Two races allowing Vendée Globe hopefuls to warm up

They didn’t need to wait for the start of the eighth Vendée Globe on 6th November 2016 to get out there sailing around the world. Several candidates for the Everest of the Seas are competing in the Barcelona World Race (double-handed) and the Volvo Ocean Race (crewed). And they are doing rather well as we shall see.  

Barcelona World Race: Alex Thomson is in the lead, with Stamm and Le Cam waiting to pounce
After setting out on Wednesday 31^st December from Barcelona, the eight 60-foot IMOCAs competing in this third edition of the non-stop double-handed race around teh world are still racing. 

 

Third in the last Vendée Globe, Alex Thomson is living up to his role as favourite. With the Spaniard, Pepe Ribes at his side on Hugo Boss (the former Virbac-Paprec 3, which won the last BWR), the British skipper is gaining more experience as he looks forward to the next solo round the world race, when he will be aboard a brand new VPLP/Verdier designed boat that is currently being built at the Green Marine yard in the Solent. On Wednesday morning, the duo on Hugo Boss was sailing along at around twenty knots, around 300 miles south of the Canaries, with a lead of 25 miles over the duo formed by Guillermo Altadill/José Muñoz (Neutrogena), 30 miles ahead of Anna Corbella/Gerard Marin (GAES Centros Auditivos) and 35 miles ahead of the two Vendée Globe stars: Bernard Stamm and Jean Le Cam (Cheminées Poujoulat). Aboard the former Foncia, the winner of the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe, when she was in the hands of Michel Desjoyeaux, these experienced skippers took no time in showing what they can do and are well up with the frontrunners. “By the time we get back to Barcelona, we’ll be in top form, as far as knowing the boat is concerned. But it’s not going too badly for now!” Stamm said yesterday. In fifth place, we find two other Vendée Globe hopefuls: Jörg Riechers and  Sébastien Audigane, who this morning are some 100 miles behind the leaders. As for the Hungarian, Nandor Fa, who is sailing with the New Zealander, Conrad Colman, he is bringing up the rear on his Spirit of Hungary, the most recent boat in the fleet, which was initially launched last spring. Not wishing to look at a goal in terms of the result, Nandor Fa is aiming to ensure the reliability of his boat before the next Vendée Globe. So with this in mind, the start of the race has been satisfactory.

 

Volvo Ocean Race: the French on Dongfeng leading the way with Sam Davies at the back “We knew it was going to be a slow leg with little wind, making it complicated,” explained Charles Caudrelier, shortly before the start of the third leg of the Volvo Ocean Race last Saturday, which saw them leave Abu Dhabi for Sanya (China). This third leg of the crewed race around the world with stopovers with its 4642 miles has so far been favourable for the skipper of Dongfeng, the Franco-Chinese team aboard which we find two sailors aiming to take part in the next Vendée Globe, Pascal Bidégorry and Eric Péron. This morning, Dongfeng is still out in front, but with a lead of just 2 miles over Team Brunel, which is a drop in the ocean in the 3900 miles they still have to sail. Third equal in the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe and forced to retire four years later, Sam Davies, skipper of the all-woman crew, Team SCA is bring up the rear, 20 miles back from the leaders. At the start of the race, the six crews had to deal with very light conditions, as they made their way through the Starits of Hormuz and made their way out of the Gulf of Oman. But thanks to the development of a 10-knot NW’ly wind, the VOR65s can finally dive south off Pakistan. The boats are now heading for the southern tip of India and Sri Lanka. They have still got a lot of hurdles ahead including the Straits of Malacca, the narrow stretch separating Malaysia from the Indonesian island of Sumatra. This is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, where they can expect to encounter very light winds. As for the final climb back up the coast of China, it will also be far from easy… These are, of course, areas that the Vendée Globe sailors don’t explore. But for all those hoping to set out at the start of the next solo round the world voyage, the experience of the Volvo Ocean Race will be very instructive, as many of the legs follow the same route, such as the one that takes them from Auckland (New Zealand) to Itajaí (Brazil). (www.vendeeglobe.org)