Groupama bites the dust-TJV DISASTER continues!

Hey VN, I said "I don't know the answer for sure"!
And I do listen but I'm under no obligation to agree especially in the case of your absurd comments about water ballast.
And in the case of Cyclops attack on the sailors---whew-what nonsense!

[Van Nostrum]

It is very interesting that you don't know the answer.

When I don't know the answer I listen to what other people say, and then I will know the answer.

[usa2]

Cyclops has a good point. At least one of the big multis runs into trouble in this race, so if the sailors are expecting it, are they going to think their boat will fail or the competitions?

[cyclops]

You read me perfectly usa2.

[cyclops]

Does this race have a STOP racing set of conditions? Too dangerous to SAFELY continue racing. Or is it all, Macho Macho Skipper,full speed ahead of the other Chickens? I find such accidents in those weather conditions common in boats piloted by beginners.

[SailDesign]

cyclops, I think the answer is in the fact that this is a race, and the sponsors (most of whom probably don't sail) want to see their name in print, whether from winning or from crashing. Racing trans-ocean is a wa of attrition (the boat that doesn't break wins) as evidenced by the recent OSTAR, where the winning Open40 (my design <blush>) won because a) it was a great deisgn from a great designer b) because the skipper knew how to win and c) because it didn't break.
Being the last man standing in this kind of deal means you can take it easy and make sure you finish, but until then, you cannot afford to slack off even a bit.
Steve

[gggGuest]

Originally Posted by Van Nostrum

When I don't know the answer I listen to what other people say, and then I will know the answer.

However when it comes to anything to do with racing boats this is by and large not the place to listen. The ignorance quotient from posters claiming some expertise or authority is really rather significant.

[cyclops]

So to answer my self. All crew members sign a General Release not to sue, and accept that the captain has everyright to kill everyone if necessary in his need to win. Is that reasonably accurate?

[crawdaddy031]

so you just sit in your room at your mom's house and type all day? Aren't you afraid of getting carpal tunnel syndrome from all this extreme bbs'ing.....
People do things like this for reasons you may never understand, which is your perogative.

[cyclops]

They can race to their hearts content. When they break their toys and in the process, injure, cripple or kill some one and say, "I was only trying to have some fun." That is bull shi#.

[Van Nostrum]

Another one down. This time electrical breakdown.
-----------------
Whilst navigating through the Doldrums in manageable but variable conditions, Italian team Giovanni Soldini and Vittorio Malingri capsized on the ORMA trimaran TIM Progetto Italia 400m South West of Dakar (Senegal) at approximately 1715 GMT this morning. The boat was sailing at average speeds and Giovanni had switched to autopilot for the time it would take him to trim the sails.

But the electronics failed and the trimaran luffed too quickly for the skipper to take the helm and control the boat, which slowly lifted up and capsized. Both Giovanni and Vittorio Malingri were unharmed and have not set off their EPRIB distress beacon. Their shore team are currently working out a solution to get a tow out to the boat.

Conditions in the area were favourable as the sea was flat, and the wind wasn’t too strong even if it was quite variable. The team has a stock of food and fresh water for the time being and so will stay with the boat until the eventual towing vessel is on the scene.