Philippe Péché heads for Cape Town

East proves best – Jean-Luc Van Den Heede extends lead over Mark Slats to 575 miles

DAY 44: Dateline 13th August 2018 – Les Sables d’Olonne, France

Over the weekend, French yachtsman Philippe Péché has fashioned a repair to the aluminium tiller on his Rustler 36 PRB, but without self steering, has decided to head to Cape Town under reduced sail. This morning, the 57-year old professional from La Trinité Sur Mer, who had led the Golden Globe Race almost continuously since the start from Les Sables d’Olonne on July 1st, was making 2.9knots in 25knot headwinds and expecting to take 13 to 17 days to reach the Cape.

Péché first alerted race organisers to the broken tiller on Friday, but his problems began earlier in the week when the actuating arm on his Beaufort wind vane self steering system sheered off. Attempts to repair the wind vane with spare tube for his special telescopic tiller failed, and when the tiller then snapped in 45-50knot winds experienced at the end of last week, he had nothing left to repair it with.

Péché made an emergency call to the Golden Globe Race HQ at 18:10 UTC on Friday using a satellite phone all competitors carry for use in such situations. Skippers are free to call Race HQ and emergency services at any time, but under the strict rules of this retro non-stop round the world race, can only contact the greater world by radio. Péché then made a second call to his partner, having told Race HQ “I am going to call my partner and I do not care about the consequences.”

Don McIntyre, the Race Chairman confirmed today: “The situation is that Philippe is now in the Chichester Class as if he had made one stop. So if he now pulls in to Cape Town that would be a second infringement and he would be out of the Race altogether. He can apply for a time penalty for the phone call (As Istvan Kopar did after stopping in the Cape Verde Islands two weeks ago) and we will reconsider that, because as far as we can ascertain, he did not receive any materiel assistance other than psychological support. If successful, this would reinstate him in the GGR, and allow him to continue in the Chichester Class after he stops in Cape Town.”

Nabil Amra, the Palestinian/American who was forced to retire from the GGR two weeks ago after suffering an identical failure with his Beaufort wind vane self-steering, has every sympathy for Philippe’s situation. He said today. “I have my fingers crossed for Philippe. This is a bad spot for it to happen. I had a fear that the next blow he got from behind was going to do the same thing [to his wind vane]. The winds may be with him but that doesn’t change the feelings that well up inside when you see that useless bit of gear hanging off the back. 1,500 miles is just possible with a following wind, but he will be completely demolished by the time he makes Cape Town.
Everyone says that you should balance the rig so that the boat sails herself. But to make it do that for any appreciable time when every third wave is knocking you far enough off course that she just starts charging off in errant directions, is not easy. It takes only an hour to realize how futile that is (especially if you are beating into the winds!). You then resign yourself to hand steering for 18 hours a day, which is when the soul sucking starts! This will be when Philippe’s real “race” starts. I’m sure he will surprise us all. This is when he has to dig really deep, from a place that nobody ever sees. When your ship is wounded, so are you!
He is in my thoughts!”

Jean-Jacques Laurent from PRB added. “Philippe has had a remarkable race since the start from Les Sables d’Olonne. We knew that this Golden Globe Race would be particularly difficult. It’s an extreme race. Philippe makes his choices as a good sailor. Our priority is that he arrives in Cape Town in good health and that he can repair PRB. We know how important this race is to him and he has all our support to start again in the Chichester class.”

Fellow Frenchman Jean-Luc Van Den Heede sailing the Rustler 36 Matmut who shadowed PRB’s course down the centre of the South Atlantic, continues to lead the Race, some 575 miles ahead of second placed Dutchman Mark Slats (Rustler 36 Ohpen Maverick) who chose to take the longer westerly Trade wind route. This morning, he tacked south to avoid a high pressure system that may yet entrap Van Den Heede, in expectation of riding the strong favourable winds generated by the next low pressure system sweeping in from the west in the hope that this could close the gap or even leapfrog him ahead of the French leader.

Norwegian Are Wiig (OE 32 Olleanna) has moved up to 3rd place displacing Estonian Uku Randmaa (Rustler 36 One and All) during the weekend. Britain’s Susie Goodall, who reported last Friday ‘IVE DONE A SUPER JOB OF FINDING THE WINDLESS PATCH IN THE SOUTH ATLANTIC’ has now found fresh wind again and her Rustler 36 DHL Starlight is moving well in 6th place, but Finland’s Tapio Lehtinen (Gaia 36 Asteria) has yet to find a fix for his solar panel and engine problems and is now very low on battery power.

LATEST POSITIONS AT 08:00 UTC TODAY.

1. Jean- Luc VDH (FRA)Rustler 36 Matmut
2. Mark Slats (NED)Rustler 36 Ohpen Maverick
3. Are Wiig (NOR) OE 32 Olleanna
4. Uku Randmaa (EST) Rustler 36 One and All
5. Tapio Lehtinen (FIN) Gaia 36 Asteria
6. Susie Goodall (GBR) Rustler 36 DHL Starlight
7. Igor Zaretskiy (RUS) Endurance 35 Esmeralda
8. Gregor McGuckin (IRE) Biscay 36 Hanley Energy Endurance
9. Loïc Lepage (FRA) Nicholson 32 Laaland
10. Abhilash Tomy (IND) Suhaili replica Thuriya
11. Istvan Kopar (USA) Tradewind 35 Puffin
12. Mark Sinclair (Aus) Lello 34 Coconut

1. CHICHESTER CLASS
   1. Philippe Péché (FRA) Rustler 36 PRB
   2. Antoine Cousot (FRA) Biscay 36 Métier Intérim

    

2. CAROZZO SAILOR
   1. Francesco Cappelletti (ITA) Endurance 35 007

    

3. RETIRED

1. Ertan Beskardes (GBR) Rustler 36 Lazy Otter
2. Kevin Farebrother (AUS) Tradewind 35 Sagarmatha
3. Nabil Amra (PAL) Biscay 36 Liberty II

The post Philippe Péché heads for Cape Town appeared first on Golden Globe Race.

NEWS ALERT – Philippe Péché reports loss of steerage in 50knot winds

DAY 42 – Dateline 11. 8. 2018 – Les Sables d’Olonne, France

57–year old Philippe Péché made an emergency call to the Golden Globe Race HQ at 18:10 UTC yesterday to report that the tiller on his Rustler 36 yacht PRB had broken in 45-50 knot winds and he had no steering.

The Frenchman from La Trinité Sur Mer, who was lying in second place, reported that he had dropped all sail and was leaving the yacht to drift until the winds abate before assessing his options. He told race organisers last night that the spare parts he carried for the special telescopic alloy tiller fitted on PRB had already been utilised to repair the self steering system on the yacht.

PRB is currently in mid Atlantic, some 1,500nm west of Cape Town, the nearest port. Péché said that he was in no immediate danger, but two other competitors, race leader Jean-Luc Van Den Heede (Matmut) and Dutchman Mark Slats (Ohpen Maverick) are close, with the rest of the fleet following up behind.

Don McIntyre, the Race Chairman said today, “Philippe Péché has told us that he is in no immediate danger. His yacht is very seaworthy and he is a highly experienced sailor with two previous circumnavigations under his belt. We are continuing to monitor the situation but expect the current gale to blow through within the next 24 hours when he hopes to fashion another tiller.

He also made a satellite call to his partner, not allowed under the GGR rules, which relegates him to the Chichester class and is now out of the GGR Rankings.”

Jean-Luc Van Den Heede who is riding the same strong winds, also reported problems with the self steering on his Rustler 36 Matmut. A bolt sheered under the strain of steering the yacht downwind in the strong conditions, but he was able to replace it.

The post NEWS ALERT – Philippe Péché reports loss of steerage in 50knot winds appeared first on Golden Globe Race.

IT’S PERSONAL!

It was an instant decision for some. For others is evolved after many sleepless nights and came with mixed emotions and uncertainty. For a few it was pure excitement and anticipation of a dream come true. It was a decision that did and will change their lives forever. They all became part of the 2018 Golden Globe Race.
Today, years later approaching the Southern Ocean, possibly for first time, most will reflect on that time and place.Was it a good idea?

The original 1968 Golden Globe Race was unique at all levels. As an adventure it has huge recall in the memories of both sailors and non-sailors alike. Today, no other event in any sport can match the Golden Globe Race’s unique combination of epic adventure and extreme endurance, traditional values, Maritime heritage, duration and global reach. Above all this, it is just one person in a little boat facing all the Oceans of the world.
World’s best safety equipment and entrant training in survival is an integral part of the risk mitigation for a voyage of this magnitude. EPIRBS and emergency satellite phones are important comfort for entrants seeking help. None of these were available in 1968. Sir Robin was totally alone for most of his voyage. Bernard Moitessier took no communications at all, except for his trusty slingshot to shoot messages onto the deck of passing ships!

So is it easier and safer now than it was in 1968?

You can make up your own mind but imagine this. You have been at sea for three months. It is 2am in the morning, blowing 60-75kts from behind with 12-15mtr breaking seas and it has been like this for three days. Your wind vane is just coping, and little things are going wrong inside your boat. Everything is damp or wet. You are worried about some rigging on the mast. Only a storm jib is set and BANG! You are knocked flat with the mast underwater and Southern Ocean squirting below through the companionway hatch. It is 5 degrees Celsius outside, the Ocean even colder and wind chill ridiculous. You must get out and check. The motion is violent! You have not had a good weather forecast for a week and the Barometer has started to fall again. This may happen to many entrants in this GGR.
It is not the same today as it was in 1968. It is NOT much different either! Entrants know that if they had to abandon ship in these conditions, that EPIRB and satellite phone can do little to help! You are totally alone and in a world of your own, just as Sir Robin was. When it is just YOU, it is very personal!

NOT about the tracker, winners or leader board! #GGR2018

Yesterday returning after a few days off the air and out of the office, I experienced a strong impression of change in the fleet when I check in again on entrants. So instead of a blow by blow on latest tracker positions and who has made progress up or down the leader board etc the real story is the entrants, their attitude and emotions.
I am a bit lucky as I see it all as it happens. We actually talk to them on the phone during their safety check and monitor all messages. WE get feedback from their managers about radio calls. All exciting info we try to get up on GGR Facebook instantly. But it is all in the detail. It builds a picture. It tells you more if you put that into context outside just the Race.
I can tell you now some are starting to wonder why they are doing this. They are having down days. They are starting to Question all the things they are missing out on and contemplate what is to come. They all know what is coming.
Loic has no HF radio and each week is more isolated and alone. It shows. He is now starting to ration water. Susie is a strong character and is in the GGR for all the right reasons. She is deep into this adventure and riding that same emotional rollercoaster that you read about in all the books including from the original 1968 Golden Globe. No one can know what she is really going through. But every now and then you see she is both a great sailor and an ordinary human with ordinary emotions. Sometimes we place entrants on a pedestal and think they are doing it easy. This is a tough challenge and hats off to them all. But yes, even Susie has bad days!
Tapio is feeling very low contemplating a stop in Cape Town. It is in his voice. You may say How do I know..well you can just sense it. All the entrants know the tweets and phone calls are going out to you on GGR Sound Cloud, Twitter and Facebook. So just like in ordinary Facebook personal posts we tend to live a FB life…entrants are sometimes trying to put on a happy face!…all these entrants are real people with nothing to hide. But it is in the little things that we can see a change.
Ok Captain Coconut and Are Wiig are two guys I will concede are simply having a Ball!..no questions asked. We feel that too. But spare all the entrants a moment. Talking about leader boards and distance made good all the time and who is winning can make us forget what they are doing and going through.
The fleet has matured. Some are gone. From me as the organizer, I am happy that all those currently sailing are stronger now than when they left Les Sables d’Olonne. In less than a week the leaders will meet the Southern Ocean. Shortly after so will the rest. There is no way out now. The stakes get very serious very soon! Stand by for honest judgements and what may be real surprises from entrants.
Soon you will sense real fear in these voice reports and tweets. Think about that.
The #GGR2018 is more than a Race. It is a HUGE adventure, a Cultural Renaissance like nothing that has gone before, and we are all privileged voyeurs to a special group of real sailors, living a beautiful dream, 24 hrs a day for month after month.
Don

The post IT’S PERSONAL! appeared first on Golden Globe Race.

This 2nd GGR SUMMARY by JUSTUS SLAAKWEG is a great overview to better understand the basis of this section of the GGR. Justus will be giving us his summaries for each stage of the GGR with the next scheduled to take us from the Equator down to below Africa leading into the Southern Ocean. I hope you enjoy it and a reminder that every Saturday I will be answering any questions you may have. We call for Questions on Fridays on GGR Facebook. Justus is an avid GGR fan who has kindly offered these interesting overviews so THANKS!!! Justus.
Don

Founder and Race Chairman

Second review : Lanzarote to equator passing

Departure from Lanzarote:

From the departure from the mandatory passing gate at Marina Rubicon the fleet has it’s first test of gale force winds: 30-40 knots of wind reported by ABHILASH and MARK SLATS. This does not pass without some issues: SUSIE and MARK SINCLAIR reporting waves coming in and wet chart tables. NABIL broke his welds of the Self steering vane, which will lead to his retirement.
The leaders (PHILIPPE, JL VDH, MARK SLATS) spend the longest time in the gale force wind, extending their lead into the doldrums.
Image 6 (below the text, numbering continues from latest summary 19th of July): fleet in strong winds, leaders into Doldrums.

Passing of the Doldrums

On the route towards the Doldrums a strategic decision is to leave de Cape Verde island to port (east) or to starboard (west). The wind information on the tracker shows the westside has more wind. Keep in mind the sailors do not have any graphic weather information: they need to rely on their barometer and own interpretations or via information the reaches them via the HF or HAM radio.
Keeping the island west means more wind, but also more miles.
ABHILASH and LOIC take the westerly route and gain little advantage as the rest of the fleet experience light winds in the beginning, but end up staying longer in the Doldrums as the rest of the fleet.
See image 7 (below the text) from July the 23rd: with the most of the fleet already out the Doldrums ABHILASH, LOIC and MARK SINCLAIR still need to escape.
Image 7 also shows ISTVAN mooring outside of the Cape Verde islands. Istvan decided to head for port after technical issues with his wind vane. As he has not received outside assistance of materials the Race Official kept in in the GGR instead of Chichester Class and only gave him a time penalty for usage of his Satellite phone outside of the rules.

Doldrums?

If you’re not familiar with the concept of the Doldrums: see Image 8 (below the text) for an Explanation. The Doldrums refers to a band of Low Pressure around the equator with very light to no winds (the blue area in image 8).
The heating of the air around the equator leads to expanding atmosphere. This makes the air rise above the equator and travel north or south of the equator and return on horse latitude in the form of the Trade Winds. This leads to severe or light winds, but also to thunderstorms, squalls and hurricanes.
This is also the area where the Trade Winds meet in opposite directions ( yellow and orange arrows). The red arrows show the direction of rotation for High Pressure zones: clockwise on the Northern Hemisphere, counterclockwise on the Southern Hemisphere.

East or west?

After being released from the Doldrums the next strategic decision is to follow East or West around the South Atlantic High Pressure System. MARK SLATS is the first to pick the eastern route with GREGOR following 3 days later. Although sailing larger distance they have the advantage of following the trade winds on a beam reach instead of sailing upwind, as seen in image 9.

Image 9 from july 30 ( below the text): this shows MARK SLATS and GREGOR on the eastern route, with MARK SLATS being most south compared to PHILIPPE and JL VDH.
The following fleet has expanded more compared to Image 7. ABHILASH, MARK SINCLAIR and LOIC also chose the eastern route, but ABHILASH and LOIC are entering an area of light wind. In Image 7 GREGOR was on the same latitude as SUSIE, Image 9 shows GREGOR more south.
Most challenges the sailors have experienced these days is by far the heat around the equator. Some report to have already used a lot of fresh water (ANTOINE) while others reported little use of continues replenishment during squalls (MARK SLATS). The light winds are used by the sailors to do rigging checks (ARE) or cleaning the hull (SUSIE).SUSIE also reports a setback as she has dropped her spinnaker pole.
Image 10 (below the text) shows ABHILASH and LOIC have not suffered from the light patch of air and the order of the fleet has not changed much. All are now experiencing moderate winds varying from close reach to beam reach. UKU has taken over SUSIE, but they remain close with TAPIO and ARE.
Next step:
Some already report preparing for getting south: as they approach Capetown they will need to be ready to catch the high speed train of the westerlies in the Roaring Forties.

More to come, see you next time

By Justus

The post 2nd GGR SUMMARY: Lanzarote to equator passing appeared first on Golden Globe Race.

Day 37: East is least…but is West best?

Dateline Les Sables d’Olonne, France. 6th August 2018

This week should determine who leads the Golden Globe Race. Forget the computer standings. As this fleet of singlehanders bash their way through the South East Trade winds towards the Roaring Forty latitudes of the South Atlantic, all eyes are on the South Atlantic High pressure system and the effect this will have on the leaders.

Dutchman Mark Slats sailing the Rustler 36 Ohpen Maverick may be back in 11th on the leader board, but is the furthest south on the same latitude as Vitoria Brazil, having taken an extreme easterly course to skirt around the High, whereas fellow Frenchmen Jean-Luc Van Den Heede (Rustler 36 Matmut) and Philippe Péché (Rustler 36 PRB) are taking a more central route down the Atlantic.
Van Den Heede moved into the lead over the weekend simply by virtue of being closest to the computer lay line between the Cape Verde Islands and the Cape of Good Hope. He and Péché are 100 miles apart in terms of longitude and Péché is 37 miles further south, but both are caught on the western side of the High and running into light airs.

Slats, almost 800 miles west of the leader, is now experiencing a stronger, more favourable northwesterly airstream and making 7knots – 1.5knots faster than his rivals. “ALL OK, NICE WINDS AND I CAN MAKE SOME EAST JE’HA!” He messaged Race HQ on Sunday.

The remaining fleet is equally divided on their tactics. Ireland’s Gregor McGuckin (Biscay 36 Hanley Energy Endurance), India’s Abhilash Tomy (Suhaili replica Thuriya), Frenchman Loïc Lepage (Nicholson 32 Laaland) and Australian Mark Sinclair (Lello 34 Coconut) are all following Slats’ example, while Estonia’s Uku Randmaa (Rustler 36 One and All), Norwegian Are Wiig (OE 32 Olleanne), Finland’s Tapio Lehtinen (Gaia 36 Asteria) and Russian Igor Zaretskiy (Endurance 35 Esmeralda) are continuing down the shorter easterly route. Only Britain’s Susie Goodall (Rustler 36 DHL Starlight) is making the break from east to west.

For some, the past week has been one of niggles. McGuckin and American/Hungarian Istvan Kopar (Tradewind 35 Puffin) have suffered broken halyards, which have meant climbing to the top of their masts to replace them. Frenchman Antoine Cousot (Biscay 36 Métier Intérim) now relegated to the Chichester Class following his stop in the Canaries, twisted his ankle while changing headsails on the foredeck. He also reported engine issues, a problem shared by Lehtinen who messaged on Saturday that his new engine with just 49 hours of running time stops after 5 seconds. The Finn is also struggling with power from the many solar panels on Asteria which instead of producing 300 watts are generating just 3 watts. Race leader Jean-Luc Van Den Heede has been suffering similar problems with some of the solar panels on Matmut, but still has his water generator and engine to keep batteries charged.

Igor Zaretskiy, who had to make major repairs to the mainsheet system on his Endurance 35 Esmeralda, a week ago, has been suffering from steering issues over the weekend. The Russian complained that he could only turn the wheel one way and had to employ the mizzen sail in order to tack the boat through the wind.

Mark Sinclair has also been using nature’s forces to help with the mechanics aboard his yacht Coconut by changing headsails in heavy winds by trailing the halyards behind the boat to hoist the new sail. Ever cheerful, Sinclair reported overnight: “FLYING FISH GLIDING OFF EITHER BOW AS COCONUT THUNDERS SOUTH”

Water is now becoming an issue. While gale force winds and squalls have been a continuing thread since crossing the Equator, they have not been accompanied by the usual rain showers in the South East Trades or in the Doldrums. Most skippers have consumed around 100 litres during the first month and now the priority is to collect fresh water to supplement their meagre supplies.

Position report at 08:00 UCT

1. Jean- Luc VDH (FRA)Rustler 36 Matmut
2. Philippe Péché (FRA) Rustler 36 PRB
3. Uku Randmaa (EST) Rustler 36 One and All
4. Are Wiig (NOR) OE 32 Olleanna
5. Tapio Lehtinen (FIN) Gaia 36 Asteria
6. Susie Goodall (GBR) Rustler 36 DHL Starlight
7. Igor Zaretskiy (RUS) Endurance 35 Esmeralda
8. Loïc Lepage (FRA) Nicholson 32 Laaland
9. Abhilash Tomy (IND) Suhaili replica Thuriya
10. Gregor McGuckin (IRE) Biscay 36 Hanley Energy Endurance
11. Mark Slats (NED)Rustler 36 Ohpen Maverick
12. Mark Sinclair (Aus) Lello 34 Coconut
13. Istvan Kopar (USA) Tradewind 35 Puffin

1. CHICHESTER CLASS
   1. Antoine Cousot (FRA) Biscay 36 Métier Intérim

    

2. COROZZO SAILOR
   1. Francesco Cappelletti (ITA) Endurance 35 007

    

3. RETIRED

1. Ertan Beskardes (GBR) Rustler 36 Lazy Otter
2. Kevin Farebrother (AUS) Tradewind 35 Sagarmatha
3. Nabil Amra (PAL) Biscay 36 Liberty II

The post Day 37: East is least…but is West best? appeared first on Golden Globe Race.