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Barcelona World Race

19K views 161 replies 6 participants last post by  PCP 
#1 · (Edited)
Following a Marty suggestion I will open a dedicated thread for this race. This race was already being followed on the thread about Solo and Duo sail races, so I will repost here the relevant posts:

10 days for the Barcelona world race:)

15 Open60's around the world, almost as many as on the last Vendee Globe.

What's new on this one is the number of Spanish leading skippers (crew of two):

6 Spanish, 4 French, 2 British, 1 German, 1 Swiss, 1 Polish.

It's going to be a great race. Watch out guys, in 10 days;)

Solo and two-handed, Two similar, but not equal, ways to sail - Magazine - Barcelona World Race

Videos - Multimedia - Barcelona World Race
One day to go!!!.... and really bad luck for Alex Thompson from Hugo Boss: Yesterday the guy had to make a surgery to treat acute appendicitis.

Short news - Barcelona World Race

They are discussing with the race organization the options.

The boats are Open 6o, the crew, to guys and the race is a non-stop circumnavigation with gates they have to pass.

Two crew, non-stop, around the world - Presentation - Barcelona World Race

This is mainly a race between Spanish and French. the Spanish are more, but the French have the better boats. There are also some other European teams and an all women crew. The boats are 15 and most are competitive recent or new racing machines.

Follow the race - Barcelona World Race
 
#3 · (Edited)
Yes you are right, very little information about it. It seems that Hugo Boss is racing but Alex Thomson has been substituted by Wouter, a Dutch sailor.

"For Wouter Verbraak (NED) and Andy Meiklejohn (NZL), the pairing drafted together on Hugo Boss by the sudden surgery required to skipper Alex Thomson (GBR) at 48 hours before the start, it has not so much been a baptism of fire as some tortuously slow hours in the kind of conditions which do rank as the Achilles heel for the fleet's heaviest most powerful IMOCA 60."

Wouter Verbraak (NED), Hugo Boss: "I'm really relieved that the struggle of the last few days is behind us and we can now focus on the race, but it's a day of mixed feelings. Like every start you're excited to go, but it's hard to say good-bye to the family. So Alex, if you're listening get better!
"We'll do our very, very best, the boat is very well prepared, the team is very good, and I'm impressed with the level of preparation."
"This is a race about keeping the boat together. So we've focused a lot on going through systems, going through manoevures with Andy, talking about philosophy. But the good thing is I've known Andy for a long time, both personally and in racing, and we're on the same page. We've raced together in the Volvo Ocean Race and several Maxi programmes, so we go way back. It's all about trust and partnership, and we have complimentary skills."

A small majority for Président as they pass Cabo de la Nao - News - Barcelona World Race

Le Cam is first, Desjoyneaux is second, very close and the distance between the leader and the 8th is only 8nm. Hugo Boss has already lost 40nm, but they don't know the boat and are happy with the weak winds, just for learning the boat ropes:D

After all there are an American racing, Ryan Breymaier, racing on Neutragena.

Home

And Also a Newzealander, Andy Meiklejohn on Hugo Boss and he has a big track record:

Round the world regattas:
Volvo Ocean Race 2004-2005 (3rd) on Brasil 1
Oryx Quest 2004 (1st) on Doha 2006
Transats:
Rolex Transatlantic 2009 (1st) on Farr 80 Beau Geste
Norbank Transatlantic (2nd) on Outsider
Other long-distance racing:
Sydney Hobart 2007 (1st) on Rosebud

He has experience in a lot of boats, including Volvo's but none on Open 60's nor solo or duo racing. It is going to be interesting to see how he performs. His partner, wouter, also has not experience as a solo or duo sailor. He is a team player. It is going to be a hard time for these two, before they learn how to sail a powerful Open 60, many times solo (while the other is asleep). As I have said, they have already lost 40nm. Let us see how much time they need to perform as well as the best. Not an easy task;)

I cannot put to work the router to follow the race. Have you?

Regards

Paulo
 
#4 ·
Paulo,

Have not tried the router since I got up a bit ago, but I have not been able to get it to work either.

As far as HB and the 40 mile loss.....This race is what 90 days? or there abouts any how, and another 20 some odd thousand miles to go.....40 miles CAN be made up in a blink of an eye! The question would be, "How long will it take for them to gell?" and then compete on the same level as the others. Which may put them too far behind to catch up.

I'll go look at the site here in a bit.

Happy new year to you.

Marty
 
#6 ·
That link was not there yesterday and it does not work, at least for me. I think it is overloaded:(

well, the French are leading, Le Cam is 5th now, and Dick is leading, the first Spanish (Pella) is 4th, the ladies are 9th and Hugo Boss is last. It seems that it is going to take a while for those two to learn how to race solo:D

Following the race without the race tracker is a bit like being blind...not funny. I hope they fix that tracker fast.

the video from the race start:

YouTube - BarcelonaWorldRace's Channel

And a teaser:

YouTube - Barcelona World Race 2010-11 News Promo

Regards

Paulo
 
#7 ·
That's a lot better:) the tracking is on.

http://tracking.barcelonaworldrace.org/

That's a different visual, but that's a nice one. The weather is on the top (on, off).

Weak winds ahead and the leading pack is divided into three different tactical options, Desjoyeaux and Pella are opting for the African coast, De Pavant and Dick are going for the European side. Le Cam and Martinez are going for the Spanish coast and I don't really understand what is their play:confused: . The ones that are going on the African side will have more wind on the next 6 hours, but after that it seems that the ones on the European side will have a better angle. Difficult to say who is playing better.

I know very well those waters, crossed Gibraltar strait many times;) It seems they are going to cross it with a very weak head wind and that is rather unusual, I mean the weak wind.:)

Regards

Paulo
 
#8 ·
It took a bit for that site to load the first time I clicked on it. Now a refresh occurs in maybe 30 secs at max. I think it is a BIG program to download.

I started clicking things, found all kinds of stuff to look at etc. No I just leave it in an open window. Now that I typed this, I think I closed, or used it to come here! GRRRRRRR>>>..

Marty

marty
 
#9 ·
Here is a better tracker, in my opinion:
Jean le Cam - Président • Barcelona World Race 2011

I'll join the conversation in coming days. I think Hugo Boss is relatively heavy and not so good in light air, besides the problem of inexperienced open 60 skippers.
Besides the French boats, I think Mapfre and Estrella Damm may do very well.
As a sentimental matter, I would like to see Mirabaud, GAES, and Neutrogena do well. A married couple, each 55 years old, an all-women team, and the only american in the race along with the winner of the Portimao Global Ocean Race from 2009.
This is going to be fun!
 
#10 ·
Thanks. That one has the name of the boat and the name of the sailors and that is an improvement, but the weather information is worse. That's the usual graphic display on the French races;)

As predicted the ones that had pointed to the African coast had done better on the last hours but on the next 6 the advantage is from the ones that choose the European coast. We will see who is going to win more, because after the next 6 hours the wind would be the same to everybody: Almost no wind and a very weak head wind;) .

Regards

Paulo
 
#11 ·
The only thing I do not like about the main race sites tracking, maybe I do not know how to fix it! is I keep the wind tracker up, but when I reload or update it, everything needs to be returned on!

That other one is not as good from a locate standpoint IMHO, not that it counts for but what, .0000000000000001 cents or some such small amount of nothing!

marty
 
#12 · (Edited)
Dick/Peyron are making a great race. Not only they are leading as they managed to choose the right place to be, for the next hours.

Also great race for the German/American team on Neutragena. They are managing to bring an older boat (2004) to the leading pack (4th) and also in a good place for the next yours.

Another surprising team is the Wavre family:D. These two make quite a team and are on 5th place, also on an older boat (2006) and that despite having losing some time with a weird episode:

Dominque Wavre(SUI) and Michèle Paret (FRA) have reported to the Barcelona World RACE Race Direction this afternoon that their IMOCA Open 60 Mirabaud had been boarded by Moroccan customs officials.
Mirabaud was approximately 48 miles east of the entrance to the Straits of Gibraltar and 30 miles off the Moroccan coast when the boarding happened. The officials searched the boat over a period of around 35 minutes, opening many of the couple's vacuum sealed bags of food and equipment.
After receiving a radio call the customs officials left the IMOCA Open 60 Mirabaud without any further explanation.

Short news - Barcelona World Race

Le Cam passed from first (on the beginning of the race) to 8th, at more than 80nm from the First. Last night I had said that I did not understand what were his intentions with that course...well, it seems that whatever they were, they did not turn out right.

On the back of the race the guys on Hugo Boss seems to be learning fast, they are not last anymore;) .

YouTube - BarcelonaWorldRace's Channel

http://tracking.barcelonaworldrace.org/
Jean le Cam - Président • Barcelona World Race 2011

Regards

Paulo
 
#13 ·
Hey Marty, take a look at the rooting map and zoom it.

http://tracking.barcelonaworldrace.org/

Look at the courses. Crazy stuff, most of the boats went backwards and some like Neutragena (the German/American boat) was all night sailing backwards. They just cannot have enough speed and wind to make it against the strong strait current (that in some cases can reach 6K). That should be hard on the nerves :(

Four boats out of the strait, Dick is leading with the Desjoyeaux relatively close but the real night winner was the Wavre family: Not only they have cleared the strait as they are now on a brilliant 3th place. Really incredible, great stuff, with an old boat;)

Dire Straits, but four in the Atlantic. - News - Barcelona World Race

Regards

Paulo
 
#14 ·
Hey Marty, take a look at the rooting map and zoom it.

http://tracking.barcelonaworldrace.org/

Look at the courses. Crazy stuff, most of the boats went backwards and some like Neutragena (the German/American boat) was all night sailing backwards. They just cannot have enough speed and wind to make it against the strong strait current (that in some cases can reach 6K). That should be hard on the nerves :(

Four boats out of the strait, Dick is leading with the Desjoyeaux relatively close but the real night winner was the Wavre family: Not only have they cleared the strait as they are now on a brilliant 3th place. Really incredible, great stuff, with an old boat;)

Dire Straits, but four in the Atlantic. - News - Barcelona World Race

Regards

Paulo
 
#15 ·
The tide influx must be the circles if you will that I saw yesterday for some. 6 knots of current is NOT fun to sail against or with. Been there done that here in Puget Sound. My boat has a hull speed of 6.6 knots! much less the ability to go 20 something like these boat in proper winds etc.

The next 24 hrs or so going by the wind prediction, is going to be a make or break for some. Hugo is way back there. Altho, I still feel the 200 some odd miles is regain-able if you will. Being as they still have 20 some odd thousand to go. 200-250 miles if all were coming up the coast ofAfrica to the finish......that would be tougher to make up.

Then the couple getting pulled over by a customs boat?!?!? what gives there? One would think the race committee would have let ALL the countries in the region know race boats were coming thru, marked etc......

Marty
 
#16 ·
The tide influx must be the circles if you will that I saw yesterday for some. 6 knots of current is NOT fun to sail against or with. Been there done that here in Puget Sound. ..
Marty
Funny thing is that it seems that the ones that had lost more time had disregarded the knowledge that all local sailors have and that I thought everybody knew: The place were the current is less strong is near the shores.

Look at the courses of the ones that have made it quickly and look at what happened to the ones that tried to pass crossing the strait from one side to another, and therefore being away from the shore most of the time, like Neutrogena.

Hugo Boss is last again and has lost about 40nm in some hours to the boat that was last some hours ago (Central Lechera A.). It seems that one of the skippers is way better than the other.

Regards

Paulo
 
#17 ·
SHore side is the same here in puget sound, for less current in "MOST" places. There are some where the current hits a shore then turns one way or other, then the shore can and will be stronger than the middle. I would imagine the Med does not have too many places like that in comparison to here. I can think of one channel where the current runs opposite of what you would think it would! Local knowledge of currents can make or break you.

Off to work now that it i getting light here on the left coast of NA.

marty
 
#18 ·
The four in the med are losing ground really quick. Must be the light wind at the cut vs farther out and east in the med, along with probably the strongest current at that point. Still do not think this is a make or bread, but 347 miles for Hugo will be tough(er) to make up.

looks like the day/night timer says hugo is in dark, the ones farther west still in daylight. I'm sure going thru that cut at night is not fun, even tho it seems to be fairly wide.
 
#19 · (Edited)
The racers have already divided themselves in two groups: One that has already cleared the strait and are well ahead in the Atlantic (9) and other that have just cleared the strait or are not even yet crossing it. From the last, all are Spanish with the exception of the guys from Hugo Boss, that are very last.

It seems that the choice to substitute Alex Thomson was really bad. With so many young sailors with solo sailing experience why would they chose a good sailor but without solo experience?

By the way, the girls are not on the slow group, they are sailing well and holding a 6th place, very near to the German/American boat.

About young sailor's with lot's of solo experience, Boris, the young German that won the Portimão world race is showing that a sailor used to 40class racers can do well on an Open60 (he and his American partner, Ryan, more experienced in Open60's). They are in 5th place.

Dick and Desjoineaux seem to be of other championship. They are going away.

The Warve family continue to impress me and are still holding the 3th place...with an old boat;)

I find out that the German/American boat and Boris in particular is followed with a lot of interest in Germany. On the "Yacht" site I have found out an interesting movie about Neutrogena , their Open 60. Don't give up (it is in German) because they show in detail the interior of their boat:

Bei Boris an Bord in Barcelona - Teil 2 - YACHT: YACHT tv

Bei Boris an Bord in Barcelona - Teil 1 - YACHT: YACHT tv

Jean le Cam - Président • Barcelona World Race 2011

Regards

Paulo
 
#20 ·
This is the first sailing race I've tried to follow, and I was hoping someone might clue me in on a few points. Firstly, is there a version of the tracker in English? I can understand the current one (spanish?) well enough, but I'm sure I'm missing some nuances. Secondly, how is the ranking calculated? It seems that it isn't just which boat's closest point to the course rhumb line is furthest along. Lastly, and this relates very much to my previous question, what is the unit for the numbers that indicate how far each boat is trailing the leader? nm? km? minutes? Thanks.
 
#21 · (Edited)
Welcome. Not in English, but i can get you one in French:D

Seriously, they are very graphic and intuitive. Regarding the Spanish one, the main commands are the zoom (bottom right) the meteo (top right - on -off and then you have to choose the time: 6-12-18 or 24 h) and the cursor on the bottom on the middle. On that one you can pull the red arrow back and then, on the left click on the arrow and you can see the boats retracing the courses. You can adjust the speed on the left also.

http://tracking.barcelonaworldrace.org/

On the French one, the meteo (weather) is less visible but I find the classification, on the left bar more agreeable.

Jean le Cam - Président • Barcelona World Race 2011

The distances are measured in nautical miles.

The distances between the boats take into consideration the distance but also the wind forecast. For example, a boat can be nearer the final in distance but if it has ahead one or two days with weak winds can be behind another boat, that is further back (in distance) but has ahead one or two days with strong winds. I hope this confusing explanation makes some sense:rolleyes:

Anyway, most of the fun of following the race is to try to find the better course to take advantage of the wind. The better course is almost never the shorter. Things become more interesting when there are several options.

For example, if you have a look at the forecast at 12-18-24 hours you are going to see that there are a big hole without wind around the Canary Islands. That's why they are all going west, to get stronger winds and avoid the anti-cyclone. But than there will be some that will prefer to go more west to get more wind and others that will prefer less wind and a shorter distance, or to try a passage nearer the coast of Africa where in 24 hours the wind will be more steady.

That's the game and also a way to learn how to navigate at a "decent" scale:D

Regards

Paulo
 
#22 ·
Hey Marty, I have some interesting news regarding Alex Thompson. I heard on an TV Eurosport reportage about the race that he can be back on the boat and exchange places with its substitute, the moment he fells recovered.

A find a bit, or a lot:D strange that they haven't said anything about it on the site, but that's what the guys have said. God knows that Hugo Boss needs Alex.

That explains also why the substitute is so bad. Probably a good one would not accept that deal, I mean, beginning the race, just to be substituted when things are getting interesting.

Regards

Paulo
 
#23 ·
Paulo

I have not looked at the main site news, probably should. Then again, you probably see info sooner than me no matter how it is sliced. As I doubt too many NA folks are looking and watching this race. You probably get some info on the main news sources that I do not.

Just got home from work, about 6pm here, HB is still way behind. maybe they are going slow on purpose? hoping to get AT onboard before trying to get too far from shore? maybe in Portugal's south shore or east just out of the straight? Speculation on my part going with your report......

On another note, I get two tv programs from UK, Main Sail, and another..... typically on CNN europe? for main sail, and BBC for the other. Have you seen these shows local? May have to look on the recorded tv shows for the one I can not remember the name. Should record automatically next time it is on. MS is doing that.

Marty
 
#25 ·
...
On another note, I get two tv programs from UK, Main Sail, and another..... typically on CNN europe? for main sail, and BBC for the other. Have you seen these shows local? May have to look on the recorded tv shows for the one I can not remember the name. Should record automatically next time it is on. MS is doing that.
Not locally even if it was the Portuguese edition but on the main European Sports channel:

Consumer Site

They are not covering the race, like they are covering the Dakar (for instance) but they report on the news and other sports section.

Consumer Site

They are following it here, but till the moment only on the sailing news but I am sure that we will have a series about it.

They are turning South and for a change they say it all on the news:

"In fact things look pretty good especially for the two leaders. They can foresee some lighter breezes as they pass the Canaries well to the west of the island group, but for them the southbound autoroute to the doldrums, the tradewinds, is well established and they can look forward to some fast drag racing south.
....
In fact having established that none of their immediate rivals were going to try the African coast routing, Dick and Peyron have protected the west quite aggressively, sailing an angle slightly lower to maximise speed and close across the track of Foncia for sure.

As they approach the front this morning the conditions will be less than pleasant 23-25 knots and building seas.

In fact for the group of five who are further back up the track to the N, it will be even more bumpy and breezy. They are closer to the low pressure system and so for the likes of President, Neutrogena and GAES they could see closer to 30 at times with a swell from the NW. Indeed for all of this group, and the leaders they may choose to ease back a little and preserve their boats a bit.
Estrella Damm, Alex Pella and Pepe Ribes, are the quickest in the fleet just now, but ironically the way the angles work, DTF favouring making ground south, they are computed to have lost miles to the boat in front, Mirabaud. But their target is maximum speed west now."

Regards

Paulo
 
#24 ·
So how does one tell wind strength. Color for the main map is not working for me in comparison to what the scale says it should be. I see single arrow that is black or lighter, then blue with a single flag if you will to a double, then triple flags going to green.

The green triple flags to me says about 6-10'ish. But I am going on boat speeds in the 5-7 range, figuring the boats in these winds should be able to do 1-1.2knots boat speed to wind. Then again, it might be .8-1 knot b to w.

At least hugo at the moment is out of the med, doing 1knot VMG better than the rest of the fleet. so maybe with some wind, that crew will catch up, or the other fellow is back on, or the original #2 crew was steering.......oh the fun of guesing, swag'ing......

off to work with me!
 
#27 ·
So how does one tell wind strength. Color for the main map is not working for me in comparison to what the scale says it should be. I see single arrow that is black or lighter, then blue with a single flag if you will to a double, then triple flags going to green.

The green triple flags to me says about 6-10'ish. But I am going on boat speeds in the 5-7 range, figuring the boats in these winds should be able to do 1-1.2knots boat speed to wind. Then again, it might be .8-1 knot b to w.

At least hugo at the moment is out of the med, doing 1knot VMG better than the rest of the fleet. so maybe with some wind, that crew will catch up, or the other fellow is back on, or the original #2 crew was steering.......oh the fun of guesing, swag'ing......

off to work with me!
Marty,

They should be stressed out on that boat:D I guess that with medium to strong winds the boat speed potential (that is big) will make them faster than the older boats they have ahead, even if they have shown that they didn't deserve that boat.

About the colors I have no idea. They are just wrong and the arrows right (main arrow for direction, lateral sticks for strength , one 10k, two 20K and so on, half a stick 5K).

It seems that Hermitcrab is right, this one : Jean le Cam - Président • Barcelona World Race 2011
is better. More accurate and has weather forecast for 60 hours while the other has only for 24 hours.

Regards

Paulo
 
#28 ·
Thanks for updates. Will check out the other map link to see how much better etc. The actual language, ie spanish vs french really does not matter too much to me, since I can not read much of either! just hit buttons, see what shows or does not! oh such fun! hope I do not click into a virus or equal lololol

Now I understand the wind arrows. makes more sense now.

Here is a link to the CNN main sail show. Produced as a monthly TV magazine if you will.
Show Pages - MainSail - CNN.com

I'll see what I can do to find the other one, may take a bit until I see another show on BBC.

Marty
 
#29 · (Edited)
Hey guys,

IMO, Hauwell Studios produce the only really good tracker for ocean races. The one on the BWR site is actually the second best I've seen, but a distant second.

Looks like the leaders may fall into a wind hole and allow the back markers to catch up a little as the new wind may fill from north to south. From the website, it seems everyone is having more fun now. Light air is the hardest, physically and mentally.

hC

edit: Look at President go! Up to 5th!
 
#30 ·
Yes, Le Cam is overtaking slower boats, but he should be closer to the leaders. He just messed up on the first part of the race.

The ones that are surprising me are Alex/Ribes, the first Spanish on Estrella Damm. They have a recent boat (2007) but they are closing on the first two and that is amazing knowing who they are:D . Le professeur (Desjoineaux) is also closing on Dick. He have a race:)

Dick and Desjoineaux are going out of the weak wind and are going to speed away. The one that is on the best position to follow is Alex. That's why he is 3th notwithstanding the wavre boat (4th) being closer to the leaders. Great race for the Wavre family too (on an older boat).

http://tracking.barcelonaworldrace.org/

A certain symmetry - News - Barcelona World Race

Regards

Paulo
 
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