Paradijs VendeeGlobe blog.

Summary of the VendeeGlobe2012-2012 - last part

Summary of the VendeeGlobe2012-2013 - 3rd part

Summary of the VendeeGlobe2012-2013 - 2nd part

Summary of the VendeeGlobe2012-2013 - 1st Part

Last Arrival closes the VendeeGlobe2012-2013

Paradise49, My Virtual Sailing Boat, Finished VendeeGlobe 2012-2013

Many more Skippers finished VendeeGlobe, official and un-official.

Some finish without a Keel and some not!

VendeeGlobe 2012-2013 Finished

Clear path Home for the leaders in VendeeGlobe

France spoils the Atlantic Ocean.

Suratna, my Boat in LiveSkipper finished the Sail the Globe Race

The Heat Is On

Week 9 Highlights

Video passing Cape Horn almost like real.

Cape Horn rounded by leaders in VendeeGlobe

Happy New Year, and twice for some !

Passing the Date Line

Christmas in the VendeeGlobe

VendeeGlobe skippers in X-Mas sphere

Cape Leeuwin passed with a new record.

Boats sailing at high speeds in VendeeGlobe

VendeeGlobe, and intense battle for the lead.

Changing the Lead

The West is gaining ...

2013-03-02T11:12:00.001+07:00

Can it get any bluer?

Week 8

Even when the leaders were somehow slowed down while approaching Cape Horn, their nearest competitor, Jean-Pierre Dick, remained 400 miles away when they rounded the legendary rock on January 1^st, 2013. Gabart rounded it first and was only 1:15h ahead of Le Cléac'h. But skippers would have to wait some more for some relief as the way down towards the extreme south of the Chilean archipelago was made under the threat of icebergs believed to have drifted all the way up to Staten Island. At the same time, Di Benedetto entered the Pacific Ocean. A little less than two days later, Dick rounded the last cape of the race, 250 miles before Thomson. We then had to wait for six and a half days to see Le Cam coming back into the Atlantic. He opened the way to a squad that had grown in the Southern Seas. Stamm, Boissières and Sanso had joined the "senior sailors" crew and the newly-formed group was then sailing within 500 miles of each other. The skipper of Cheminées Poujoulat, victim of another crash that had badly damaged his hydrogenerators, while the other one was no longer working, was forced to make diesel refuel after Cape Horn. It meant he was out of the race just before the jury confirmed his disqualification.

Week 9 – Week 11

Even if Cape Horn was now behind them, the route was still long and if the leaders had then left the Southern Seas, they quickly faced winds of 45 knots and 6-metre swell. For the leading trio, the way up the Atlantic began abruptly and cruelly for Dick, who – after a great comeback on the leading duo – had to slow down in order to repair his main stay. For Le Cléac'h, the problems were less dramatic but equally disastrous in terms of consequences. A problem with his gennaker in the Le Maire Strait made him lose ground again when he managed to return on Gabart, only 10 miles behind him. On January 6^th, a shift in the west he thought beneficial became a real nightmare, as the crossing became more complicated than expected. 100 miles away, on January 8^th, the gap extended over 260 miles six days later. This would be the largest gap in the race. Through less easy doldrums crossing for the young leader, Le Cléac'h managed to come back a little, but it wasn’t enough.

Finish

On January 27^th, 2013, at 15h18 (French Time), François Gabart crossed the finish line and entered the Sables d’Olonne channel as a hero, after an incredible duel that lasted 78d02h16’ or 28,646 miles travelled at an amazing average speed of 15.3 knots. Only 3:17h later, Armel Le Cléac'h completed his world circumnavigation, just in time to enter the channel, still warmed by the enthusiasm of a great public. It was definitely a historic day, which saw the finishes of two exceptionally gifted young sailors, the first to single-handedly sail around the world on a monohull in less than 80 days. Two days later, Alex Thomson takes the third place of the podium thanks to an amazing performance on a second-generation boat built in 2007. The British was indeed helped by Dick’s technical issues, as the Virbac Paprec skipper finished 4th after sailing 2,650 miles without the keel he had lost 600 miles south of the Azores archipelago. The Atlantic proved to be very rough to the « senior sailors » and the first of them, Jean Le Cam, did not enter the Sables d’Olonne channel before February 6, followed by Mike Golding and Dominique Wavre. Then came Arnaud Boissières and Bertrand De Broc as well as, a little later, Tanguy de Lamotte (Initiatives-cœur). The last skipper to finish the race was Alessandro Di Benedetto, 11th but still celebrated as if he had won the race. Even though he was in 9^th position when he crossed the Equator, Javier Sanso was not that lucky. On February 3, he lost his keel 400 miles south of the Azores, which capsised his boat. The Spaniard was eventually rescued by the Portuguese navy.

2 skippers pulled out of the race

January 9: Bernard Stamm: After hitting an UFO and damaging his hydrogenerators, he received extra fuel. He was also disqualified by the jury on January 2 for receiving outside assistance from Russian boat Professor Kkoromov. The case was re-opened but the initial decision was confirmed on January 12.

February 3: Javier Sansó capsised off the Azores after losing his keel.

Picture: Arnaud Boissière's hand
© ARNAUD BOISSIERES / AKENA VERANDAS

Important facts:

January 1: François Gabart and Armel Le Cléac'h rounded Cape Horn 1h15 away from each other.

January 2: Bernard Stamm was disqualified by the international jury for failing to comply to article 3.2.

January 3: Bernard Stamm asked for the re-opening of his case.

January 5: Bernard Stamm’s case was re-opened as the Swiss skipper had provided new elements.

January 6: Cheminées Poujoulat hit an unidentified floating abject, ripping off his first hydrogenerator while the second one was also out of order. Because of previous energy-related issues, there was no fuel left on board, forcing Bernard Stamm to stop using all his energy-consuming devices - including his communication equipment – to save the little energy he has for his autopilot.

January 9: After Cape Horn, Cheminées Poujoulat received extra fuel from Basque skipper Unaï Basurko, a friend of Stamm’s who was sailing in the area. Once the energy came back on board, the Swiss notified the Race Management he was pulling out of the Vendée Globe and resumed his journey, determined to reach Les Sables d'Olonne anyway.

January 12: After ruling on the case re-opening request by Bernard Stamm, the jury confirmedCheminées Poujoulat was disqualified.

January 15: François Gabart crossed the Equator after 66d 1h 39 mn and set a new Sables d’Olonne – Equator record, beating Michel Desjoyeaux’s 71d 17h 12mn.

January 21: Alessandro Di Benedetto broke his rib when Team Plastique gybed unexpectedly. The French-Italian skipper also lost his small spinnaker.

January 22: Virbac-Paprec 3 lost her keel.

Janaury 27:
François Gabart won the Vendée Globe at 15h 18mn 40s. The MACIF skipper became the youngest winner in the history of the race and set a new race record in 78d 5h 33mn 52s (- 6d 0h 53mn)

Armel Le Cléac’h crossed the finish line 3h 17mn 12s later, finishing second with the smallest gap between the first two skippers in the race history.

January 30:
Alex Thomson finished the race at 08h 25mn 43, taking the third place and finishing the race for the first time.

Jean-Pierre Dick decided to seek shelter in the San Ciprián bay, anticipating strong wind in the Bay of Biscay. He resumed the race on the morning of February 3.

Fenruary 3:
Initiatives-cœur hit a UFO and broke the already-damaged starboard rudder blade, causing a major water ingress.

Alessandro Di Benedetto lost his last downwind sails.

ACCIONA 100% EcoPowered capsised west of Madeira, 360 miles off Sao Miguel (Azores). Javier Sansó waited for the rescue team in his life boat. He was eventually winched up into a helicopter and taken to the Terceira Island at night.

February 4: Jean-Pierre Dick finished 4th of the 2012-2013 Vendée Globe, reaching Les Sables d’Olonne after 86d 3h 3mn 40s at sea. He sailed 2,650 miles without a keel.

February 6: Jean Le Cam took the 5th place in 88d 00h 12mn 58s, followed by Mike Golding (6th) 6h 23mn later. Bernard Stamm finished at 22h 30mn 50s and was not officially ranked.

February 8: Dominique Wavre crossed the finish line in 7th position with a race time of 90d 03h 14mn 42s.

February 9: Arnaud Boissières finished 8th at 15h 11mn 02s, completing his second consecutive Vendée Globe in 91d 02h 09mn 02s.

February 10: Bertrand de Broc completed the Vendée Globe in 9th position after 92d 05h 10mn 14s at sea.

February 17: Tanguy de Lamotte crossed the finish line at 10h58, finishing 10th in 98d 21h 56mn 10s

February 22: Alessandro Di Benedetto, the last skipper in the race, arrived Les Sables d’Olonne with a total race time of 104d 02h 34mn, 26d 00h 17’ after the race winner, which is the smallest gap between the first and last skipper in the history of the race.

Rankings:

MACIF
Banque Populaire
Virbac-Paprec 3
HUGO BOSS
SynerCiel
Gamesa
Mirabaud
AKENA Vérandas
Votre Nom autour du Monde avec EDM Projets
Initiatives-cœur
Team Plastique

Key quotes:

Tanguy de Lamotte (FRA, Initiatives-cœur), January 4

(On Vendée Globe enthusiasm) It’s hard to realise from here but it’s great to see people getting excited about the Vendée Globe and to know that, through us, people have positive things to get interested in. I’m sure it makes some of them want to travel and maybe they’ll get to carry out some of their projects.

Jean Le Cam (FRA, SynerCiel), January 28

Rounding the Horn? An amazing moment. The Pacific is behind us and I’m pretty optimistic about the possibility to close the gap, the sea is quite normal. But it’s always the same thing. You finally get out of the Indian Ocean and enter the Pacific thinking it’s going to be much calmer, maybe because of the name, but it’s never the case.

I sailed a mile away from Cape Horn (he laughs) at the sun was rising, it was the perfect moment, I’ve been so lucky. I had a great time, I shot videos, it was great. There’s something special about Cape Horn for me. Last time, I rounded it with Vincent Riou, which is not what you usually do in a single-handed race. In 2004, I was leading the race on Bonduelle when I rounded it and in 1982, I was doing my military service on Euromarché. I think this year, the Horn will be one of the best memories in the race.

Dominique Wavre (SUI, Mirabaud), January 9

Cape Horn is always part of the greatest moments in a race. I’m rounding it for the 9^th time and it’s still extraordinary. There’s a rich historic background, it’s like a boat cemetery and sailors rounding the Horn used to do so in terrible conditions. There were so many shipwrecks. I have so much respect for all the sailors who have been here before, you think about all that when sailing off The Rock.

Bernard Stamm (SUI, Cheminées Poujoulat), January 10

(On his future in the race) Right now I’m not at 100% of my potential. The conditions are very unstable and you need to be extremely careful because of the ice we have been warned about. It’s been complicated because of the wind and I was only able to get a few hours of sleep. I will sail up the Atlantic as if I was still competing in the race even though for me, it’s been over for a while now. I’m going to try to sail the boat properly, as I would normally do. I’ll try to enjoy it. Lately, what I’ve mostly been focusing on is keeping the boat safe.

Bertrand de Broc (FRA, Votre Nom autour du Monde avec EDM Projets), January 14

After thirty days in very difficult conditions (humidity, agitated sea) and in such a rough and demanding sea, it’s great to finally get out. But these are also the reasons why you come to the Pacific, you need to deserve it. It’s tough and you’re happy when it’s over.

Javier Sanso (ESP, ACCIONA 100%EcoPowered), January 16

When we designed the batteries of the boat, our goal was to prove we could finish this race using only renewable types of energy. And we’ve proved it is possible. In the Southern Ocean, I used my hydrogenerator a bit off the coast of New Zealand and that’s it. That technology is our future.

Alex Thomson (BRI, HUGO BOSS), January 26

Here’s what made me decide to stay close to Jean-Pierre Dick. The weather forecast was mentioning strong wind, I was 90 miles from him and I just couldn’t imagine leaving him alone in such conditions on a keel-less boat. And to be honest, it wasn’t such a big effort for me. I’ve been rescued in the past so I know how important it is to know you have someone watching your back just in case.

Video: Jean-Pierre Dick climbs up the mast for the 5th time

Cinquième montée victorieuse pour Jean-Pierre Dick par VendeeGlobeTV

2013-03-02T11:02:00.002+07:00

Bernhard Stamm on the anchor for repairs

Week 6

In the cold weather conditions, the entire Vendée Globe fleet was then sailing in the Southern Ocean. Seeing the pace at the forefront, it was difficult to imagine the leading men were in any kind of discomfort. Yet they kept their pace up, trapped in a duel where the tiniest slowdown was immediately punished. Le Cléac'h was the first to make his entry into the Pacific Ocean. Maximizing their weather systems, with a slightly higher speed and perfect navigation, the two leaders continued to increase their lead.

Week 7

As Christmas was approaching, the pace didn’t falter and the two leaders continued their global duel under New Zealand. As he entered the Pacific Ocean, Le Cléac'h managed to take over the lead before seeing Gabart regained control before the rankings changed with each of the skippers’ jibes. A little more than 500 miles behind, Dick became a bit stalled and stayed between the head of the fleet and the Anglo-Swiss duo Thomson-Stamm, about 900 miles behind the front runners. For Christmas, Le Cléac'h got to the first West Pacific gate first and temporarily took over the lead. For Stamm, Christmas was much tougher since he had to divert to New Zealand in order to find a shelter and make some repair on his hydrogenerators. He was almost out of energy and couldn’t consider crossing the Pacific, the largest ocean in the world, in these conditions. The deterioration of the weather conditions forced him to moor to a Russian ship, which resulted in a complaint procedure against the sailor, who had received assistance in the operation. When the Swiss skipper resumed his journey towards Cape Horn, he was in 10th position, just behind Arnaud Boissières who, after a difficult start, had managed to come back in the Southern ocean. Meanwhile, the two leaders were slowed down and saw Dick and Thomson come back in their wake. On December 28^th, only Di Benedetto had not yet entered the Pacific, sailing about 4,000 miles away from the head of the fleet.

The picture
Tanguy de Lamotte's gennaker in the water

Important facts:

December 18: Armel Le Cléac'h was the first to reach the 146°55' E longitude, marking the limit between the Indian and Pacific oceans at 7.08AM (UTC).

December 19: François Gabart leads the fleet, halfway through the race.

December 22: Bernard Stamm headed to the Auckland island to take shelter and repair his hydrogenerators.

December 24: After having found a shelter north of the Auckland Island on the 23rd, Bernard Stamm found out in the evening (local time) that another boat, the Professor Khromov, moored in the same bay. As Cheminées Poujoulat started drifting, the Swiss skipper is forced to moore his monohull to the Russian boat in order to save his IMOCA. Bernard Stamm refused the extra fuel offered by Professor Khromov, but one of their crewmembers came on board to help with the mooring operation. The Race Committee filed a complaint. On the same day, because of tough weather conditions, Bernard Stamm had to go back at sea to find another shelter in Dunedin.

December 28: Bernard Stamm resumed the race and headed to Cape Horn.

Rankings

MACIF
Banque Populaire
Virbac-Paprec 3
HUGO BOSS
SynerCiel
Gamesa
Mirabaud
AKENA Vérandas
ACCIONA 100% EcoPowered
Votre Nom autour du Monde avec EDM Projets
Initiatives-cœur
Team Plastique

Key quotes:

François Gabart (FRA, MACIF), December 18

(After being told he has entered the Pacific Ocean) Woooow ! I’m in the Pacific, that’s great news. I’m thrilled even though I have to say I haven’t noticed any major difference between the two oceans. It’s perfect, I only have one ocean to sail through, then Cape Horn and I’ll be heading home. It feels great!

Bertrand de Broc (FRA, Votre Nom autour du Monde avec EDM Projets), December 24

Christmas is something we unfortunately had to forget about. I don’t have that many Christmas ornaments, and not many gifts either, but I do have a few. From the size of the gift boxes, I’d say I’ll have quite a lot to read. I’ll learn many new things, I guess. What I do have in my plans is a nice meal, though, with preserved meat and a bottle of Saint-Emilion wine. But I won’t drink too much because I’m sailing at 30 knots so it’s going to shake. So I’ll have to stay watchful.

Jean Le Cam (FRA, SynerCiel), December 25

I was watching as the depression was developing, it was so weird, kind of like a Hitchcock movie, pretty seedy. Tactically speaking, what I’ve just done is like a holdup^, it’s crazy!

Mike Golding (GBR, Gamesa), December 27
When you stay at sea for such a long time, you end up losing track of time, you just don’t have the same habits as those you have on dry land when it comes to time. I’m usually a quite even-tempered guy. Of course, sometimes, some things can drive me mad, like when I see the speed difference between my boat and some others. It’s hard to take, especially when you’ve worked so hard on a project without much information on the other skippers’ boats. But mine is doing fine. Even though, like everybody else, we’ve had little issues, we managed to deal with them. And as long as things are under control, I’m not worried.

Tanguy de Lamotte (Fra, Initiatives-cœur), December 31
(On 2013) I’ve been in 2013 for a few minutes already, so I wish you a happy new year! Because of the antemeridian, I’ll celebrate the New Year twice, which is quite unusual, it’s one of the specificities of this race.

Bernard Stamm (SUI, Cheminées Poujoulat), January 2
As you can probably imagine, things could be better. I’m allowed to ask for the case to ber e-opened and that’s what I’m going to do. To me, everything I did was done in the spirit of the race. I think the jury hasn’t taken the context into account because all I did was try to save my boat.

Armel Le Cléac’h (FRA, Banque Populaire), December 31
(On Cape Horn) It’s a legendary place, I felt very emotional last time I rounded it. This years, the conditions are a little trickier, with the icebergs that have been spotted in the area, so let’s see what happens. It’s an important moment, something special in a sailor’s life, so I’ll try to enjoy it the way it should be enjoyed. Four years ago, we were in the process of rescuing Jean Le Cam, maybe you remember…

THE Video
Banque Populaire seen from MACIF

Banque Populaire vu de MACIF par VendeeGlobeTV

2013-03-02T10:53:00.000+07:00

the Dual for the lead has started between the 2 Leaders.

Week 4

The different options chosen by the skippers started showing results on November 30, when the leader himself admitted the southerly route may have been the best. Dick briefly took the lead of the race on December 1, just before entering the « Great South » from Armel Le Cléac'h, who had led since November 16. In the process, the Virbac-Paprec skipper set a new 24-hour record, covering more than 500 miles – 502! – in a day. But François Gabart was the one crossing the first of the eight ice gates first. The leaders - Le Cléac'h, Gabart, Dick and Stamm – regrouped with Thomson 100 miles behind them while the pendant que les « senior sailors » tried to keep up with the rhythm 400 miles behind the front runners. On December 2, Jean Le Cam noticed a net was caught up in his keel and decided to dive to release it. The complex operation was a success and became one of the unforgettable moments in the race. On Monday, December 3, Armel Le Cléac'h was the first to round the Cape of Good Hope after 22d23h46’ of race, beating the previous record, set by Vincent Riou in 2004, by more than 24 hours. Finally, it was Indian Ocean time!

The leaders’ speed in such strong wind widened the gap between the frontrunners and the chasing skippers, with 2,200 miles (4,000 kilometres) between the leaders and the last skipper. The former tried to sail as fast as they possibly can to avoid the anticyclone threatening to catch up with them, which turned out to be difficult because of a tricky cross sea. While Armel Le Cléac'h was heading north to cross the ice gates, his opponents chose a curvier southerly route, despite the risk of coming across ice. Behind them, the « senior sailors » were in a close fight - Dominique Wavre and Jean Le Cam even sailed at sight for a few hours on December 7. Armel Le Cléac'h might have been the first to cross the Crozet gate, the anticyclone ended up catching up with him and the Banque Populaire skipper gave up his leadership position to Gabart and then to Stamm, before taking it back a few days later while the other skippers were forced to head north to cross the mandatory gate.

Week 5

Armel Le Cléac'h took the lead on December 8^th. Once the second ice gate was passed, the weather conditions were suitable for speed records with a strong northwesterly wind that pushed leaders on a little formed sea. François Gabart was the fastest in that speed game and shattered the 24 hours record with 534.48 miles... Incredible! He took the opportunity to take over the lead, and two days later, he set a new record: the best time ever achieved between Les Sables d'Olonne and Cape Leeuwin (34d10h23'). The duel with Le Cléac'h looked like a match-race as the distance between the two leaders was reduced to its minimum compared the entire Vendée Globe journey... Therefore, it was increasingly difficult for their rivals to follow them, particularly for Bernard Stamm, who faced several problems with his mainsail boards, and a very unlucky Alex Thomson, who hit two UFOs in less than 24 hours, which destroyed his hydrogenerator, damaged his rudder and broke another rudder tie bar. Only Jean-Pierre Dick managed to stay in the leaders’ wake. While crossing the Amsterdam gate, the MACIF skipper was only 20 minutes ahead, after 24,000km of sailing! At the end of the fifth week, Gabart, Le Cléac'h and Dick managed to stay in the same weather conditions while, behind them, Thomson and Stamm stalled. Then the gap with the leaders grew quickly; respectively 500 and 600 miles. While the first skippers arrived at the Cape Leeuwin, Alessandro Di Benedetto (Team Plastique) crossed the Cape of Good Hope on December 12, 2012...

THE picture: Tanguy de Lamotte's "Smoke on the Water"

© Tanguy de Lamotte / Initiatives-Coeur

Important facts:

December 7: Jean Le Cam and Dominique Wavre see each other in the middle of the Indian Ocean, sailing a few hundred metres away from each other.

December 9: Sam Davies is back in Les Sables d’Olonne, so is Jérémie Beyou.

During the night, as he was sailing at fast speed, Alex Thomson hits a UFO, seriously damaging HUGO BOSS’ rudder blade and breaking his hydrogenerator. The British skipper works all night long in order to fix the problems which will later cause many energy issues.

December 10: François Gabart shatters the 24-hour record, covering 532 miles.

December 12: Bubi breaks part of his starboard rudder blade.

December 14: François Gabart stes a new record between Les Sables d’Olonne and Cape Leeuwin in 34d10h23'

Rankings:

Banque Populaire
MACIF
Virbac Paprec 3
Cheminées Poujoulat
HUGO BOSS
SynerCiel
Gamesa
Mirabaud
ACCIONA 100% EcoPowered
AKENA Vérandas
Votre Nom autour du Monde avec EDM Projets
Initiatives-cœur
Team Plastique

Key quotes:

Alessandro Di Benedetto (ITA, Team Plastique), December 4

« It’s so much fun to sail on this boat, I can run on the deck and stand up, which I wasn’t used to. And she also goes much faster than a 6.50-metre boat, it’s amazing. This is a beautiful race, I have no words to describe it. And the boat is doing ok. »

Bernard Stamm (SUI, Cheminées Poujoulat), December 7

« It’s just awesome! The boat is great, even though she still needs improved protection, but apart from that, it’s fun. Conditions are good but tough, especially when the boat is going full speed. We’re close to each other, it feels like a regatta, it’s cool. Last night, I saw François on the AIS. »

Mike Golding (GBR, Gamesa), December 9

« The ice gates have changed the race a lot, and even more so now they have been moved. As I’ve said before, as a result, we haven’t made the right sail choices. If I had known we’d sail that much north, I would have taken different sails with me. But it’s the same for every one of us and to be honest, it’s still better than to have to play Russian roulette with icebergs at night! »

François Gabart (FRA, MACIF), December 13

«I have a hard time keeping track of records and race time since we don’t have the same routes. And the ice gates are making things different, too. That’s why I think it’s useless to compare race times, I’m not interested, I don’t care. It’s pointless. »

Dominique Wavre (SUI, Mirabaud), February 8

« I could see the boat of my buddy, Jean, getting closer, it was amazing. Mike Golding wasn’t far away either, it was a real fight. Jean got closer and closer, I tried to call him on the VHF but he didn’t answer. Finally I saw him get on the deck, shooting a video of me… just when I was filming him too! »

video of Synerciel meeting Mirabaud

2013-03-02T10:44:00.001+07:00

The Start of VendeeGlobe2012, some made a Good and some a Bad Start.

Week 1

Saturday, November 10. More than 300,000 people were out early in the morning to give the twenty skippers a warm sendoff despite the rainy and cold weather. Just like in any of the previous editions, the channel moment was an emotional one for the sailors embodying the public’s dreams of adventure. French actor François Cluzet gave the start signal at 1.02PM. Five overeager competitors (Gabart, De Pavant, Gutowski, Le Cléac'h and Riou) crossed the start line early while Bertrand de Broc (Votre Nom autour du Monde avec EDM Projets), who had damaged his boat 25 minutes before the official start, was already back on the pontoons. He eventually left thirteen hours after the others and sailed across poor Marc Guillemot (Safran) who lost his keel after only 4h43 in the race. The Breton skipper was the first to pull out of the race. Young and spirited François Gabart (Macif) immediately took the lead of the fleet and sailed aggressively in a rough sea. Then, after three days of race, came the second abandon. Kito de Pavant (Groupe Bel) hit a fishing boat, ripping off his boomsprit and roof, while he was in the cabin for a ten-minute nap. The French sailor changed his route and sailed to Cascais, Portugal. Meanwhile, behind Gabart, Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire) and Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat) kept up with the leader’s intense rhythm, followed by Riou (PRB), who chose a more westerly route. This was the time for the very first tactical choices. That is when the youngest skipper in the fleet, Louis Burton, 27, also hit a fishing boat and decided to sail back to Les Sables d’Olonne to try to fix his damaged shroud. But Burton will eventually have to resign and pull out of the race. On the evening of Thursday, November 15, Samantha Davies (Savéol) dismasted in very rough weather conditions. She was the fourth sailor to pull out of the race and, after only one week, the Vendée Globe had already lost 20% of its fleet. Le Cléac'h became the new race leader off the Canary Islands, ahead of Gabart and Stamm. There are only 25 miles between the first three skippers and 100 miles between the first six.

Week 2

The remaining skippers were back in much nicer sailing conditions when, on November 17, Jérémie Beyou (Maître CoQ) broke his keel jack while sailing northwest of Cape Verde and eventually pulled out of the race two days later. On the same weekend, Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) broke his rudder tie bar but managed to repair it without losing ground. Meanwhile, Javier Sanso (ACCIONA 100%EcoPowered) had to climb up his mast to fix his main sail traveller. The fleet was made up of three separate groups : the favourites (Le Cléac'h, Gabart, Dick, Stamm, Riou, Thomson), the senior outsiders (Golding, Wavre, Le Cam), and the « latecomers» (Boissières, De Lamotte, De Broc, Di Benedetto). On day 9, Le Cléac'h entered the infamous Doldrums, which gave the chasing skippers an opportunity to come back. That area of extremely unstable winds proved to be particularly tough on the leaders and their race became so close some skippers could actually see each other for a few hours! On November 21, after days of surprising route choices, Poland’s Zbigniew « Gutek » Gutkowski (Energa), abandons the race because of recurring autopilot issues. On the same day, Armel Le Cléac'h left the Doldrums behind and was the first skipper to cross the Equator. The chasing skippers followed him a few hours behind and closed the gap on him in the South Atlantic. Behind them, Mike Golding (Gamesa) crossed the Equator for the 22^nd time and, after 12 days at sea, eight of the Vendée Globe skippers were in the south hemisphere, with Armel Le Cléac'h leading them for an entire week. Because of particularly southerly St Helena’s Highs, the first skippers had to choose a westerly route.

Week 3

On Saturday, November 24, Vincent Riou hit an Unidentified Floating Object - a massive drifting buoy – tearing the front part of PRB’s hull and seriously damaging the ourigger. After a first repair attempt, the former Vendée Globe winner eventually had to put an end to his race on the next day. Skippers’ strategies were exposed as Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec 3) moved away from the direct route and sailed south, soon followed by François Gabart, while Armel Le Cléac'h continued on the initial route. Skippers at the back of the fleet, led by Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel) with Mike Golding and Dominique Wavre (Mirabaud), started closing the gap. 250 miles behind the Swiss, Javier Sanso found himself 150 miles ahead of Arnaud Boissières (AKENA Vérandas).

7 abandons

November 10: Marc Guillemot (5.45PM): lost keel

November 12: Kito de Pavant: hit a fishing boat

November 16: Samantha Davies: Dismasting on the evening of the 15^th+ Louis Burton: Hit a fishing boat on the 14^th

November 19: Jérémie Beyou: keel jack issue discovered on the 17^th

November 25: Vincent Riou: hit a UFO on the 24^th

November 21: Zbigniew « Gutek » Gutkowski: Autopilot issue

Highlights

November 10: Bertrand de Broc comes back to Les Sables d'Olonne 20 minutes before the start of the race to fix a hole in the bow.

November 12: Bernard Stamm faces his first hydrogenerators tie issues, the very first of a long list of problems for Cheminées Poujoulat.

November 15: Javier Sanso seeks shelter after a technical incident. He sails without his main sail for 32 hours before heading to the Canarias Islands. He is back in the race on November 17 with his boat at 100% of her potential.

November 16: Alex Thomson’s first repairs (Rudder tie bar)

November 21: 7 skippers are given a penalty for sailing across a cargo traffic lane (2 hours for Le Cam, Wavre, Sanso, De Lamotte and Gutek; 30minutes for Golding and 20 minutes for Dick)

December 1: Jean-Pierre Dick sets a new 24-hour record with 502 miles covered at an average speed of 20,9 knots.

December 2: Jean Le Cam has to dive under the SynerCiel hull to remove a fishing net caught in the keel. After a 30-minute operation, Le Cam is back in the race.

MACIF is the first to cross the Aiguilles ice gate at 19h01mn41s (UTC).

THE picture
Kito de Pavant's sadness and disappoitment after pulling out of the race

© Ricardo Pinto / Windreport' / Groupe Bel

Rankings:

Banque Populaire
Virbac-Paprec 3
MACIF
Cheminées Poujoulat
HUGO BOSS
Gamesa
SynerCiel
Mirabaud
AKENA Vérandas
ACCIONA 100% EcoPowered
Votre Nom autour du Monde avec EDM Projets
Initiatives-cœur
Team Plastique

Key quotes:

Marc Guillemot (FRA, Safran), November 11

« I am extremely disappointed and I really hope we can find out what happened. It’s tough, but it would take more than that to stop me. I know the disappointment will disappear eventually and we’ll try to move on and, most of all, to understand why this happened. The race goes on, I’ll keep thinking about all the skippers who are still in the race. »

Kito de Pavant (FRA, Groupe Bel), November 16
« The disappointment just won’t go away, it’s going to be a very long winter for Marc, Sam, Louis and myself. We’ll have difficult times. »

Jérémie Beyou (FRA, Maître CoQ), November 19
« The race is over and it makes me so angry. It shouldn’t have happened. When it did, I was so nervous it made me laugh because I just couldn’t believe this was happening. And then I was just mad and I stayed focused on the repairs. Yesterday, I haven’t been able to sleep at all. I ate a lot – there’s plenty of food – and eventually, I crashed in bed. I’m feeling a little better this morning, my mind is clearer. »

Armel Le Cléac’h (FRA, Banque Populaire), November 21

« We entered the southern hemisphere at around 8 AM. I’m doing fine, the champagne didn’t hit me too hard because I didn’t drink too much of it. I’m glad the part between Les Sables and the Equator is now over, the gaps aren’t too big and my fellow Vendée Globe skippers are close. The favourites are in good positions and we’ll have a nice fight over the next few weeks. »

Vincent Riou (FRA, PRB), November 25

« I took my time before making the decision because I wanted to make sure there was not the slightest possibility to stay in the race. But at one point, you have to be realistic and see there is no way I’ll be able to finish the race. That’s one of the most difficult things about being a skipper. Sometimes things are just not fair and you need to learn to accept that. If you don’t, it’s impossible to go on. But it’s hard, because we worked so hard before the race… »

Jean Le Cam (FRA, SynerCiel), December 3
« When you’re at sea, you just can’t go back any more but before the race starts, you ask yourself many questions. You have to think hard about everything before the beginning of the race and ponder every decision before going out there. If someone had told me I’d dive under my boat in the roaring forties, I would have thought that person is crazy… »

Video Sam Davies pulles out of the Race

2013-02-23T11:48:00.000+07:00

All captains happy before the VendeeGlobe Start

But not all of them would be able to Finish this edition of the VendeeGlobe.

Only 11 Boats brought it too a proper finish after circling the world solo-handed on an IMOCA60 Boat.

The Final Leaderboard :

1- François Gabart (FRA/MACIF) 78d02h18'
2- Armel Le Cléac´h (FRA/Banque Populaire) 78d05h33' (+3h17’)
3- Alex Thomson (GBR/Hugo Boss) 80d19h23' (+2d13h49’)
4- Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA/Virbac-Paprec 3) 86d03h03' (+8d00h47’)
5- Jean Le Cam (FRA/SynerCiel) 88d00h12' (+9d21h56’)
6- Mike Golding (GBR/Gamesa) 88d06h36' (+10d04h19’)
7- Dominique Wavre (SUI/Mirabaud) 90d03h14' (+12d00h58’)
8- Arnaud Boissières (FRA/AKENA Vérandas) 91d02h09' (+12d23h52’)
9- Bertrand De Broc (FRA/Votre Nom autour du Monde avec EDM Projets) 92d17h10' (+14d14h53’)
10- Tanguy De Lamotte (FRA/Initiatives-coeur) 98d21h56' (+20d19h39’)
11- Alessandro Di Benedetto (FRA-ITA/Team Plastique) 104d02h34' (+26d00h17’)

Not in the rankings:
-Bernard Stamm (SUI/Cheminées Poujoulat), disqualified

Did not finish
-Marc Guillemot (FRA/Safran) lost his keel on November 10
-Kito de Pavant (FRA/Groupe Bel) hit a fishing boat on November 12
-Louis Burton (FRA/Bureau Vallée) hit a fishing boat on November 14
-Sam Davies (GBR/Savéol) dismasted on November 15
-Jérémie Beyou (FRA/Maître CoQ) keel jack problem on November 17
-Zbigniew Gutkowski (POL/ENERGA) autopilot issue on November 21
-Vincent Riou (FRA/PRB) hit a UFO on November 24

-Javier Sanso (ESP, ACCIONA 100% EcoPowered) capsised on February 3

The youngest designed Boats won the 1st and 2nd place, giving an extra boost for Alex Thompson on his 3rd place with an older style Imoca Boat.

Main problems encountered were with the Keels, and the Hydrogenerators. For sure Imoca has to make some improvements to make the Boats better suited for a RoundtheWorld Race.

I guess this will be my last posting on the VendeeGlobe2012. If however you do like to continue sailing in a virtual manner, I can recommend LiveSkipper, (www.liveskipper.com) . This virtual player is of a newer generation as the old VR player used in the Vendee.

LiveSkipper is free to use with all available sails, and boat types and its modern navigation tools and an excellent scheduler for programmed sailing during your hours of sleep or work. Such that ALL sailors have a equal playing field.
(see the TAB "Virtual Sailing" where I have made reference to some virtual sailing players, and in a document I have given my pro's and con's leading to my conclusion that LiveSkipper is the BEST virtual Sailing Game on the Internet in the moment.

2013-02-10T13:58:00.004+07:00

Paradise49, my Virtual Boat sailing in the VendeeGlobe 2012-2013 had finished. The total sailing time was 91 Days, 1 Hour, 8 Minutes and 42 Seconds.

My Certificate for Success in Virtual VendeeGlobe.

I finished on 57023th place, not too fast, but I did sail all in the basic boats without any additional options and living in a time-zone that is the worst for the twice daily wind updates resulting regularly in 5 hrs of sailing with the wrong sail or sailing the wrong heading or laying still in "Irons". Had I lived in Europe , for sure I would have sailed better and I hope, that next VG the wind updates are 4 times daily such the all Virtual Sailors worldwide have on this point an even playing field.

I am happy that this RoundtheWorld Sailing in VirtualRegatta is over as now I can concentrate more on my virtual Boats in LIVESKIPPER, the best virtual sailing player on the WorldWideWeb.

Since my last post also 2 more Real Boats in VendeeGlobe have finished.
-7th Dominique Wavre on Mirabaud
Sailing time : 90 Days, 3 Hours, 14 Minutes and 42 Seconds
- 8th Arnaud Boissieres on AKENA Verandas.
Sailing time: 91 Days, 2 Hours, 9 Minutes and 2 seconds
That is just 1 Hour and 1 minute after me on my Paradise49 passed the Finish :)

2013-02-07T13:00:00.001+07:00

The most remarkable of the finishers was Bernard Stamm.

Further more in sequence we could see the finish of Jean Le Cam and Mike Golding over the last days.

Many More Skippres finished the VendeeGlobe2012

It was a harsh decision to DSQ Stamm, for the little assistance he received while saveguarding his own Boat and preventing damage to another Ship. But Bernard kept his focus and good spirit and finished among the other VG skippers safely in Les Sables d'Olonne!

- Jean Le Cam's arrival video
- Bernard Stamm's arrival video
- Mike Golding's arrival video

total table of finished skippers in VendeeGlobe2012

Bernard Stamm Arrival Wednesday 6 Feb 2013 at 22:30:50 UTC

Sailing time: 88 days 10hours 28 minutes and 50 seconds.

2013-02-05T11:20:00.002+07:00

This Image shows clearly that the Boat Acciona 100% EcoPower has lost its swinging Keel!
This is the 3rd Boat , this VG2012 alone, that lost its Keel, while one more Boat suffered a broken hydraulic rod to push the Keel; other VG have seen also Boats that lost its Keel.
For sure an item that needs attention from Imoca to make this Boats seaworthy for a Round the World race.

ACCIONA capsized, Javier Sanso is rescued and save!

A video of Javier's Rescue

Le sauvetage de Javier Sanso by VendeeGlobeTV

Javier must be a lucky unhappy Sailor. Unhappy that his Boats shed off its Keel and he can not finish this VendeeGlobe 2012 race; Lucky that he is rescued and save.

While Javier was thrown off his Boat into the Water and his boat turned complete over; Jean-Pierre Dick was given the time to react and could save the Boat from capsizing. The difference outcome is large, Javier is out of the race, while JP has finished, but the circumstances that decide will be a matter of very small margins, of wind strength, the side of the wave you are on and the time the boat takes to heel.

JP Dick has finished the VendeeGlobe 2012 as 4th , sailing some 2000Nm without his Keel and sheltering in a small cove to wait out a storm.

JP Dick finished 4th

At least he did not have any problems with the times of the tides to enter the channel to Les Sables :wink: He must be the luckiest man of the fleet, seeing what can happen with loosing a Keel.

A video of the arrival of JP Dick can be seen, as well as a video for the arrival of Alex Thompson

2013-01-28T15:06:00.001+07:00

François Gabart o/b MACIF wins the VendeeGlobe 2012-2013.

Francois Gabart o/b MACIF wins Vendeeglobe 2012-2013

In a Video it looks like below,

Vendée Globe : Le passage de la ligne de... by VendeeGlobeTV

François's victory is with the smallest margin in the history for VG with only 3 hrs, 17 min and 12 seconds; another record broken.

François made his decisive strategic move in the Southern Atlantic just North of the Falklands, where he moved Norht-Eeast where Armel Le Cléac'h, the later runner-up, moved North-West. After this the distances were like an elastic band between 100-200 Nm.

François set a series of records but the most important is,

- the fastest VendeeGlobe ever in a record time of 78 days, 2 hours, 16 minutes and 40 seconds; an improvement of the old record of VG2008 of Michiel Desjoyaux with 6 days, 00 hours and 58 minutes, and

- he is the youngest winner of any VendeeGlobe with 29 years, - he was fastest from the start to the Equator,

- he was fastest from the start to rounding Cape of Good Hope,

- he was fastest from the start to rounding Cape Horn,

- he was fastest from Cape of Good Hope till Cape Leeuwing,

- he was fastest from Cape Leeuwing to Cape Horn,

- he sailed the longest distance in any 24 hour period with 545 Nm in a monohull,

François has shown to be a good tactical sailor that keeps smiling all along the way.

Armel, finished as a second but a long time , those two were battling neck on neck and in the Southern Ocean changed the lead several times.

Alex Thompson, has continued his route, after JP Dick in his damaged boat had overcome the heaviest winds around the Azoren and has taken the 3rd place with an ETA of Tuesday evening. JP Dick is heading in lower winds to the Portuguese coast and will from there decide to sail on the Les Sable or not.

2013-01-24T11:23:00.000+07:00

The leaders are sailing just south of the Azoren islands, and MACIF has a 90 Nm lead over Banque Populaire. The winds are showing, at the moment a favorable Westerly direction to speed the Homecoming; ETA now expected late Saturday 26 or Sunday 27 January 2013.

A Happy Leader in the VendeeGlobe 2012

A sad story for Jean-Paul Dick, as his Boat lost its Keel some 2000 Nm from Les Sables. He is still considering his options, but for the moment with these moderate easterly winds, the boat is stabilized by taking in some 7 tons of water-balast. The speed has dropped but is still close to 10 kts.

Sadly Virbac Paprec3 has lost its Keel

Some adverse winds are predicted on his course, and the question is whether it will be safe for Boat and Skipper to sail on or to visit the Azoren???

Alex Tompson, is now catching up and about 120 Nm behind but expected to pass in 1 1/2 day. The Podium seems far away for Jean-Pierre, but his successor on 5th place is still south of the Equator and most likely not able to pass, even when the boats speed is reduced to the high single digits.

2013-01-23T11:55:00.001+07:00

IT IS A SHAME THAT FRANCE IS SPOILING THE ATLANTIC OCEAN ON A PURPOSELY AND VOLUNTARY MANNER!!!

The crap that is littering the
Atlantic Ocean with France subsidies!

It is sad, very sad to learn that some idiot is spoiling the Atlantic Ocean with plastic litter voluntarily. And the worst of all is that it is called "ART" ??? Though it is also called "The Greatest Floating Craps Game On Earth".

A France artists, with subsidies from the French Miniseries of Culture, has made some crap from plastic (called good for nature as it is bio-degradable plastic;)( but how long will it take to get out of natures system??? and how many marine live will be killed by eating the pieces???)

Note: I read now in an article in the NewYork Post that this crap is constructed from " out of plywood, pine, PVC and epoxy, "(ref:http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/08/an-artists-game-of-chance-on-the-high-seas/). So this is again a big lie, as PVC is about the most persistent plastic made on Earth while epoxy is also not really bio-degradable and the glue in plywood is made to last !!!

Two of these pieces of crap are floating on 12eDecember from Grand Canaria; is that not Spanish territory???

The cubes are 16m cubed and left to float freely.

Fear for the Sailors in the VendeeGlobe is, that they made have a collision with these floaters, mainly the first 4 boats; the VG lost already several boats and had more damages due to collisions with UFO's (un-identified floating objects)

These are a danger for Marine traffic and marine life.

I think the people who love nature and the sea, shall ALL protest against this littering of the Oceans. GreenPeace and Plastiki and WWF and other environmental Organisation shall ALL protest to the French President. France better be saving their country from bankruptcy rather than throwing their good Euro's in the Water!!!.

France and the makers shall be prosecuted in an International Court for polluting the Oceans, endangering ship and boats and their crews and endangering marine life. They shall be hold accountable if any life of a mariner is lost or injured and to any damage to ships and boats.

2013-01-20T12:00:00.000+07:00

In LiveSkipper,virtual sailing site, my Boat Suratna did finish yesterday the Sail the Globe sailing race.

Suratna sailing in LiveSkipper did finish already

This was an independent sailing race around the Globe, but similar route and starting time as the VendeeGlobe2012-2013.
I am not with the leaders in LiveSkipper, but still faster as the Real VG Boats and also faster as the virtual Boats in VR.

Happy to be home and too busy with all Parties, I have to post this success only a day late.

The Real boats , the leaders have just passed the Cape Verde Islands and now heading to the Azoren High.

2013-01-17T11:27:00.002+07:00

"The Heat is ON"!

Banque Populaire in hot pursuit of MACIF

This can be understood in two ways, the leaders are sailing just North of the Equator in high Temperatures, but ..

also Banque Populaire gained back some 200 Nm in the last two days on the Leader Macif. Macif was stopped in the Doldrums, not that active this time, but still. B.P. however is now in the Doldrums and may see his gain stopped or reduced as Macif may speed up again.

Behind them, Paprec has gained a lot almost 290Nm on Alex, who lost speed in the lower winds at the Brazilian coast. Alex is now passed Recife and will speed up and hopes for a quicker passage of the Doldrums to catch Paprec.

The group behind in the southern Atlantic is struggling with a big High that does not allow boatsspeed over 10kts.

LiveSkipper, virtual boats have finished there Sail the Globe sailing race already. They sailed a whole lot faster, though also in the same boat and sails. Better navigation tools and scheduling options, must have helped those skippers to optimise the sailing better. Their classifications can be seen in the TAB RANK above.

2013-01-13T11:41:00.000+07:00

Week 9 was a week with many events,

Week 9 Highlights by VendeeGlobeTV

Many Boats passed Cape Horn, some in the dark, some in tumultuous seas but Jean Le Cam in early daily and close distance. He thus could make a nice video of his passing, that give us arm-chair sailors a glance a vivid as can be.

There was the final verdict of the Jury to "DSQ" Bernard Stamm, for accepting help. Bernard, who after his repairs on the hydrogenerators, lost the function again due to an UFO (un-identified floating object) and left without power generation had to re-fuel after passing Cape Horn. He basically put himself out of the race, keeping the honor on him, before the Jury could reject his appeal.
Tanguy de Lamotte, found his gennaker drifting alongside his boat as the langyard broke loose and had some big effort to retrieve it onboard.
Alex Thompson, sailing close to the Argentinian coast, gained a lot of miles and for some time took the 3rd spot from Jean-Pierre Dick.
Francois Gabart however sailed a perfect strategy which extended his lead, as we speak, to over 200 Nm. He has gained a very strong position doing this.

2013-01-09T09:51:00.003+07:00

Though Jean Le Cam is not the 1st skipper in the VendeeGlobe2012, he is the one that sailed close alongside and in daylight and could make a nice Video-passing of Cape Horn.

Jean Le Cam franchit le cap Horn by VendeeGlobeTV

If seems unreal, but gives some impression as if you were sailing yourself there.

The Leaders are since well into the Southern Atlantic, struggling with the depressions that throw barriers on their path on one time and giving a push at the other time. MACIF skipper Francois has gained a little more and has now a comfortable lead of 100+ Nm. However, the Tradewinds will come to help him further, be it that the Doldrums might bring some surprise.

I am sailing in LiveSkipper my virtual boat towards France and find no real Doldrums in the middle between Brazil and Africa, so the Doldrums this time, this direction of sailing might not be that much of a problem.

2013-01-02T13:31:00.002+07:00

The record for VendeeGlobe sailing from Les Sables to Cape Horn has been shattered by François Gabart on MICAF. He set the new record on 52days, 6 hours and 18 minutes, an improvement of more than 4 days.

Rounding Cape Horn in a New Record Time

It is remarcable as Francois is sailing for the 1st time the VendeeGlobe and is not even that long sailing in Imoca60 Boats. He is however only 1hr and 15 minutes ahead of Banque Populair, so it will still be a fierce battle for the end Victory.

LiveSkipper virtual boats have reached the Trade winds at Brazilian coast already, that is to say the leading boats and thus spearing away from the large number of boats behind in the fleet.

The virtual boats in VR, are much slower and have just passed Cape Horn as well.

2013-01-01T14:23:00.000+07:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR to ALL VendeeGlobe skippers be it on the Real or the Virtual Boats. But for some , it will be a quick succession of New Years celebrations, twice within the span of 24 hrs>

Happy New Year, twice in a Day!

Tanguy De Lamotte o/b Initatives Coeur, has the pleasure of Sailing as the first of all VG Boats into the New 2013.
As he is sailing soon passed the Date line, he will be confronted within a day for the 2nd time to see the start of the New Year 2013; strange things can happen while travelling through time.

The leaders are expected to pass Cape Horn on NewYears Day and will than set sail on the last stretch home over the Atlantic. Mostly the Atlantic has some surprises in waiting and there will be the Doldrums to pass again. So surprises may come and chances are still for a handful of skippers for the Victory.

2012-12-27T10:30:00.004+07:00

Just East of New Zealand runs the 180 longitude, that is where the East meets the West. Passing this line, from West to the East will set your Boat-clock one day minus a second back and you are one day younger. (this was the secret why Phileas Fogg won his 80-days around the world bet !!!)

See it all happening in the video of Le Cam

Day 47 highlights - Wednesday, December 26, 2012 by VendeeGlobeTV

2012-12-25T11:12:00.002+07:00

While one Boat is in seriois problems and in repair mode, some skippers are too serious to find some time for their Christmas celebrations, while others enjoy the VG2012 to its full extend and enjoy the celebrations of this special Christmas day as well. !

Day 45 highlights - Monday, December 24, 2012 by VendeeGlobeTV

Stamm is still in repair mode, be it that the shelter on Auckland island is likely to get hit by a direct storm, lifting the sheltered conditions. He has now chosen to sail to New Zealand for a better shelter and to continue his repairs.

The Leaders in the VG2012 are approaching the West Pacific Ice Gate with still a very small margin of 12 Nm, after several times changing the lead.
The Boats on the chase are more or less staying at same distance. The last boat in the fleet, Team Plastic (on first generation Imoca60 boat) is enjoying strong winds and high speeds; however at some 4000 Nm behind the leaders.

LiveSkipper, virtual Boats have passed the Falklands islands already and now looking for the best strategy to pass the Southern Atlantic.

2012-12-23T11:35:00.000+07:00

The Skippers in the VendeeGlobe, might be alone and far from family but there minds are not excluding X-Mas idea's.

Mike Golding with X-Mas cap

Alessandro di Benedetto is preparing a "real" Italian dinner from his dry-food stock. The tomato's do on picture almost look fresh.
Others , show on video with a Xmas Man cap.

Sailing however continues and the 2 leaders just passed the
Gate. Both Jean-Pierre Dick and Alex Thompson have gained a lot of miles on the leaders and keep them honest. Stamm has temporarily stopped at Auckland island for repairs in calm waters on his hydro-generators, without them he would have no power left for autopilot, communication and navigation equipment to pass the Pacific.

2012-12-15T11:28:00.000+07:00

The leaders MACIF and Banque Populaire get richer!

MACIF leading the VendeeGlobe2012

The Leaders have passed Cape Leeuwin (SW corner of Australia) last night in a new record time! The new record is:
34 days, 10 hours and 23 minutes! This is 2days, 2 hours and 25 minutes faster from Les Sables d'Olonne to Cape Leeuwin as the record from PRB , Vincent Riou set in VG2004.
Macif was 1e shortly followed by Banque Populaire; 1hour and 50 minutes later.
Both leaders are now in a different and better wind system as the followers, of which Virbac Paprec3 is the closest at 350 Nm.

As a surprise, Francois Gabart (MACIF) also broke the record between the two Capes, Cape of Good Hope and Cape Leeuwin, with 9 minutes, now set at 11days, 6 hours and 40 minutes.

The leaders in the virtual VR are somewhat ahead the real boats.
I sail already east of New Zealand in LiveSkipper Virtual sailing game. All sailors are sailing a Imoca60 boat, but LiveSkipper does not have so many Ice gates, allowing those Boats to sail more Southerly routes.

2012-12-10T10:35:00.003+07:00

After validating Crozet Ice Gate the leading boats sailing fast Eastwards on Beam. Alex Thompson is setting the highest speeds and climbing to 3rd spot.

a wave covers the Sailing Boat, which Boat?

What a Fantastic pictures this is with a wave breaking and producing a white water cover of the sailing boat.
The fleet is now heading to the Amsterdam Ice Gate, that is positioned relatively North to keep the boats away from the dangers of floating Ice bergs.

The Virtual Boats in LiveSkipper have reached the South of Australia already, but in their Sail the Globe race the Ice Gates are less and more to the South, giving the advantage of sailing more South and a shorter distance to the New Zealand Gate.

2012-12-08T11:07:00.001+07:00

The last day has seen some 3 different leaders in the VendeeGlobe2012!

Banque Populaire , only Boat that validated Crozet gate.

While Banque Populaire is the only Boat that so far validated the Crozet Ice Gate as the Western Bouy, the other 4 Boats have passed, but need to go North to pass the Crozet Ice Gate still closer to the Eastern Gate.
The other Boats followed a more southerly faster course but are now into calmer winds, while Banque Populaire has come out of the area of wind calm and with better speed towards the South-East is expected to pass again and take over the lead.

The following group of 3 boats, meanwhile is making good speed and closing in on the leaders.
A daily video impression is available on the VendeeGlove website or a link on my TAB "Media", above.

2012-12-03T10:38:00.002+07:00

The leading boats have now reached the first Gate: Aiguilles Gate, an Ice Gate where Boats have to pass at least one spot North of it.

Day 23 highlights - Sunday, December 2, 2012 by VendeeGlobeTV

François Gabart (MACIF) was the 1st Boat to validate the Western buoy on the Aiguilles Gate, shortly followed by Jean-Pierre (Virbac-Paprec3) and Armel Le Cleac'h (Banque Populaire). Francois has the honor to lead the fleet into the Indian Ocean, but with the small differences it is by all not sure he will be the first to lead into the Pacific.

Suratna, sailing virtual in LiveSkipper, sailed yesterday already into the Indian Ocean and would like a more southerly course, but southerly winds force her to sail a ESE course for some days, before a chance will come to go more south.

MACIF
François Gabart

Arrival : Sunday 27 January 2013, 14:18:40 TU
Race time : 78 days 2 hours 16 minutes and 40 seconds

Banque Populaire
Armel Le Cléac´h

Arrival : Sunday 27 January 2013, 17:35:52 TU
Race time : 78 days 5 hours 33 minutes and 52 seconds

HUGO BOSS
Alex Thomson

Arrival : Wednesday 30 January 2013, 07:25:43 TU
Race time : 80 days 19 hours 23 minutes and 43 seconds

Virbac Paprec 3
Jean-Pierre Dick

Arrival : Monday 04 February 2013, 15:05:40 TU
Race time : 86 days 3 hours 3 minutes and 40 seconds

SynerCiel
Jean Le Cam

Arrival : Wednesday 06 February 2013, 12:14:58 TU
Race time : 88 days 0 hours 12 minutes and 58 seconds

Gamesa
Mike Golding

Arrival : Wednesday 06 February 2013, 18:38:26 TU
Race time : 88 days 6 hours 36 minutes and 26 seconds

2012-11-30T10:41:00.000+07:00

The sailors that sailed further west are benefitting now from better winds, direction and strength wise. So we expect Vibrac3 and MACIF to make gains and come close to or maybe even pass Banque Populaire before passing Cape of Good Hope.

Day 20 highlights - Thursday, November 29, 2012 by VendeeGlobeTV

The virtual Boats are also approaching the Cape, where the ice-gate has been shifted 1 degree to the North, because of floating Ice growlers from Antarctica.

My Boat Suratna, sailing in LiveSkipper is about to pass Trista de Cunha, and not like PUMA in the VOR to make a stop :)
For the locations of My virtual Boats in LiveSkipper and VirtualRegatta and the leader of the VG, have a look at my Map in the TAB: "ROUTE" above.