Vendee Globe Day 7 – Bureau Vallée’s Deck Suffers Cracks
by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World NZ 16 Nov 19:14 PST
17 November 2024
Louis Burton on the IMOCA Bureau Vallée – Vendée Globe 2024 © Benjamin Sellier
The casualty list in the Vendée Globe Race may soon grow, as Louis Burton, a prominent contender, has reported deck cracks on his foiling IMOCA Bureau Vallée to race control.
“On Saturday, November 16 at 2200hrs UTC, while sailing in a leading western group, Burton alerted his shore team and Vendée Globe management about a concerning noise: a ‘big crack’ aboard Bureau Vallée,” stated the Vendée Globe Race Control in a media release.
“After taking precautions and conducting checks, he discovered cracks on the deck near the Gennaker spreader, potentially jeopardizing the boat’s structural integrity.
“Burton is continuing to investigate. The skipper of the IMOCA Bureau Vallée remains in the race.”
Bureau Vallée was part of a western group alongside Youann Richomme, Jeremie Beyou, Thomas Ruyant, and Nicolas Lunven, all of whom were sailing at high speeds, well into the double digits.
Hungarian sailor Szabolocs Weores (New Europe) has stopped at the Canary Islands to repair a 3-meter square hole in his mainsail, which occurred five days prior during 30-40kt winds. He has been sailing with a reefed mainsail since and sustained damage to two foresails during the incident.
Maxime Sorel (V and B) withdrew earlier due to an ankle injury.
East versus West
The race for the lead appears to be approaching a captivating conclusion. The race front now stretches nearly 800nm back.
The western group has increased speed over the ground, with some boats reaching impressive speeds, but their critical Velocity Made Good (VMG) towards the finish (around Cape of Good Hope and beyond) is relatively low unless they head south. There is a clear link between boat speed and VMG when they angle southward.
As the foiling IMOCAs sail west towards Brazil, navigating through the Doldrums and into the trade winds, their VMGs drop to 4kts or even negative, reminiscent of the America’s Cup when the AC75s prioritized maintaining foiling speed in light winds over making ground towards the mark.
In the eastern group, Conrad Colman is nearing the Horn of Africa. In the Day 7 1000hrs UTC sked, race control leader Jean le Cam has also turned east.
Both competitors are sailing dagger board IMOCA60s, allowing them better downwind angles. Their VMGs are higher compared to a foiler at the same deep angle, with le Cam approximating VMG at 7kts and Colman at 4.2kts. They must navigate between two Exclusion Zones—one around the Cape Verde islands and another from La Guera on the Mauritanian coast to Sal Rei in the Cape Verde group.
Both sailors hope they can successfully navigate these zones before crossing west to catch more favorable winds. They aim to dodge the worst of the Doldrums, if they currently exist around the Cape Verde Islands and Brazil.
It seems these two competitors are close to escaping the western Sahara’s impact, which contributed to the downfall of Franck Cammas’ (FRA) Groupama in the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race. Groupama appeared strong early in the race but fell behind when trying to exit the African coast, eventually finishing a distant third behind those who had advanced west sooner and reaped the rewards.
During that race, the Doldrums posed less of an obstacle than in previous years, with Camper reporting only eight hours spent in a windless, squall-prone area.
Current Vendée Globe racers are hoping to mirror that fortune.
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