VENDEE GLOBE UPDATE – Armel Le Cléac’h, Banque Populaire, second of the 2012-2013 Vendée Globe

Armel Le Cléac’h crossed the Vendée Globe finish line Sunday 27th January 2013 at 17 hour 35 min 52 seconds GMT. He finishes the race 78 days 5 hours and 33 minutes behind François Gabart. This is the smallest gap between the winner and the second in the Vendée Globe history, a mere 3 hours 17minutes 12 seconds behind Gabart.

His final race time is 78 days 5 hours 35 min 52 seconds. His average speed was 14.9 knots and he actually covered 28,056.55 miles. Note: the race’s theoretical distance was 24,394miles.

Second To None

Armel Le Cléac’h came so close to winning and conquering the Vendée Globe on his second attempt. A slightly higher speed in key moments and a little luck in the South Atlantic could have made a difference. The Saint-Pol de Léon-based skipper probably remembers Jean Le Cam saying “There is no great winner without a great runner-up”.

Taking the initiative

Armel le Cléac’h did not wait long before stating his ambitions, rushing through the Bay of Biscay and down the Portuguese coast. The Banque Populaire skipper knew he had to position himself among the frontrunners as the leaders could make a difference very quickly and set the race pace. The weather conditions in the Madeira area were tricky and he sailed through a benefitting him to the west, which allowed him to confidently enter the Doldrums. Following a perfect timing, Le Cléac’h took the lead of the race. It was the ‘the Jackal’s’ first initiative, and definitely not his last.

Choosing the right route
Once out of the doldrums, the French skipper negotiated a complex route through the South Atlantic, taking a long detour around the Saint Helena High routing him close to the South American coast. To sail through yet another ridge, two options were possible. His path was followed by François Gabart but Jean-Pierre Dick decided instead to sail west of the High. Le Cléac’h’s exit strategy was distance over pace. He chose a more direct route over the higher speed, a strategy that he repeated on several occasions. Yet the trio was reunited before the entered the Southern ocean. Le Cléac’h consistently sialed his own race, he refused to be a follower and forged ahead consistently sailing the shortest, most direct course.

Southern Ocean under control
In five days – between December 5 and 10 – MACIF and Banque Populaire refused to give the other advantage. The two solo skippers match raced each other until Cape Horn, even sailing within visual contact.

A fatal choice
The turning point of this 2012-2013 edition was decided off Urugay when, after a front developed, Le Cléac’h decided to tack and go northwest to be the first to catch a possible northwesterly wind. Things just did not go as he had expected and instead he was becalmed. Trapped in a windless, he could only watch Gabart sail away. This left him 200 miles behind his rival with the Doldrums ahead.

Never let go
Despite that twist of fate, Le Cléac’h did not give up and thanks to a fast Doldrums crossing, he came back less than a hundred miles behind the leader, holding on to his last hope: a high pressure area born from the junction of the Bermudas and Azores High, slowing them down before Les Sables d’Olonne. It was his last opportunity to pull a rabbit out of the hat, a last strategic trick to deliver a comeback. But the evolution of the weather conditions put an end to that hope as a system opened a new route and made the opening Le Cléac’h was praying for disappear. He then had no other choice but to make sure his machine worked as fast as possible to eventually end up 3 hours 17minutes 12 seconds away from the first place. In 2008-2009, Le Cléac’h had taken the second place of the Vendée Globe after a series of incidents successively took sailing legends Jean Le Cam, Vincent Riou and Roland Jourdain out of the race. This time, he owes his performance to no one but himself.

Key figures

Longest distance covered in 24 hours: December 10, 497.13 miles.
Rankings with Le Cléac’h leading (5 rankings a day): 137
Days spent leading the race: 25 days 20 hours
Les Sables d’Olonne – Equator: 10 days 19 hours 18 min
(Jean Le Cam’s 2004-2005 record: 10 days 11 hours 28 min)
Equator – Good Hope: 12 days 04 hours 28 min
Good Hope – Cape Leeuwin: 11 day 12 hours 27 min
Cape Leeuwin – Cape Horn: 17 day 19 hour 20 min
Cape Horn – Equator: 14 days 09 hour
Equator – Les Sables d’Olonne: 11 days 13 hours 48 min

Maximum gap between MACIF and Banque Populaire:
Banque Populaire – MACIF: 263.14 miles on November 28
MACIF – Banque Populaire: 273.99 miles on January 14

VENDEE GLOBE UPDATE - Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec 3) today on the French version of Vendée Globe LIVE explained his predicament. “I’m in the high, so there’s only 12-13 knots of wind, in a situation that’s not easy for a boat without her keel. I can’t use large sails but the ballasts are full to keep some stability. I’ve talked to Bilou and Marc Guillemot, who had to experience the same situation in the past. Of course, I’d go faster if I had a keel but right now, I’m not thinking too much about my third place.

I’ll see if I can finish the race, if the conditions allow, but I can’t take too much risk for myself, or for the boat. I should sail off the Azores coast around the 27th, there should be around 25 knots of westerly wind there and that will help me see how the boat is doing when the sea and the wind are tougher. Then I’ll try to make the right decision based on those elements and some people’s opinions. So let’s wait until the 27th.

Sometimes I feel like I’m windsurfing, you need to completely change the way you work on the boat. I’ve talked to some boat designers who told me about the calculations they had made, helping me choose what to do and what kind of sail to use.  Also, because I’ve had hook issues, I don’t want to use big sails because if they get stuck, the boat would capsize without her keel, and I would end up stuck inside my boat like Jean Le Cam in the last edition.”

On the English version of the Vendée Globe LIVE today, we spoke with Quentin Lucet, a boat designer from VPLP, the architects who designed Virbac Paprec 3 and he provided some insight into the degree of risk.“Regarding Jean-Pierre Dick’s situation, it’s important to keep in mind that IMOCA 6O’ boats are obviously designed with a keel so they’re not made to sail without one. But because there are water ballasts to increase the stability, we’ve made calculations to determine the stability loss due to the lost keel and we’ve come up with the conclusion that it is not as safe, of course, but it can still be all right.

It all depends on the sea state, of course. 5-metre waves would be very tricky to deal with in his situation but full ballasts are very heavy, almost as heavy as the yacht herself, and that can really help. What he just can’t effort is to have an increased heel, that would make his boat capsize.

The safest way to sail would be to go really slow, but of course it means the skippers behind him would catch up with him and pass him. Needless to say, Jean-Pierre he doesn’t want that to happen, it’s a competition.”

It is expected that Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec 3) will make his decision on Sunday. The decision lies solely with Jean Pierre Dick as stated in the notice of race and under the ISAF The Racing Rules Of Sailing 2013, 4 Decision to Race. ‘The responsibility for a boat’s decision to participate in a race, or to continue is hers alone.’ It is also permitted within the rules to seek technical guidance for onboard technical issues.

VENDEE GLOBE UPDATE – Despite losing his keel with 2,000 miles to the finish line in Les Sables d’Olonne, Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec 3) has not abandoned and is working out what to do next. “The competitor and the sailor do not agree,” Dick said. “Should I continue in a degraded state or abandon and go and hide in the Azores.”

Dick described what happened on Vendee Globe TV: “It happened a little before midnight,” he said. “There were already noises in the boat, rather strong and quite screeching. I thought it was the sound of keel jack but in fact the head of keel was already damaged. All of a sudden there was a popping noise. Fortunately, I was between the outside and inside, there were several squalls and then there was a new squall happening. The boat was lying on its side in a second I realised that the keel had broken. I was able to quickly get to the mainsail winch to ease the mainsail a little. The boat began to luff and went down quickly on the water. There was certainly a moment of doubt about the boat, luckily it did not flip over. After a few minutes I was able to ease the solent (sail) and furl it. The boat was safe enough to put in more ballast and take a risk and further reduce the canvas.

“It is a shame to lose the keel at this stage of the race. About the outcome, I do not know yet, we’ll see what will happen if I continue running or not. Currently, I am still in the race, I did not give up. The mast is there, as are the sails, the boat floats and I took a little advice from a specialist in the field, called Marco (Guillemot). I called him and he gave me some tips. For now I have a lot of ballast filled in my boat and I think I’m in good conditions. The boat is safe enough not to capsize if there is gust of wind. It is always impressive is true but the boat always moves between 11 and 12 knots. We are going at least to the Azores at first.”

Marc Guillemot rewrote the rulebook and received a hero’s welcome at the finish after losing his keel with 1,000 miles to go. But like Dick, Roland Jourdain, was further from home, headed to the Azores and retired after losing his keel whilst clear in second place in the last edition in 2008-09.

Dick was still making good speed in the third place and continuing on his normal route in 16-18 northeasterlies, 200 miles ahead of Alex Thomson(Hugo Boss). But the challenge will come if he is faced with bigger winds and particularly rougher, cross seas, that he could face, especially in the Bay of Biscay.

The loss of Virbac-Paprec’s keel sparked shock and worry among the fleet and debate about the durability of these IMOCA Open 60 boats. It is not a new debate, but as each generation becomes faster and more powerful and at the same time seeks to pare down the weight, safety is ever more of an issue.

VENDEE GLOBE OPINION – OK…this is how the XS Blowhard sees the Vendee Globe.  Yes, some of the best sailors in the world with true grit compete in the Vendee.  But the XS Blowhard would like to see a new sailing event to test old fashioned seamanship like the old days…as if there were no satellites.

How about an around the world race with no technology except video cams to catch the action?  Today, it seems as though humans are onboard only to repair the robot sailboat… that through today’s amazing technology with electronics, satellite  navigation, auto-pilots and weather information that sailors are onboard just for the ride…it’s just too easy!

So what do you think?  Think the XS blowhard is living in the past or is there a need for an old fashioned ‘Iron man/woman’ around the world race like they sailed in 1968 when it all began?  The XS Blowhard would allow high tech boats like 100-foot modern day multihulls or monohulls but take away the electronics, satellite navigation, weather information and even modern day auto-pilots.  Let the XS Blowhard know your opinion…  email us at [email protected]

VENDEE GLOBE  - The forecast for the finish keeps changing with the evolution of the Azores High ahead of the leaders, but one thing seems certain, barring multiple failures in all of the first four boats, the record will be broken.

On Monday it looked like a January 26 and a 77-day finish, on Tuesday the long range forecast and routing suggested it might be January 27 or 28.

“I still say January 26, but it is not possible for anyone to know the weather this far out,” Denis Horeau, the Vendée Globe race director, said. “January 26 would be 77 days and that would be significant for two reasons. First of all because of Jules Verne (author of the famous French adventure book 80 Days Around the World) and because that was what multihulls were doing just 15 years ago.

“Then, it is incredible because of the previous 84-day record by Michel Desjoyeaux (2008-09). But we have to be careful here because in fact it was 84 days, it was 84 less 40 hours in port (Desjoyeaux returned to port to make repairs after the start of the last edition). But 77 days would be remarkable.”

There are four boats who are likely to break the 84-day mark and all may even be able to claim that they went around the world alone in 80 days – although Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) would need a fast finish.

“There are four boats and big difference has been the fleet has been very compact,” Horeau said. “Previously the adventurers were satisfied to make it around the world, now everyone is sailing very fast. Nobody seems to be hurt, fragile or plagued by problems and big dangers on board. It’s even different to the last edition because we had slow boats and people were sick.”

The last skipper in 2008-9 finished more than 42 days after Desjoyeaux, in 2004-05 the gap was 38 days; in 2000-01, 64 days; in 1996-97, 34 days; in 1992-93, 43; and in 1989-90, 53 days. This time Alessandro Di Benedetto (Team Plastique) should finish within 20 days of the winner.

There are places the race could have been faster – not least in the first two weeks, when they did not break the record to the Equator, the only major mark (Jean Le Cam’s 10 days 11 hours and 28 minutes from 2004-05) not rewritten by this race. But Horeau does not the think the positioning of the ice gates has slowed them down this time.

“In 2008 we kept them up in the Pacific (because of icebergs) and this time we did it in the Indian Ocean,” Horeau said.

VENDEE GLOBE UPDATE – The two pretenders at the front, François Gabart (MACIF) and Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) are engaged in a match racing battle. Armel Le Cléac’h is pushing hard to the west to steal the advantage in the anticipated wind shift. Will it pay off? Caught in the dark days of dirty weather the six sailors approaching Cape Horn are still neck and neck. Last night, Arnaud Bossières (Akena Verandas) caught sight of Javier Sanso (Acciona 100% EcoPowered) ahead on the horizon.

Frustratingly, for the front pair they are now wading through treacle home. They are battling upwind and for the next few days will have to zig zag to the end goal. They are going to be going nowhere fast, which is a stark contrast to the record breaking speeds achieved over the course of the distance. François Gabart(MACIF) said, “It’s been over 50 days, covering over 15,000 miles, but this is the first time we have had to sail upwind in strong winds. It looks like we are going not very far fast.”

It will require patience to see who will gain and lose in this uphill struggle. Gabart must be feeling the pressure as Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) is pushing hard in the west waiting for the winning wind shift. Nicknamed, The Jackal, he is determined to win the advantage. To tack or not to tack, that is the question. Tacking could be fatal to Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) so it’s nail biting time to see which of the two will conquer, as they sail towards the goal. It’s even possible the two pretenders could cross paths in the coming days.

VENDEE GLOBE – It was the night before Christmas when the top two skippers in the Vendée Globe exchanged positions once more, Armel Le Cléac’h taking over the lead by a mere 2.5 miles. Other than for Swiss skipper Bernard Stamm who is climbing north towards New Zealand and better weather, the entire Vendée Globe fleet are set to spend their Christmas Day sharing the same present, strong wind.

There will be little time to celebrate Christmas aboard Armel Le Cléac’h’s Banque Populaire or François Gabart’s Macif today, nor indeed will there be any more or any less than the usual goodwill evident between the two leading rivals, but the two top skippers were once again very close during last night. Le Cléac’h was consistently faster, nearly two knots quicker than Gabart overnight, between the 2000hrs and 0500hrs (French time) rankings.  As they cross the western mark of the Pacific West gate, 1800 miles east of Dunedin and with 2860 miles to Cape Horn, Le Cléac’h has his nose in front again. They look set to spend Christmas Day in close company, fast reaching in 25kts of SW’ly winds. When yesterday they were separated by 20 miles of lateral distance last night it was reduced to just a couple of miles at times.

Dick’s fifth Christmas
If third placed Jean-Pierre Dick has a significant margin to close on the leading duo, just over one day behind at current express speeds, the French skipper of Virbac-Paprec 3, who is spending his fifth Christmas at sea, has cut 50 miles from that margin during Christmas Eve, building the best 24hrs run of the Vendée Globe fleet at 423 miles.

British skipper Alex Thomson will doubtless have mixed feelings about his Christmas on the Vendée Globe, but he too has not been exactly hanging around. Quickest overnight of the fleet, Thomson will be quietly content that, at the third time of trying, this will be his first actual Christmas Day spent on the Vendée Globe and he is now enjoying a very solid fourth place.

But the affable British skipper who is sailing with very tightly rationed electrical power might perhaps be feeling doubly alone and isolated today. He will miss out on all the calls home to friends and family which might otherwise have enjoyed, but also with his long time Swiss rival Bernard Stamm routing sharply north towards New Zealand, On Hugo Boss Thomson has Dick nearly 500 miles ahead and Stamm, already 800 miles behind.

Bernard Stamm’s best gifts would be better weather and a safe, secure anchorage to make a rapid fix to his hydrogenerators. Stamm is heading towards Dunedin on New Zealand’s South Island making some 12kts in 30kts of contrary NW’ly winds. With 170 miles to sail Stamm might expect to reach the haven later today.

The misfortunes of the Swiss soloist on Cheminées Poujoulat become the gain of Jean Le Cam. On the 0500hrs ranking Le Cam was just 35 miles from the longitude of Stamm’s northerly course and the popular skipper who was second in the 2004-5 race looks set to take over fifth place today, giving chase to Thomson who sails the same older generation of Farr design.

Le Cam’s breakaway from Mike Golding on Gamesa, now at 465 miles, will not be adding much good cheer to the British skipper’s limited festivities today but the losses have very definitely stabilised and Golding is matching his French rival for speed, racing in lumpy, wet and challenging 35kts winds last night on the heels of a low pressure system. He still has the threat of Dominque Wavre on Mirabaud some 27 miles behind. Winds are slightly eased at around 25kts for this duo but will veer from SW to WSW for them over the day.

Some 220 miles behind Wavre, Spain’s Javier Sanso has much the same wind and looks set to have sporty, fast Christmas on Acciona 100% Eco Powered.

Nearly 3000 miles west of the leaders, Arnaud Boissières passed the Australia East gate at around 0300hrs last night making nearly 15kts of speed, setting up to gybe south again.