To help keep up my spirits during Lockdown I decided to follow the 2020 Vendée Globe Yacht Race [ Accueil - Vendée Globe ]. It is a bit like following the Tour de France if you're a cyclist or Formula One racing for petrol heads. It reminds me that I am not out there getting wet! I bury myself under a duvet and watch as they deal with water slopping around the bilges and fix damaged or snarled equipment, not to mention things like getting fouled up with fishing line.
Ah-h-h memories of hour after hour of long passages. It is not unlike being in Lockdown where we have to patiently endure the hours, days and weeks until we get back to normality. [This week: one pharma company has issued vaccine and has encouraging trial results; plans for a vaccination programme are now being prepared.]
This year’s race started on Sunday Nov 8 from Les Sables-d'Olonne on France’s Atlantic coast with 33 skippers [and 9 different nationalities] aboard their 60-foot International Monohull Open Class Association-rated (IMOCA) vessels. It is a single-handed non-stop race. This year there are 6 female skippers and 27 male skippers. It takes about 3 months; best time 2017 was 74 days.
There are 19 boats which incorporate hydrofoils … or 'foil’ boats as they are called. It seems they are using a new 2020 ‘C’ style foil which means that the sticky-out bit at the sides are not straight out but curved. [Source: L'Occitane website]
The race is more about technology than ever these days. Pictures showing the inside of the hull illustrate that they are completely stripped out except for instruments, wires and winding gear! I believe they are very noisy! In 1990 I was aboard 'Drum' in the Clyde and found that this big racing boat was completely stripped out inside, just a shell with instruments and slings from the cockpit ceiling to hold stuff. The interior of these racing machines today seem much the same!
[Source: IMOCA website]
Having spent years looking at pictures of yachts in all their glorious technicolour I still enjoy the photos and videos that the press or the participants send back.
[Source: L'Occitane website]
[Credit: Jean Marie Liot]
[Credit: Yvan Zedda]
[Credit: Vincent Barnaud]
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