed their final rocket burns and impacted the moon at 2:28 p.m. PST (5:28 EST). GRAIL's final resting place on the moon will be in shadow at the time of impact, so no video documentation of the impacts was expected. GRAIL data are allowing scientists to learn about the moon's internal structure and composition in unprecedented detail.
December 17, 2012
Environ-mental
Oracle Team USA's AC72 new wing
December 17, 2012 – San Francisco Bay
A little over two months ago, USA 17 — Oracle Team USA's AC72 — pitchpoled on San Francisco Bay, severely damaging the boat and obliterating her massive $2 million wing sail. On Friday, Jimmy Spithill told local-Bay-sailor-turned-AC-reporter Genny Tulloch that 17's new wing sail is not only finished and ready to be transported from New Zealand to the Bay, but that the boat should be sailing early in 2013. "It's been a good exercise to see how the team would react to a challenge like this," Spithill says in the interview below. "We're just really excited to get back on the water." Spithill uses the word 'excited' a lot in the piece, and for good reason. In addition to getting 17 sailing again, Boat Two — as they're currently calling the team's second AC72 — is on track to join her sistership on the Bay next year as well, which means sailors will enjoy the spectacle of two AC72s blasting across the Bay before the world descends for the finals next fall. That really is something to get excited about!
December 16, 2012
Vendee Globe in the Indian Ocean
December 14, 2012
Ebb and Flow
Twin lunar-orbiting NASA spacecraft that have allowed scientists to learn more about the internal structure and composition of the moon are being prepared for their controlled descent and impact on a mountain near the moon's north pole at about 2:28 p.m. PST (5:28 p.m. EST) Monday, Dec. 17.
Ebb and Flow, the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission probes, are being sent purposely into the lunar surface because their low orbit and low fuel levels preclude further scientific operations. The duo's successful prime and extended science missions generated the highest-resolution gravity field map of any celestial body. The map will provide a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed and evolved.
"It is going to be difficult to say goodbye," said GRAIL principal investigator Maria Zuber of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. "Our little robotic twins have been exemplary members of the GRAIL family, and planetary science has advanced in a major way because of their contributions."
The mountain where the two spacecraft will make contact is located near a crater named Goldschmidt. Both spacecraft have been flying in formation around the moon since Jan. 1, 2012. They were named by elementary school students in Bozeman, Mont., who won a contest. The first probe to reach the moon, Ebb, also will be the first to go down, at 2:28:40 p.m. PST. Flow will follow Ebb about 20 seconds later.
Both spacecraft will hit the surface at 3,760 mph (1.7 kilometers per second). No imagery of the impact is expected because the region will be in shadow at the time.
Ebb and Flow will conduct one final experiment before their mission ends. They will fire their main engines until their propellant tanks are empty to determine precisely the amount of fuel remaining in their tanks. This will help NASA engineers validate fuel consumption computer models to improve predictions of fuel needs for future missions.
"Our lunar twins may be in the twilight of their operational lives, but one thing is for sure, they are going down swinging," said GRAIL project manager David Lehman of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Even during the last half of their last orbit, we are going to do an engineering experiment that could help future missions operate more efficiently."
Because the exact amount of fuel remaining aboard each spacecraft is unknown, mission navigators and engineers designed the depletion burn to allow the probes to descend gradually for several hours and skim the surface of the moon until the elevated terrain of the target mountain gets in their way.
The burn that will change the spacecrafts' orbit and ensure the impact is scheduled to take place Friday morning, Dec. 14.
"Such a unique end-of-mission scenario requires extensive and detailed mission planning and navigation," said Lehman. "We've had our share of challenges during this mission and always come through in flying colors, but nobody I know around here has ever flown into a moon mountain before. It'll be a first for us, that's for sure."
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