The sailing nerd-out thread

[BillSmith]

CJ-

Chico, following daughter.

Smoke here sucks up north, but ain't all that much better on the boat. Disabled the carbon monoxide monitors when leaving the boat last week. Didn't want anyone to mistake it for bilge alarm.

Great light breezes would be perfect lazy sailing days, `cept I'm not instrument rated.

 

[BillSmith]

Purple Air website says, GO SAILING!

Clean the accumulated ash off the boat on Friday. We are hoisting sails Saturday. Anyone else?

 

[SFMCjohn]

[YOUTUBE]AecVJ3Br4zc[/YOUTUBE]

watched this last night after getting it from Netflix because imagined it would be awesome ...
and it was ...

I've raced cats off the coast too, but not "offshore". The fastest boat we had was a Nacra 20. On one hull that thing was fast as shit! Being on the trapeze was a rush!

wow!
top speed 30 knots?

[YOUTUBE]gKKv4I5VaBk[/YOUTUBE]

 

[NorCalAthlete]

Purple Air website says, GO SAILING!

Clean the accumulated ash off the boat on Friday. We are hoisting sails Saturday. Anyone else?

Golfing this weekend, but honestly would love to go out and learn how to sail with some of you folks if you'll have me. I'll bring the refreshments or whatever's needed, you bring the knowledge (and boat, of course ).

 

[WoodsChick]

[YOUTUBE]AecVJ3Br4zc[/YOUTUBE]

watched this last night after getting it from Netflix because imagined it would be awesome ...
and it was ...

I saw this in the theater when it came out, great flick! The book is really good, too.

 

[SFMCjohn]

I saw this in the theater when it came out, great flick! The book is really good, too.

admit I shed a tear as they returned home to that awesome welcome ...
the dvd had some neat extra features, too ...
will keep an eye out for the book ...

 

[SFMCjohn]

enjoyed these vids about the Comanche’s trans-Atlantic record in 2016 ...
big, fast mono-hulls, ftw:

short vid:

[YOUTUBE]BxNEi0qkHyo[/YOUTUBE]

long vid:

[YOUTUBE]DDmz9iqyeSU[/YOUTUBE]

sailing starts at around 9:30 ... fun stuff with the navigation/navigator, Mr Stan Honey ...

arty

 

[SFMCjohn]

in theory, in four weeks the 9th Vendée Globe will leave Les Sables d'Olonne on Sunday, November, 8th, 2020:

enjoyed this recently, to help me get ready for 11/8:

[YOUTUBE]puIgYu7q7ck[/YOUTUBE]
RELENTLESS:
The story of Alex Thomson Racing’s journey to the 2016/2017 Vendée Globe

tl/dr: at around 17:30 a French Naval helicopter captures Mr Thomson in the Southern Ocean ...

near as I can tell, we're still on for the solo, non-stop, around-the-world race to begin on 11/8 ... arty

Vendee Globe: Alex Thomson Racing completes final service of Hugo Boss ahead of Vendée Globe 2020
12 September 2020

 

[BillSmith]

Golfing this weekend, but honestly would love to go out and learn how to sail with some of you folks if you'll have me. I'll bring the refreshments or whatever's needed, you bring the knowledge (and boat, of course )

Sorry for the late response. Sailing will be between Mother Nature's cigarette breaks. Going to clean the boat tomorrow, if air quality allows. Looks 100+ at Coyote Point. We are triangulated by fires here in Chico and yet our air quality index is better than the marina. Go figure.

Standing invitation. I'll PM you some contact info.

 

[BillSmith]

OaklandF4i- Where in the State of Jefferson do you live?

Chico. Kid's fault. We followed her.

Just spent the Monday on the bay. Had the whole of it from Oyster Point to the SM/Hayward Bridge nearly to ourselves. Wandered from marker to marker in very light winds.

Will miss the madness of Fleet Week.

 

[SFMCjohn]

[YOUTUBE]O6k0vaP-KZI[/YOUTUBE]

Vendee Globe fleet departs on their race this Sunday,
chasing the 74-day solo, nonstop, unsupported circumnavigation record ... arty

[YOUTUBE]l0BPAuGmx_Y[/YOUTUBE]

about the late-model "super" IMOCA 60 boats in this year's fleet ...
the word "nerd" is bandied about ...

 

[SFMCjohn]

[YOUTUBE]o612C1l5zz4[/YOUTUBE]

arty

 

[ThumperX]

 

[SFMCjohn]

Mr Jean le Cam lead the fleet yesterday in the fight to weather Cape Finesterre ...

[YOUTUBE]lldKZKNgaw0[/YOUTUBE]

"Le roi Jean" (King Jean) is racing an underfunded 2007 Bruce Farr designed non-foiler IMOCA 60 in his fifth Vendée Globe ...

On 6 January 2009, whilst competing in the 2008-2009 edition of the Vendée Globe, Le roi Jean went missing 200 miles from Cape Horn. The overturned boat was discovered with Le Cam alive inside.

arty

 

[SFMCjohn]

file under—old age and treachery:

OLDER BOATS DOMINATE THE TOP-10
11/14/20

The Vendée Globe continues to produce the unexpected. This morning Jean Le Cam has retaken the lead on Yes We Cam!

... Of these older boats, three are non-foilers (currently positioned 1,3 and 6), and were built in either 2006 or 2007, while the others were built between 2009 and 2015 and were either early foilers or have been retro-fitted with foils.

As far as the brand new boats are concerned the story so far is of uneven performance, reliability issues and a surprisingly poor representation in the top-third of the fleet, especially given the mainly downwind conditions of the past few days.

tl/dr: was delighted this am to see that Mr Le Cam had actually retaken the lead from the insanely-developed tech powerhouse showboat and odds-on favorite, the Hugo Bo$$ ... arty

how Mr Thomson lost the lead, yesterday:

After a week of racing in the Vendée Globe, Hugo Boss skipper Alex Thomson now heads south after passing through Storm Theta yesterday in some challenging conditions.

The routing had Hugo Boss tacking just before the eye of the storm, however 70 miles from the centre with consistent wind of 50 knots and five metre waves, the boat violently broached.

scary stuff ...

 

[SFMCjohn]

more Vendee Globe drama for the high-bucks first-tier foliers, with race favorite Hugo Boss slowing dramatically with damage:

[YOUTUBE]q46rMSDC4RQ[/YOUTUBE]

been having fun tracking the race, here:
Official Vendee Globe 2020 Tracking Map

there's an icon on the right that's fun to click to display the wind/weather (3rd up from the bottom) ... arty

 

[SFMCjohn]

PRB broke in half yesterday and sank, and after 11 hours in his life raft, Skipper Escoffier was rescued by my hero, Le Roi Jean, of Yes We Cam this morning at 1am in 5 meter seas:

Escoffier was racing in third place on the 22nd day of the Vendée Globe solo round the world race in 25-30kts SW’ly winds and big seas when his boat nosedived into a wave and, he reported after his rescue, literally broke in two.

Escoffier described the moment the boat literally folded from the bow. (reading his boat may have been moving at 27 knots!)

“You see the images of shipwrecks? It was like that, but worse. In four seconds the boat nosedived, the bow folded at 90°. “

because of the big seas and winds gusting 35 knots, using the engine in his boat, Le Cam’s initial attempt to recover his countryman failed.

Then he lost sight of the life raft altogether.

With the onset of night, and the increasing severity of the situation, a further three boats were diverted from their courses to assist, while Le Cam continued his search.

In the black of night Le Cam saw a distant flash. “The closer to the light I got, the clearer I saw it,” he told the Vendée Race Committee.

“It is amazing because you switch from despair to an unreal moment in an instant.”

Positioning himself upwind of Escoffier’s life raft, Le Cam shouted: “We are doing this now!” Then the boat was falling backwards, too fast in reverse, on to the life raft.

“He was just there, two metres off the stern, and thank goodness I had prepared the red life ring that is usually in the cockpit. I threw it to him, he caught it and then he managed to pull himself in to catch the transmission bar [rudder link arm]. And that was it.”

Hugo Boss is also out of the race with structural damage.

The last Vendee Globe that featured a fleet of 30 boats (2008-2009), only 11 finished. that was the year that Jean Le Cam had to be rescued off Cape Horn when his boat capsized. The boat that rescued him in 2009?: the PRB, then being raced by Vincent Riou ...

rip, PRB ...

 

[Titus58]

Wowza...great stuff John , I cannot believe I had never heard of Vendee Globe before...thanks (I think ) for introducing me to this amazing race.

Here's another report on the story of PRB's sinking and Escoffier's rescue
https://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/news/20722/relieved-escoffier-speaks-about-his-rescue-by-jean-le-cam


Truly amazing seamanship and fortitude on both Escoffier and Jean Le Cam; I cannot fathom (pun intended) how Escoffier had the presence of mind to grab his survival suit, send an SOS text, AND grab his life raft as his cockpit filled with water and he abandoned ship, in a matter of seconds. I'm glad to know the race committee will give Le Cam credit for time-lost so he can remain competitive in the race

Can't wait to see what the next month has in store for these amazing skippers and boats as they sail eastward towards Cape Hope and their final mark to port before they head north into headwinds and the final leg home....


T

 

[SFMCjohn]

Wowza...great stuff John , I cannot believe I had never heard of Vendee Globe before...thanks (I think ) for introducing me to this amazing race.

Here's another report on the story of PRB's sinking and Escoffier's rescue
https://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/news/20722/relieved-escoffier-speaks-about-his-rescue-by-jean-le-cam


Truly amazing seamanship and fortitude on both Escoffier and Jean Le Cam; I cannot fathom (pun intended) how Escoffier had the presence of mind to grab his survival suit, send an SOS text, AND grab his life raft as his cockpit filled with water and he abandoned ship, in a matter of seconds. I'm glad to know the race committee will give Le Cam credit for time-lost so he can remain competitive in the race

Can't wait to see what the next month has in store for these amazing skippers and boats as they sail eastward towards Cape Hope and their final mark to port before they head north into headwinds and the final leg home....


T

yes, I just love the competition/endurance/adventure of this race ...

thought this quote was awesome:

Asked this morning if he was scared or worried during his ordeal in his liferaft Escoffier replied,

“No. As soon as I had seen Jean I was sure I would be saved.”

of course the 61 y/o Mr Le Cam is doing his 5th(!) Vendee Globe, and giving the foilers a run for their money with his old monohull ... a real wiley vet, who will fish you out of the water when necessary ...

I'm pretty addicted to the tracking/wind links ... I clicked on it yesterday and was all like "WHY is Le Roi Jean heading off in the wrong direction?" of course it was because he was off to rescue Mr Escoffier ...

 

[Mike95060]

Gnarly.