Not exactly beachcats, but its always multihull sailors against the establishment. 😀
Today the already record holding IDEC SPORT Maxi Trimaran (103x75ft) left France to attempt to set a female crewed around the world unassisted and nontop sailing record.
The boat
https://thefamousproject.io/idec-sport/
Track their progress
https://thefamousproject.io/mapster-wp-map/tracking-theboat/
If you haven't followed circumnavigation record attempts over the years, you may not realize what the course looks like. The shortest course "around the world" is basically using Antarctica as a mark. The further south you dare to go the shorter total distance.
It is very empty down there in the "southern ocean".
It is very empty down there in the "southern ocean".
Remember THE RACE back in 2000? First time I'd heard of The Roaring 40s. Reading those blogs gave me the chills. Screaming along downwind all day and night. Jamming the bows into the backs of 40 foot waves. Strapped into their berths to sleep, and even then someone broke their back or some such craziness from an impact. Continual loud thuds on the bows from hitting flying fish. Oh, and the growlers! Insane!
Having spent some time in and around the Falklands, Ushuaia through Cape Horn to Punte Arenas... they are going to be in for an the e-ticket ride in the Furious Fifties let alone the Screaming Sixties...
I am not one for motion sickness, but even on a Polar Class 6 ship, I was feeling a little green around the gills...
I bought a t shirt from The Race 2000. When it arrived, my wife saw the invoice and screamed at me for spending $100 for a t shirt.
I said look more carefully, that is not a dollar sign it is "ff" French Franc with an exchange rate of 10 cents.
I lost my copy of Cam Lewis's Around The World In 79 Days. I highly recommend it.
It's not a beachcat but it is how you get young people interested in beachcats... so yes, please, keep going.
We thought that new Nacra was cool. The new Ultime!
First look: Gitana 18, the new Maxi Edmond de Rothschild
What they say they think the new Gitana 18 will do.
“With this new boat, we hope to achieve as close to perfect flight as possible. Ideally, we’ll be able to fly very high without ever touching the waves. We hope to be able to fly in 3-metre waves and reach an average sailing speed bordering on 40 knots”, explains Charles Caudrelier, the skipper of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild.
40knts is crazy - to maintain that speed for hours/ days is absolute nuts. it would be kewl if the route was set at the equator - at least the temps would be nicer!!
40knts is crazy - to maintain that speed for hours/ days is absolute nuts. it would be kewl if the route was set at the equator - at least the temps would be nicer!!
For sure.... about the more northerly routes.
I think the voyage would be more interesting (at least to some people) if the around-the-world course would include much of the Great China Race course of the old tea clippers. The 'race' would be far more interesting and add some historic context, and likely have more navigational challenges.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Tea_Race_of_1866
After sailing through the straights of Australia and Papua New Guinea, make a course for the Galapagos sailing past Fiji and Samoa, as a turning point for the southerly course to Teirra De Fuego -- a reverse of Capt. Joshua Slocum's circumnavigation.
https://www.shippingwondersoftheworld.com/slocum.html
That would be kewl!
A story from Sail-World regarding the new Gitana 18 with a cool time-lapse of the construction.
PlantSail's report on Gitana 18
Interesting that the Sodebo website is measuring their progress in comparison to IDEC SPORT's 2017 position-times, and not the current position-times. Perhaps Sodebo doesn't want to make it appear like a "mens' vs womens''race, since there are no women aboard their crew?
With all the obviously big monies put into each boat's endeavors, it's interesting how absolutely-basic IDEC SPORT's website is compared to Sodebo's.
IDEC SPORT's 2017 is the record holder. Sodebo is only interested in the Jules Verne record. The crew has been together for several years getting time on the boat. They are the best of the best. Their trip broad reaching down the Atlantic with 20 knots on their hip and 35 knots of boat speed was a lesson on how to do it.
The women have never sailed together on a boat like IDEC. They've had problems with the mainsail and had to stop and make repairs.
The Southern Ocean awaits.
At the rate they are moving so far, Sodebo may pass IDEC before they finish.
Video from on board Sodebo crossing the equator. I'm guessing there were no Pollywogs in the crew considering the experience. If there were, they are Shellbacks now!
I always forget how noisy it is on these race boats.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_7R72pVSy6U
Sail-World reports on the Jules Verne Trophy attempt by Sodebo and the Famous Project.
Sodebo has cruised down the Atlantic at 30mph. They are heading towards The Cape of Good Hope, the Indian Ocean and then the Southern Ocean.
I wish IDEC sport would make a left at Australia and head to Sydney for Boxing Day and the Sydney Hobart race. They'd be the only multihull in the fleet and show them what a real fast boat is.
@calicats Thanks, amazing having on-board video from the open ocean.
I didn't know what the actual problem was on Idec Sport. Not being sure if you can reef the main is a big issue. I hope they remain conservative and keep it together for another attempt some day.
Sodebo is literally flying around the world so far!
Sodebo is sailing like they are on a lake. Gybing on every shift to stay in the breeze. They benefit from sophisticated weather reporting for the best routing.
Sodebo at 40 knots off Brazil
Dangers in the Southern Ocean include ice bergs and growlers that are hard to spot. When I watched this it auto dubbed to English, nice to understand what they are saying but hilarious.
They are sailing in the Roaring 40's and the Raging 50's.
"Yeah, the butter is really hard!"
It's one thing hitting a shark with those foils..... it would be completely different hitting a small, nearly invisible, compact-car-sized chunk of ice I would think.
Sodebo sets a new record for the time to the Cape of Good Hope
Drone footage of Sodebo in the Indian Ocean
I never sailed in 40 degree air & water.
I never sailed in 40 degree air & water.
I have. A couple times. In less than 32 degrees F.
First time was on my P18 on a smallish lake in northern Ohio (Springfield, near Akron). Snowing with snow on the ground, light breeze of maybe 5-7 knots. I thought it would be 'cool' to try sailing in those conditions. Trailered the boat to the lake, set it up by myself, sailed for an hour and called it good enough. My fingers were a bit cold after packing everything up. I also took some pictures while sailing (before the digital age, though).
Second time was the best.... Took some friends out for a sail on Lake Erie from Port Clinton, Ohio, on my 1962 Luders 33 'yacht.' It was just after Thanksgiving, 2002, and the weather conditions were quite cold in the morning at around 25 degrees F. My friends had a smaller yacht that had a diesel, but it wouldn't start in the cold. My engine was an old flathead gasoline engine, same as the old WWII jeep engines. Of course it jumped to life. So instead of two boats going for a morning snowy sail, we all went in mine.
The weather was gloriously cold, snow flurries, with 10-15 knots of breeze.... perfect for a nice, relaxing cup of coffee and a sail in a robust CCA-era racer/cruiser, all bundled up in our foulies in the cockpit. The water was dark-colored with whitecaps. We made around 7 knots sailing out to almost Kelly's island, then decided to come back to harbor. Fun little cruise in the snow.
Sailing with friends and crew is always the most memorable and rewarding no matter what the conditions.
.... Of course, sailing for a few of hours or so in cold temps and seas can't compare to enduring continuous weeks of mental and physical stress and exposure.