Vendee: Downwind for Rich Wilson - Sunday Arrival

Rich Wilson is sailing downwind for Les Sable D'Olonne, France, about to complete the solo, non-stop circumnavigation in 118 days.  The 59 year old American, aboard Great American III has not had an easy go of it, but he is on the verge of finishing in 9th position with two boats behind him.  19 starters retired. Vincent Riou was given redress for the damage he suffered in rescuing Jean Le Cam, whose boat capsized and turtled when the ballast bulb was lost.  Here's the link to the Vendee Globe

Vendee: Samantha finishes, Rich struggles

Samantha Davies finished in 95 days (11 after Michel Desjoyeaux).  

The other female sailor - Dee Caffari - finished on February 16 - 99 days round the world, single-handed.

On February 20, day 103, Rich  Wilson has about2,300 miles to go, and is looking at bad weather and relentless pounding into headwinds without end.

Here's the coverage of Samantha's celebration.

Here's the current wrap up.

NYT Discovers Rich Wilson & the Vendee

The Times used to cover sailing.  When I was a kid the paper listedthe results for one design racing on Manhasset Bay.  I followed enviously from the South Shore. Until a few years ago Herb McCormick, editor of Cruising World, covered the Whitbread/Volvo and Vendee races.

But now niche sports get the occasional human interest story only. The Vendee is one.

But at least the Times woke up for Rich Wilson, sailing Great American III.  The only American and the oldest sailor in these cans that don't even have a 厕所, just a bucket.

Wilson nearly lost the boat the other night, as Desjoyeaux arrived home - with a 5,000 mile lead over Wilson who is in 10th place, with only 2 behind him. 18 have been forced out.

Finishing this race is a huge accomplishment.  remember the rules: 

One man on a boat (an Open 60)

No outside assistance

Leave Antarctica to starboard

Pass a couple of waypoints in the Indian Ocean to pull you away from the ice

Leave from and return to France, propelled only by the action of wind and waves on sails, hull, spars and rigging

Here's the Times account

Vendee: Victory for Desj., Survival for Great America

30 started.  1 finisher.  11 still racing.

Victory

"Sailing more than 28,303 miles, averaging around 13.2 knots, French solo skipper Michel Desjoyeaux has shattered the Vendée Globe race record today  by 3 days 7 hours and 39 seconds on his way to becoming the first skipper ever to win the solo non stop around the world race twice. 

Desjoyeaux crossed the finish on Sunday 1st February at 15:11.08 GMT , after 84 days 03 hours 09 minutes of racing. Foncia completed the race in twenty knots of breeze under sunny skies, greeted by a massive armada of spectator boats before being warmly welcomed by huge crowds who gathered along the waterfront and harbour area of Les Sables d’Olonne, where the race departed at 1202 GMT November 9th 2008."

Night from hell - but alive to tell the tale

Rich Wilson, Great America II

Nothing but the full text of his report will do.

If you are not familiar with these boats you need to know that the canting bullet keel is 30 degrees to windward.  In a crash jibe all the ballast is on the wrong side.  The boat is NOT self-righting.  With the boat on its side and the sails in the water you have to get to the controls and bring the keel to midships - and then as the boat lifts you get another crash jibe. 

- gwc

“The past 24 hours have been among the most difficult so far. A huge low, much wider east-west than forecast, has taken its toll. After finally  getting to the west side which had the southerly winds, we took off at high speed with storm jib and 3 reefs in the mainsail in the late afternoon/evening. Into the dark the wind built from 25-30-35-40-45-50 knots. 

It turns out that we had the fastest run for that period in the fleet. It was not intentional. The pilot was doing well, set on its highest response settings, but the wind and boatspeed kept rising. The highest I saw was 24.5 knots, the fastest of the whole race. 

Finally at about 3 am I realized that this could only end in disaster, the wind was not abating, and there was no way to know how much we might get, or how big the seas might get. Already, they were 25' and climbing, just gigantic, breaking in every direction, angry, and huge, gigantic masses of water with no good intentions. Another risk is if the mainsail is down and the boatspeed drops to 4 or 5 knots with just the storm jib, then you are at the mercy of the seas, and could get rolled over. There is dynamic stability in speed. 

Anyway, decided to try, had one arm in the foul weather gear, and the worst happened, the boat veered high, then low as the autopilot tried to correct, I saw the number 40 degrees low, OH NO, then a huge CRASH, and the boat laid over on its side. 

The boat had gybed, and now the wind was on the wrong side of the mainsail, and the keel was canted fully on the wrong side. The boat laid over at about 70 degrees of heel and just sat there, then the autopilot alarm went off, just to add to the fray. 

Got the jacket on, helmet on, gloves on, and went into the cockpit sideways. All old handholds are useless when you turn your world on its side. Waves were washing down the deck, but not too much coming into the cockpit because it was to leeward. The mast was still there. I tried to jam the tiller over, no response. 

Then I remembered, that is not the sequence. This has happened in various conditions 3 times before. OK, got to the keel, walking along the walls below, center the keel with the keel motor winch, was able to do this, and good that the batteries were up. Then go to the cockpit and try the tiller again, to try to gybe back. The boat was now more upright with the keel movement, and I pushed the tiller over hard, nothing, then something, then here it comes, she's turning, oh boy there's going to be a gigantic CRASH when it gybes back, hang on and duck, BAM, the mainsail gybed back again. 

I write this in the late afternoon, the wind is down to 35 knots, the seas are still gigantic, and perhaps I'll try to get the main back up before it gets dark if the wind continues to abate a bit. Anyway, dodged a gigantic bullet there, could have lost the rig, runners, could have gotten hurt trying to get the boat back in its right direction, or in bringing the sail down.”

Rich Wilson (Great America II) in his daily message

Go to: The Vendee Globe

Vendee: Samantha Davies rounds the Horn

And she is having a blast.

Today - day 62 she rounded - in 40 knot winds and huge, short seas as it gets shallow at the Horn.

Here's the video a day before the rounding

Here's some file stills of Samantha and Roxy

And the day's news at vendeeglobe.org/en

And some shots from the fleet for good measure

Vendee - Rescue at Sea

"After a tense morning of waiting, there was huge relief for Vendée Globe organizers and competitors this afternoon with the news that Vincent Riou (PRB) had arrived 200 miles west of Cape Horn at the scene of VM Matériaux’s capsize at 1421 (GMT) and made contact with Jean Le Cam" stranded inside his boat which turtled.

On the fourth try Riou was able to pick up LeCam, though the rescuer PRB sustained some damage when the boat snagged the remains of the upright keel - which had lost its ballast bulb.  

Even with the EPIRB signal's guidance (emergency position indicating radar beacon) it is very difficult to locate a capsized boat awash in in 4 - 5 meter seas.  

Above rescued and rescuer, LeCam turtled,  Riou in a file shot.  For more go to vendeeglobe.org/en

Vendee - 4,000 miles front to back - NZ - to Perth

18 of 26 still racing, Michel Desjoyeaux leads the fleet by 44 miles (after 14,000 nm) as they approach the "gate" east of New Zealand.  Gates are designed to bring the fleet north of the ice zones.  The leaders have 10,000 nm to go - aiming next for Cape Horn. 

Here's the Christmas Day Roundup, and a graphic with the fleet position. 

The Furious Fifties - boat breaking seas and storms

The thrill of 400 nm plus days isn't an answer to why you would risk or endure 50 knot winds, confused 7 meter seas, icebergs too big to be called "growlers", and condensation dripping from every surface.

The cruel boat-breaking seas of the southern ocean have wreaked havoc 36 days out. 19/26 starteers are still racing.  Recent retirees: Dominique Wavre (keel swinging free under the boat taking shelter (3,300 miles south of Capetown)at  Kerguelen (Desolation) Island, Bernard Stamm (aground in 50 kts. in the same miserable cove where he stopped for rudder repairs), Mike Golding (race leader dismasted 950 miles SW of Perth).   And Michel Desjoyeaux surges into the lead with 20 kts boat speed.

The tales are amazing.  Check out:

The location

The Photos

News of a typical day (chaos & disorder)

Mike Golding on the dismasting  (audio)

Saturday's Video Roundup

Mayhem in the Bay of Biscay

45 knot winds, 7 meter waves and horrific Bay of Biscay weather has ravaged the Vendee Globe fleet in the first 32 hours.   8 of the 30 starters have headed back to port:  2 dismasted, legend Bernard Stamm's bowsprit destroyed in collison with a freighter, champion Michel Desjoyeaux with engine and electrical trouble, Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) - hull damage (after recent repairs from a collison with a trawler). For more click on the bold text above.  

Rounding Antarctica clockwise - The Vendee Globe

The Vendee Globe - November 9, 2008 >>>> o/a February 9, 2009

The rules are simple:

Depart Les SablesD'Olonne, France

Sail around the world 

Single-handed

Non-stop

No outside assistance

Leave Antarctica to starboard

Return to France

For the route, click here.

The French are obsessive about this.  But others have tried their hand: the amazing Brit Ellen MacArthur (at the top of the mast) [2000-2001 - 2d - 94d4h25'40"]; a Mainer transplanted from California - Bruce Schwab in Ocean Planet (a cold-molded woodie)[2004-2005 - 9th, 109d] ; and now Rich Wilson (once a speechwriter for Michael Dukakis seen here with the day after election day French paper in hand) has tried his hand for the 2008-2009 rendition.  [Rich will not be on the Obama transition team.]

It's not easy to beat extemporaneous inventors - people like Michel Desjoyeaux [2000-2001, 1st, 93d3h57'32''], a Frenchman who jury-rigged his diesel motor (needed for electronics and water ballast pumps) to start with wind-power via lines from boom to engine, a line wrapped around the flywheel, like an outboard motor!

The most dramatic parts are the southern ocean (the seas surrounding the white continent) where appalling storms and icebergs threaten the Open 60 skippers.  Don't ask why someone would undertake this voyage.  Just be grateful that someone else is doing it, and you can see the pictures and hear the tales via email and transmissions from the lonely planetary travelers.

For all the race news click here.