Vendee Globe 2016

How many of the starters have taken damage through hitting floaters now? a quarter? a third? Surely this is not sustainable - I would have thought the sponsors would be running scared of such a risk to their investment - unless its because they get MORE publicity from damage than from finishing down the pack... The incentive to mature the avoidance tech must be pretty intense.
 
Vendee

From Scuttlebutt tonight:

Retirements:
1) November 12, Day 7 – Tanguy de Lamotte, Initiatives Coeur, masthead crane failure
--
2) November 19, Day 14 – Bertrand de Broc, MACSF, UFO collision
--
3) November 22, Day 17 – Vincent Riou, PRB, UFO collision
--
4) November 24, Day 19 – Morgan Lagravière, Safran, UFO collision
--
5) December 4, Day 29 – Kojiro Shiraishi, Spirit of Yukoh, dismasted
--
6) December 6, Day 31 – Kito de Pavant, Bastide Otio, UFO collision
--
7) December 7, Day 32 – Sébastien Josse, Edmond de Rothschild, foil damage
--
8) December 18, Day 43, Stephane Le Diraison, dismasted

--
9) December 18, Day 43, Thomas Ruyant, collision with large UFO
 
Not forgetting the 'walking wounded' - Alex Thompson on Hugo Boss. Collision with UFO and most of a foil lost.....
 
Vendee--Le Souffle du Nord

From the Vendee Site regarding the extremely serious damage to Thomas Ruyants boat:

“The port shell has split open down to below the waterline,” declared Laurent Bourguès, technical director of Le Souffle du Nord. “The starboard shell is also delaminating. The structure of the deck is gradually deteriorating. The danger is that the front section may break completely away from the stern section. Thomas has attempted to fill in the holes. The boat is holding out thanks merely to its longitudinal structure. The starboard rudder is still in place, but only just. Thomas has been working on that. The idea is to get as quickly as possible to the southern tip of New Zealand in order to shelter, as the wind will be becoming much stronger tomorrow morning. Thomas has still not asked for assistance, but the Race Directors are keeping a close eye on the situation, should he asked to be taken off, which is quite possible.”
 
Vendee

Thomas Ruyant damage--amazing!

155hvk5.jpg



20fp17k.jpg
 
Wow, by the looks of those fractures he hit something quite large. Let's hope & pray he can make it to NZ in one piece. Get that life boat & evacuation bags on stand-by! :!::!::!:
 
Checked the tracker...appears he's either very close to the town of Bluff, NZ. Self repair on that boat though is totally out of the question. That hull has unzipped just a bit too much.
 
Doug Lord said:
I wonder if he could have hit a ship instead of a container?
Click to expand...

Wouldn't surprise me. There is an increasing amount of junk floating around. If the impact is clean it was probably ice. If they find embedded paint particles at the point of impact...that would be a man made object of some kind.

He's VERY lucky his boat didn't sink.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Forum posts represent the experience, opinion, and view of individual users. Boat Design Net does not necessarily endorse nor share the view of each individual post.
When making any potentially dangerous or financial decision, always employ and consult appropriate professionals. Your circumstances or experience may be different.

    • Similar threads

    Doug Lord
    NewYork-Vendee(Les Sables d'0lonne)
    Replies
    10
    Views
    3,555
    Doug Lord
    Doug Lord
    F
    A current Book about Golden Globe Race Generation Boats
    2 3
    Replies
    34
    Views
    4,593
    tane
    T
    S
    • Poll Poll
    Golden Globe Race design rules?
    2 3
    Replies
    31
    Views
    7,143
    skaraborgcraft
    S
    Dolfiman
    Vendée Globe 2020
    9 10 11
    Replies
    158
    Views
    28,586
    Dolfiman
    Dolfiman
    Dolfiman
    Golden Globe race - the finish
    2
    Replies
    17
    Views
    6,032
    Angélique
    Angélique
    Back
    Top