Must be in to the last 48 hours of the race, and I'm not sure I can put up with the tension....
So Alex has been in a drag rag race with Armel le Cleac'h for the last 10 or so days... from one end of the Atlantic to the other and they are now within 500 and a bit nautical miles of the finish line, but they're doing 10-20 knots depending on wind strength/direction so I think they'll be in by end of Wednesday...
… Alex's eaten another five miles out of the lead since last night, when I last looked, and it looks like they’re going northerly as the forecast shows winds blowing direct from Sables, but look at the speed comparison! Going to be stupidly close…
...and just in case it's not been noted
"Between 0700 UTC on 15 January 2017 and 0700 UTC today, Alex Thomson notched up 536.81 nautical miles on Hugo Boss, beating the previous world record for the greatest distance sailed solo in 24 hours. Thomson sailed Hugo Boss at an average speed of 22.36 knots (!!), and his 24-hour distance beats the record of 534.48 miles set by French sailor François Gabart in the 2012-13 edition of the Vendée Globe".
By the by he's also got the record for the fastest sailor to reach the equator since the Vendee Globe started....
Oh, and all of this with one broken foil! Astonishing, even for an unashamed Alex fan-boy like me...
So Alex has been in a drag rag race with Armel le Cleac'h for the last 10 or so days... from one end of the Atlantic to the other and they are now within 500 and a bit nautical miles of the finish line, but they're doing 10-20 knots depending on wind strength/direction so I think they'll be in by end of Wednesday...
… Alex's eaten another five miles out of the lead since last night, when I last looked, and it looks like they’re going northerly as the forecast shows winds blowing direct from Sables, but look at the speed comparison! Going to be stupidly close…
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| Piccie courtesy Vendee Globe site [clicky] |
...and just in case it's not been noted
"Between 0700 UTC on 15 January 2017 and 0700 UTC today, Alex Thomson notched up 536.81 nautical miles on Hugo Boss, beating the previous world record for the greatest distance sailed solo in 24 hours. Thomson sailed Hugo Boss at an average speed of 22.36 knots (!!), and his 24-hour distance beats the record of 534.48 miles set by French sailor François Gabart in the 2012-13 edition of the Vendée Globe".
By the by he's also got the record for the fastest sailor to reach the equator since the Vendee Globe started....
Oh, and all of this with one broken foil! Astonishing, even for an unashamed Alex fan-boy like me...
Hi Fan-Boy... :-) I've been watching his progress since Alex smashed the record to the equator. Then the record to the Southern Ocean and now the 24Hr record. As he said in his latest video, he's not going to give up. It's been fantastic to watch Alex keep within stalking distance even with a crook boat. It looked a bit iffy when he rounded Cape Horn, but to pull back a 500nm deficit on the trip up North is amazing. It's all about routing in the final 48Hrs. 72nm apart (probably less at the end) after thousands of miles of sailing.... amazing!
ReplyDeleteHa... down to 57NM now and he's 30% faster than Armel (16 vs 10 kts) with the wind forecast to build in the next couple of hours.... just 460NM to go... if he keeps it up they'll be in tomorrow evening...
ReplyDeleteNow down to 42nm as at 22:00 French time... :-)
ReplyDelete40!
DeleteAnd Alex is trying to cut the corner. Armel is going further North and Alex is trading lighter winds for a shorter course. It will be one close finish, certainly in Vendee Globe terms. 24,000 miles and in theory they could be not hours, but minutes apart.
ReplyDeleteBeen playing with the forecast button on the tracker - looks like the winds are swinging round and growing within then next 3 to 4 hours so the corner cutting may well pay off...!
ReplyDelete36... and they have to run soon as they're getting headed... yee gods going to be close.. who'd be Armel, eh?? :o)
ReplyDeleteI feel bad for Atmel, because he came second last time. But the sympathy only lasts until I remember there's a Brit in second with a chance of winning! Come on Alex!
ReplyDeleteI reckon it could really come down to the finishing line. They could well be within sight of each other at the finish. It's just what order they cross the line in. Alex does have a job on to catch Armel, but he's definitely going for the win. Good on 'im.
1700 and it looks like Armel's turned! Only 33Nm in it... just over 3 hours at current speed, and approx 30 hours to home....
ReplyDeleteLooks like Alex's gamble didn't pay off. Armel tacked first and looks to have had better wind. Alex has slowed right down and is now over 50nm behind. Shame, it doesn't look like the tight finish we were expecting.
ReplyDeleteShame, but it looks that way.. VG website is reporting that Alex has issues with his wind instruments, which means his auto pilot isn't working optimally, and he hasn't slept for two days.. not over yet, but not going to be as close as I'd hoped....
DeleteHis AIS is up the spout as well, so in the relatively crowded seas off Europe, it's essential to have a working AIS system to keep watch, otherwise he's got to stay awake and on watch himself.
DeleteYep, such a shame, but he gave it a good go. Bar something catastrophic Armel looks to be the winner of this one.
Armel's finished - bravura performance!
ReplyDelete