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A video from Rich Wilson untangling his third reef line.
This is not easy. My baby version of these boats has the same issue, and you untangle it the same way.
As they are so beamy, the boat action with even moderate seas can be quite aggressive when you're hanging off the rear quadrant trying to reach the boom.
Skip to the 1 minute mark.

Not too shabby for a 61 year old!

Jean-Pierre Dick is planning to come up and through Bass Strait to avoid a pasting from an intense low.

www.vendeeglobe.org/en/news/17085/thomson-slowed-dick-fleeing-the-path-of-the-storm

Ouch!

"Thomas Ruyant is attempting to motor to Bluff in New Zealand, which is 260 miles away from his seriously damaged boat."

Wow. That's going to be a long 260 miles, he's reporting the starboard side is starting to delaminate.
Tough bastards, hasn't asked for help yet.

Select to expand quote

shaggybaxter said..
"Thomas Ruyant is attempting to motor to Bluff in New Zealand, which is 260 miles away from his seriously damaged boat."

Wow. That's going to be a long 260 miles, he's reporting the starboard side is starting to delaminate.
Tough bastards, hasn't asked for help yet.

will there be any left?? before this:

Retirements:
November 12, Day 7 – Tanguy de Lamotte, Initiatives Coeur, masthead crane failure
November 19, Day 14 – Bertrand de Broc, MACSF, UFO collision
November 22, Day 17 – Vincent Riou, PRB, UFO collision
November 24, Day 19 – Morgan Lagravière, Safran, UFO collision
December 4, Day 29 – Kojiro Shiraishi, Spirit of Yukoh, dismasted
December 6, Day 31 – Kito de Pavant, Bastide Otio, UFO collision
December 7, Day 32 – Sébastien Josse, Edmond de Rothschild, foil damage
December 17, Day 42 – Stéphane Le Diraison, Compagnie du Lit – Boulogne Billancourt, dismasted

Hi nods,
It seems pretty much the norm for the vendee globe. One year they lost half the fleet before getting out of the Bay of Biscay.
My point was he is heading to NZ unassisted and under control, he didn't hit the big red button and wait for everyone to come and save him.
I'd be tempted to have every emergency service standing right off the bow if my boat looked like that. Looks like somebody attacked it.

I agree he is doing the right thing...while it still floats and headed to safety why risk someone else's life in a rescue. While not comfortable, its better than a life raft in the sea.
(which I am sure is at the very ready, and grab bag very close to hand!).

I hope all goes ok for him . i wonder how much fuel he is carrying ?

The closer he gets to nz the better for the helli pickup though !

Thomas Ruyant made it safely to NZ, congrats to an epic achievement.
Meanwhile on the race course....
This afternoon at 1415 UTC, Paul Meilhat contacted his team to inform them of a problem with his keel ram. The ram has a 40 cm (16 inch) crack and this has led to the keel canting leeward of the boat. Paul is in the process of blocking the system to try to get the keel in the middle. To carry out this operation, he bore away and is heading towards the north.

This was a few days ago now but This was a pretty impressive bit of work. I have done a rudder job on a quarter tonner and it was a nightmare! Hookah gear might have been a better deal than 8 minutes on a cylinder.

#t=488.581

^^^ that was awesome ^^^

^^^. Great job ! Well done !!! These sailors are incredible !

There is a Port nav light showing in this video!

Just reading about Conrad Colman and Foresight Natural Energy, am I right in assuming that he doesn't have a diesel on board and the main sail is a giant solar panel?

Anybody watching the finish of this race, just phenomenal how close it is Between Armel & Alex. I would love to see Alex get up but I'm not sure he will however all is not done until one crosses the line.

Keeping tabs on this race I have really enjoyed Alex's spirit and my hat is off to all who compete in this event. I can't even begin to imagine the mental state required to keep pushing in a race of this caliber and length. Also I have been really impressed by Conrad Colman from NZ it's amazing to see how well he has done on a shoestring campign.

Lastly I did see you can pick up the ex hugo boss boat in Melbourne with no mast for $450K euro's atm, I'm guessing it's cheaper to sell here then ship back to France.

It's been great. Alex has a chance but I don't think he can get up on this occasion. French navy out there checking on them.

It has been a great race ! Some of the film from the roaring 40,s from the naval aircraft was incredible !

The way the yachts submarine into the back of the wave on a broard reach with the big Assy up , then just come up and take off again ! WOW !

The he auto helms and rudders must be strong !

Well Alex did not quite catch up but it was an incredible race. Just watching Alex live a few moments ago and he might be back in 4 years. Armel certainly deserves the win.

In my opinion all of the competitors in this race are amazing and it has been a pleasure to watch the video updates and follow the fleet on the tracker

It is a shame there has not been more coverage of the race in the mainstream media as some of the footage has been spectacular and would be appreciated by non sailors as well as the sailing community

Regards Don