There’s many a slip twixt cup and lip, but Delamare has run a superb race in the Global Solo Challenge from the start. He has the shortest distance sailed, and Mowgli’s heavy displacement hull has been able to withstand the heavy weather and seas around Antartica better than the faster but lighter racing yachts behind him.
Fingers crossed. More at http://globalsolochallenge.com
Ronnie Simpson, who was lying 3rd in what I term the Solo Race Around Antartica, was dismasted early on Feb 12th 2024 when his yacht Shipyard Brewing fell off a big wave and almost pitchpoled: the boat took a nosedive into the trough of the wave. The boat stayed right side up, but the G froces of the sudden halt put tremendous strain on the standing rig, dismasting Shipyard Brewing.
A dismasted yacht is an unstable and dangerous platform. Without the mast to counterbalance the keel, it and its crew are going to suffer from wild gyrations from waves and wind.
So Ronnie requested help, and was rescued by a Taiwanese freighter, Sakizaya Youth. Shipyard Brewing was scuttled, to avoid endangering other vessels.
Ronnie had recently rounded Cape Horn, and must have thought that the worst was in his rearview mirror. More here: Ronnie Simpson Safe
Displacement boats, like Frank, rely on the length of hull in the water to counterbalance the wind in the sails & generate movement through the sea. Planing boats use forwards momentum through the water to lift the hull dynamically out of the water, reducing resistance and increasing speed with a direct transfer of wind power from the sails to the boat’s direction.
So a displacement boat has a speed limiter. Its length of hull in the water determines the max amount of wind power that it can convert into movement.
Great job by Philippe Delamare: he “has sailed only 800 Nautical miles in excess of the theoretical route with a “wastage” of just 3.2%”
https://globalsolochallenge.com/100-days-everest/
I bought this new fully-battened mainsail last year. These pics are from the local UK Sails guy, Doug Weakly, in Corpus.
Doug ran the mainsail up the newly-installed tracking, installed by Matt Sebring at Coastal Bend, who also arranged the sail making. UK Sails’ loft in in Houston.
UK Sails – https://www.uksailmakers.com/lofts/texas/
Coastal Bend Yacht Services: Matthew Sebring cbyscc@gmail.com 361-461-4067
The sail is strengthened to give protection against high winds. The full battens will provide extra stiffness. Hopefully I’ll get out to sea next spring, to try them out!
Ex RAAF vet Kevin Le Poidevin set sail on Thanksgiving, belatedly joining the solo sailing race around the world, with the leaders heading east, already south of his homeland.
Read more here … https://globalsolochallenge.com/kevin-le-poidevin-sets-off/
“I coulda bin a contender”
Meanwhile, update on the actual contenders: https://globalsolochallenge.com/latest-updates/
Andrea Mura sets sail. https://globalsolochallenge.com/andrea-mura-sets-sail
Watch the Global Solo Challenge RTW race here: https://globalsolochallenge.com/tracking/
