What a weekend of sailing it was! From the fast-paced AC75’s flying around the bay, to intense sailing on the Cape 31 sports boats in Table Bay. Plus the race around the planet in the Vendée Globe Race nears the finish, and we see Gitana forced to abandon their Jules Verne record attempt.
Vendee Globe
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It’s been a slow start to the 2021 season, with a few key regattas postponed or even cancelled. But a few events did manage to get off the ground. The RORC Transatlantic Race started in light airs from Lanzerote on Saturday, 9th Jan, and the Vendée Globe continues to thrill as the sailors race their final 5000 miles to the finish.
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Sail + Leisure contributor, Jeff Ayliffe chats to Sam Davies onboard Initiatives-Couer in Cape Town. On December 2nd the Vendée Globe skipper hit an unidentified floating object, and picked up significant damage to the framework supporting the keel. After consultation with her team, she made the decision to stop in Cape Town.
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This weekend was eventful in the Vendée Globe Race: 3 official retirements, the safe transfer of Kevin Escoffier, and a new Antarctic Exclusion Zone was set.
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Kevin Escoffier has been recovering on board after being rescued from his life-raft by fellow Vendée Globe competitor Jean Le Cam. Le Cam picked him up in big seas and strong winds in the early hours of the morning some 840 nautical miles South West of Cape Town, South Africa.
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This weekend we saw two retirements in offshore racing. Alex Thomson Racing’s Hugo Boss in the Vendée Globe, and Franck Cammas and Charles Cauldrelier’s Gitana Team with Maxi Edmond de Rothschild in their race to break the Jules Verne record. Local racing saw the West Coast Offshore Race taking place. And in Formula 1, Roman Grosjean escaped terrible injuries in a fiery accident in the Bahrain Grand Prix.
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This weekend in sailing – the latest in the Vendée Globe, more repairs and breakages for the skippers. Te Rehutai sees her first day of testing for Emirates Team New Zealand, and the New South Wales 18ft Skiff Champs start with controversy.
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The sailing season in the southern hemisphere should be well under way by now, producing results non-stop, but the restrictions of Covid have hit the sailing clubs hard, leading to very little or no racing taking place at all. However the 18 Footer League managed to complete their spring circuit and the Vendée Globe Race continues to thrill. And Lewis Hamilton equals Michael Schumacher’s seven World Champ title record.
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The latest generation IMOCA’s will no doubt deliver a new Vendée Globe time. But with record speeds expected due to the new generation foils, what technology has been introduced to protect both the boats and the sailors? Since the last Vendée Globe, speeds on all points of sail have increased thanks to major innovations in three main areas: foils, data capturing, and skippers’ safety.
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The 24 926 mile Vendée Globe Race began off Les Sables d’Olonne yesterday. Even a sea mist, which held up the start of the race for nearly one hour and 20 minutes, didn’t dampen the enthusiasm and excitement of the support boats and skippers alike. The record 33-boat fleet was eventually rewarded with late autumn sunshine, and a near perfect 10-12 knots south easterly breeze and flat seas when the start gun finally sounded at 1420hrs French time. 27 men and 6 women solo skippers have set off on the 24,296 nautical mile round the world challenge.