8th Vendée Globe - Day 6: The Boss is Back...
by Andi Robertson 11 Nov 2016 18:18 GMT
10 November 2016
The duel between Vincent Riou and Armel Le Cléac'h at the head of the Vendée Globe fleet has swung in favour of the foiling Banque Populaire VIII skipper Le Cléac'h as the NE Trade Winds strengthened this afternoon 280 miles SW of the Canary Islands, but the leading pair might well be looking in the rear-view mirror, fearing the black missile that is Alex Thomson's Hugo Boss.
After a strategic error lost him miles, Thomson has been quickest since last night, clawing back 20 miles on the lead duo and getting himself back into the match, lying third this Friday afternoon.
The foiling v non foiling debate is only partially answered at the moment. Five of the top seven IMOCAs are new generation foiling boats, but Vincent Riou on PRB still holds on to second place on the conventionally configured PRB. But this afternoon he has seen Le Cléach ease away metre by metre, doubling his margin between 1100hrs and 1400hrs TU today, to be nearly eight miles ahead. More importantly, when this morning they were racing side by side – albeit with a lateral separation of eight miles – Le Cléac'h has Riou directly astern now. Le Cléac'h, Vendée Globe bridesmaid twice in a row, second to Michel Desjoyeaux in 2008-9 and second by only three hours to François Gabart in 2012-13, has the 2004-5 race winner where he wants him as they accelerate progressively. Thomson is still some 40 miles behind, leading a lateral line-up of five drag racing IMOCAs.
The next 24-36 hours may not be a simple, straightforward pedal to the metal speed race. Embedded in the trade winds is a wide area of thunderclouds which are expected to make for hard work, big changes in wind direction and pressure, almost to the latitude of the Cape Verde Islands.
Even so the small differences in sail design choices, use and trimming could make the difference as well as the foil package. Riou, for one – as is an essential part of the psychological game early in the solo round the world race – stonewalled enigmatically when asked what sails he was using:
Vendée Globe LIVE: "What sails do you have up?"
Vincent 'The Terrible': "The ones that are needed."
Riou continued: "The conditions are as expected. I'm close to the boat's polars. (NDLR constantly updated computed target speeds) What counts is the average speed. I can see that Armel must be busy at the helm, when he accelerates. The foilers can be faster at times, but I'm working on my average speed. I'm trying to work on finding the best route and we must remember that there is a long way to go. For me succeeding in the Vendée Globe is a matter of managing the boat and looking after yourself. Before the Doldrums, we have other things to worry about, but it looks like continuing to be fast."
Thomson's design choices – boat and aero package – are his own and those of his team. He is much less influenced by the French norms. His boat is narrowest with the widest foils, is reported to 'fly' earlier and sustain flying speeds for longer. Rather than the French North Sails and Incidences Voiles sail lofts that the French teams use, Thomson works with Doyle Sails. Over the 24 hours to 1400hrs this afternoon he covered the greatest distance, 427.4 nautical miles, Riou second fastest just slightly less at 425.6.
The Magnificent Seven are riding well clear of the boats behind, a fifty miles gap opened to eighth placed Yann Eliès who is twenty miles ahead of a closely matched group of older generation boats. This pace should continue at least until they get to SW of the Cape Verde Islands at 6 degreesN. Currently 1700 miles from the Equator, they should be crossing into the Southern Hemisphere after nine days, as the Doldrums are looking very kind for them this year.
Quéguiner-Leucémie Espoir,skippered by Yann Eliès is in a different weather situation, as the trade winds are favouring the leaders. The third group led by Bertrand de Broc (MASCF) is still struggling in lighter winds between Madeira and the Canaries. Already some 300 miles behind, the Famous Five are going to find it hard to get back up there before the Southern Ocean.
A few independent thinkers have chosen to go their own way. In particular, the Irishman who approached the coast of Morocco to find stronger trade winds. Enda O'Coineen (Kilcullen Voyager-Team Ireland) passed between Africa and Fuerteventura at lunchtime. Speaking to Vendée Live this afternoon, O'Coineen joked: "We have had a nice scenic tour of the Canary Islands and the coast of Africa. I have a house in Lanzarote so I thought I would go and have a look at it. (laughs) I was a little bit behind and wanted to try to pick up the NE'ly trades at the same time or before everybody else. I think I have caught up a bit. But it is hard to know. I had 25-26kts of breeze and so it was a bit of a rough night. The A3 became unfurled and I had a problem sorting that out. And then I broke a reefing line. So I have had a few issues. Other than that it is all good."
Other international skippers have been doing their own thing. Pieter Heerema (No Way Back) was tempted to take a radical routing option for a while but has spent the day digging back to the west, while the Japanese skipper Kojiro Shiraishi (Spirit of Yukoh),19th, and the Hungarian Nandor Fa (Spirit of Hungary), 22nd, accompanied by Romain Attanasio (Famille Mary-Étamine du Lys), 20th, went between Madeira and the Canaries. In 17th Conrad Colman (Foresight Natural Energy) ended up closer to Madeira than he had hoped to be, reporting at midday: "The local effects of the island really slowed me down. I had been trying to pass over the top of Madeira and really got stuck there. I got sucked in by the shifting winds but I managed to escape in good form and actually had a really nice wind shift and acceleration when I left the south coast of Madeira. I had a good shot of Funchal last night. I cruised in past the airport, it was dramatic, but my favourite thing was seeing it drop behind me on the horizon behind me."
Eric Bellion (Comme Un Seul Homme) in 27th seemed to be having a little crisis of confidence, not uncommon early in a first Vendée Globe. Speaking to Vendée Live he admitted he had moments wondering why he was doing this. "I feel like I have a Moto GP bike and am driving it like a moped," he said. It was also a day on which some minor domestic issues emerged. Kito de Pavant admitted he picked up the wrong wash bag and has no earplugs and just one razor to get him round the world. Alan Roura lost his bucket and – he says - now has just one for his washing and toileting needs – and Enda O'Coineen not only burned his dinner while attending to a sail problem on deck but had a small fire on Kilcullen Voyager Team Ireland.
Quotes:
Vincent Riou (PRB):
"I mustn't complain, but it's wet and I have a lot of work to do. The conditions are as expected. I'm close to the boat's polars. What counts is the average speed. The foilers can be faster at times, but I'm working on my average speed. I'm trying to work on finding the best route and we must remember that there is a long way to go. For me succeeding in the Vendée Globe is a matter of managing the boat and looking after yourself."
Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire VIII):
"We've been together since yesterday. It's nice to have someone to measure up against. The weather has been good since the start so it's been fast. I've got one reef in the mainsail and the gennaker. I haven't spent much time at the helm today, but have been trimming."
Kito de Pavant (Bastide Otio):
"When you're setting sail in the Vendée Globe, you have to think of everything. On the morning of the start I packed my toothbrush and toothpaste in my toiletry bag. On Sunday evening I got a message asking if I had forgotten my bag. I checked. No. I've got it. Except one of our partners offered everyone in the team identical bags. I was sharing a house with Gwen last week and I picked up his kit rather than mine... There's stuff in there for washing, but no ear plugs and only one razor blade. I'm going to have to find a way to deal with that."
Alan Roura (La Fabrique):
"I don't know what day it is or how long I have been at sea. I had a complicated night with little wind at times and lots of squalls. I've left Eric go further away from land. We'll see what happens. I want to enjoy myself. The others have soared away. I had hoped they would get stuck in the Doldrums, but that doesn't look likely. I don't know if it's the heat, but I don't feel like eating. I have to force down my two meals a day. I'm getting about 90% out of my beautiful boat from SW Brittany (Bernard Stamm's former Superbigou – editor). I know I should be getting 100%, but there's a long way to go. Only one problem. I lost a bucket, so I'm having to use the same way for my shower, the dishes and as a toilet. Nice!"
Nandor Fa (HUN) Spirit of Hungary:
"I am running like hell. I am well into the trade winds, I have 24-25kts from NNE, and I am running under full mainsail and A3. I am doing 13-16kts. I am back in the game. I am closer to the boats. I feel I have to be racing. But in this game sometimes they are closer and sometimes further away. I don't know on this course if it is good or if I am losing on it. I have to get west and after the Canary Islands and then will gybe SSW after that. Right now I have to sacrifice a couple of hours to go west. Thanks to God there is nothing wrong with the boat."
A new 2D tracker to allow everyone to follow the Vendée Globe
In order to respond to requests from some visitors, who have had problems gaining access to the Vendée Globe tracker, a new version was made available yesterday with a simplified chart, which is compatible with all browsers.
You can now choose which you prefer – the 2D or 3D race tracker.
For smartphones and iOS and Android tablets, we suggest you download the official Vendée Globe app from the stores. The updated apps offer a lot of interactivity with the tracker with quick access to the 360 degrees module.
Further improvements will be made to the various versions throughout the race to ensure that the tracker is easy and practical to consult.
View the 2D tracker here.
Rankings at 1700 GMT:
1. Armel Le Cleac'h (Banque Populaire VIII) 22,788.1 nm from the finish
2. Vincent Riou (PRB) 9.31 miles astern of the leader
3. Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) 42.05 miles astern
4. Jérémie Beyou (Maître CoQ) 51.1 miles astern
5. Morgan Lagravière (Safran) 53.9 miles astern
6. Sébastien Josse (Edmond de Rothschild) 54.12 miles astern
7. Paul Meilhat (SMA) 54.14 miles astern
View the complete rankings here.
www.vendeeglobe.org/en
Trade wind drag race (from Gitana Team)
With Madeira yesterday, the Canaries today and the Cape Verde archipelago tomorrow, the skippers in the Vendée Globe are ticking off a quick succession of islands on the route down to the Doldrums. After a particularly intense start to the race that proved to be highly demanding for the sailors due to the instability of the conditions and a trickier weather pattern than forecast, the next three days should enable the solo sailors to take a bit of a breather. That said, it's rather a stretch to say that it will be restful given that they're now embroiled in a drag race down to the equator.
Inevitably, aboard these particular Imoca monohulls, speed rhymes with discomfort and dampness more than ever. At the 17:00 GMT ranking, Sébastien Josse was positioned in 6th place some 54 miles shy of Le Cléac'h – Riou, who managed to break away from the rest of the fleet last night. Positioned over to the West of the leading pack, on paper the skipper of Edmond de Rothschild should benefit from a better angle to the wind to tackle the long tack down to the S-SE.
Close-contact racing
With squalls, a ridge of high pressure and wind shadows... the complexity of the 60-foot Imocas, their proximity on the race zone, all coloured by the weather scenario that has played out over the first days of racing, this has been a demanding start to the round the world race, as testified by Sébastien Josse: "Given that we set sail downwind in fairly mild conditions, there is little separating the trajectories and speeds of the boats. It's a close-contact race and it should remain like that for some time to come. Since the start, the atmosphere has been more reminiscent of a "Solitaire du Figaro", with a lot of sail changes, each of which take at least an hour to complete. The descent of the North Atlantic is dictating this pace and if we want to be in the leading pack then we need to pull out all the stops." To keep up this pace, the solo sailors have no other option than to be on deck, manoeuvring or trimming: "I haven't slept more than 3 or 4 hours in one 24-hr cycle since the start," admits the skipper of Edmond de Rothschild.
Late morning today, the sailor reviewed the past 24 hours and notably the miles conceded to his rivals: "Yesterday afternoon, I lost ground – around fifteen miles – after a silly mistake on my part. During a headsail change I didn't set the sheet correctly. All of a sudden, I had to put the boat in reverse for over half an hour to get everything back in order. On the current point of tack the boats post very similar performances. As such, the slightest error directly translates to the ranking. There's nothing dramatic on that score though. At this stage of the race, you need to stay in the leading pack, following that, being in 3rd or 7th place isn't the most important thing in the world..." He goes on: "My positioning further over to the West? It's not a very big separation but I'm happy to be where I am. You have to cast your mind forward to the medium and long term."
Straight ahead in the trades?
The NE'ly breeze, synonymous with a broad reach and hence an acceleration in pace at the head of the Vendée Globe fleet, has been a long time coming. However, since yesterday, this favourable wind is finally accompanying the leaders and the average speed racked up by Gitana 16 and her closest rivals is evidence of this.
With the wind scheduled to pick up level with the Canaries to reach around 20 knots, the physiognomy of the next three days of racing will be a lot more reminiscent of a drag race with some skilled piloting required. However, the trade wind route is no bed of roses and the negotiation of the numerous islands and archipelagos punctuating the descent down the North Atlantic must all be carefully considered: "I opted to pass a long way out to the West of the Canaries as the wind shadow there is fairly impressive. It's a real barrier across our route. And even by passing 250 miles offshore of it, I could feel the disturbance created by the islands this morning, which amounted to lighter and shiftier winds for a few miles."
With an air temperature now bordering on 20 degreesC, the sailor had been able to remove a few layers of clothing and was especially keen to treat himself to his first shower since the start; a mere detail for us landlubbers but signs that Sébastien Josse is already into the swing of life offshore aboard Edmond de Rothschild and that he can finally envisage a few minutes to himself.
Full house
The good news today is that since yesterday lunchtime the number of solo sailors competing in the Vendée Globe is back up to twenty-nine at sea. Indeed, Spanish sailor Didac Costa, who had to turn back just after the start following a leak from one of his ballast tanks, has finally set sail from Les Sables d'Olonne once more. Six days after the start, the fleet competing in the 8th edition are back up to full capacity then, a fact that is sufficiently rare in the history of the race that it deserves to be celebrated!