32 days ago 33 sailors left France in the VENDÉE GLOBE Round the World Race. All the boats have now passed the Cape of Good Hope and are in the Southern Ocean. The lead boat, skippered by Charlie Dalin, has covered almost 11,000 nautical miles with 13,700 to go. The leaders are now almost off the south coast of Australia. Close behind Dalin are 4 boats within 200 miles.
6 of the boats are out of the race. One boat dismasted, one retired with a damaged rudder, one lost all his Navigation electronics, one with keel damage and one hit a 30 foot wave at 27 knots, broke the boat and sank. The skipper, Kevin Escoffier was rescued by another racer, John Le Cam, and eventually transferred to a French Warship. Here are the retired boats of Alex Thomson and Samantha Davies tied up in Capetown.
One amazing story is that of Jeremie Beyou, on CHARAL. On the first day of the race his boat was damaged and returned to France for repairs. 5 days later he restarted. He was 1000 miles behind the fleet. In the past day, near Capetown, he caught up and has passed two boats.
It’s an epic race, an amazing test of the boats and the sailors.
Twenty days of sailing in the 2020 Vendée Globe Solo Round the World Race so far and in the past few days there have been some big stories.
Race favourite, Alex Thomson, on HUGO BOSS, had some structural damage to the bow of the boat. He spent a couple of days repairing the damage whilst falling from first to 11th. Then in the middle of the night he hit something and broke one of the rudders. He has given up and is proceeding to Capetown. Big disappointment for him.
In the lead is Charlie Dalin on APIVIA. he is still some 500 miles west of Capetown and leading by 250 miles. Close in 2nd, 3rd & 4th are Thomas Ruyant on LINKED OUT, Kevin Escoffier on PRB and John Le Cam on YES WE CAM. they are within 25 miles of each other. These lead boats are making about 20 knots.
The boats sailed down the east coast of South America and are now crossing over and will pass to the south of Capetown. Only 18,000 nautical miles to go. Only.
Here is a report from Samantha Davies on board INITIATIVES COEUR , one of six women in the race. She is currently in 11th place.
“My feeling was correct as rapidly I encountered the first big gust – 40 knots of wind. The sea state has built. When the breeze goes from 25 to 40 in the middle of the night for the first time, you get caught by a big surprise! So a little “wipe out” (thank goodness the A7 was already furled!) and Initiatives Coeur lay flat on her side with a nice cold wave breaking over her!
Ease all the sheets and back on our feet (that too is a scary maneuver as you have to bear away but not too far so as to avoid a Chinese Gybe on the way out!)
So then the tricky bit is to find a trim and sail set-up for 22 to 42 knots of wind speed! That’s not easy, when you are sailing solo and you need to rest a little and not stay all night in the cockpit with the sheets in your (cold) hands! It’s a frustrating compromise with a lot of time “down speed” and other heart-palpitating moments of extreme acceleration down waves with a little too much wind.
Inevitably, I did a few more little wipeouts, but the night is over, nothing is broken and the average
wind speed is starting to drop… later I should be able to deploy a bigger sail and get going a bit faster. The albatrosses that are gliding around in my wake are having fun! In the meantime, I am going to put a thicker pair of socks on because my feet are blocks of ice!
It is the 10th day of the Vendée Globe Race and Alex Thomson on HUGO BOSS is the first to cross the Equator. He is in the lead by 70 nautical miles. At the back of the pack is Fabrice Amedeo, 1760 miles behind the leader.
Yesterday, Jérémie Beyou on CHARAL, restarted the race from France after completing major repairs. He is 2839 miles behind. It will be a long lonely trip for him.
Seven days ago 33 high tech sailboats began the Vendée Globe Around the World Sailing Race. Already the lead boats are off the coast of Africa sailing in good winds and warm weather. Englishman Alex Thomson on HUGO BOSS is in the lead making speeds of over 20 knots. He sailed over 380 nautical miles in 24 hours. Chasing him in second place is Frenchman Jean Le Cam on YES WE CAM.
Late in the week the boats made it through a pretty serious storm. The Japanese boat tore its mainsail and the skipper is trying to make repairs to it now. With warmer weather the sailors are getting some sun, enjoying a good meal, showering, and making repairs to the gear as needed. With the wind behind them live is easier. One skipper reported that he slept for seven hours last night. That’s the beauty of a good autopilot.
Jérémie Beyou on CHARAL is back in Les Sables d’Olonne surveying the serious damage to his boat and decoding if it can be fixed fast enough to rejoin the race. He is a week behind the fleet so it’s unlikely he will restart.
Here is an interesting article about a husband and wife who are competing in this race.
One week of sailing. One week of adventure. Only 22,400 nautical miles to go.
White Spot have been hyping their new BRISKET BURGER and last week I had a chance to try one. I love brisket and I love burgers. What could be the downside?
Well, the price for starters. $18.99 for a burger and some fries is a little steep even if it’s great. The Brisket Burger was good but not any better than a White Spot Legendary. My advice. Give it a pass. If you really want brisket try the Texas BBQ truck on the Coombs Highway or Smokin George’s BBQ joint on Mostar Road in Nanaimo.
And they are off! On Sunday, 33 skippers including 6 women started the 2020 Vendée Globe AROUND THE WORLD sailing race. Singlehanded. No stops allowed. 24,000 nautical miles. The boats left the French Coastal town of Les Sables d’Olonne under light winds. By late afternoon the lead boat, CHARAL with skipper Jeremie Beyou, was making 27 knots followed by Charlie Dalin on APIVIA in second with Briton Alex Thomson gradually winding up the potent HUGO BOSS in third.
Quite a start for a race expected to take 2 1/2 months. Already one boat had to return to port for rigging repair while another crossed the start line early and received a 5 hour penalty.
These are very high tech high speed 60 foot racing sleds capable of running at 30 knots for several hours. It will be an amazing test of equipment and skippers.
You can follow the race on the Vendée Globe App or at
On Monday, November 8, the 2020 edition of the VENDEE GLOBE Around The World sailing race begins from the French town of Les Sables d’Olonne. This race is the Holy Grail of Solo Sailors. 33 boats are registered for the race that will sail down the Atlantic, around the Cape of Good Hope, across the Southern Ocean passing south of Australia, rounding Cape Horn, then climbing up the Atlantic back to France. The course is 40,000 kilometres and will take the fastest boats about 75 days to complete.
The current record dates back to 2016-17 and is held by the Breton Armel Le Céac’h, who completed the 24,000 nautical miles (over 44,400 kilometres) in 74 days, 3 hours, 35 minutes and 46 seconds, after an interminable battle with the Brit Alex Thomson, who secured the second spot.
Most of the skippers are French but there are four Brits, one Italian, one Swiss, one Japanese, one German, one Fin, and one Spaniard. 6 of the sailors are women
The boats are high tech sailing machines, 60 feet long, weighing 9 tones, and capable of maintaining 30 Knot speeds for extended periods of time.
Single handed! No Stops! This race is Epic. If you are interested in following the race you can download the VENDEE GLOBE 2020 App from the App Store for free. I will post regular updates on this Blog which interested parties may enjoy. Here is one of the boats.
Our good friend Paul is a Fish & Chips aficionado. In fact, a few summers ago in our boating days he rated all the boat accessible Fish & Chip joints around the Gulf Islands. He considered quality of the fish, the batter, the chips, tarter sauce and cole slaw. He knows good Fish & Chips, so when he recommended The SHIP AND SHORE RESTAURANT in Deep Bay, I knew we had to try it.
Today was a beautiful warm sunny September day, perfect for the 35 minute drive from FRENCH CREEK to DEEP BAY on the old Island Highway.
We had made a reservation and were promptly seated on the patio overlooking the marina. We didn’t need to peruse the menu as we knew what to order. One piece Halibut & Chips for my favourite girl and two piece Cod & Chips for me. Was it good? Absolutely. Very crispy batter, good fries and tasty coleslaw.
The service was very efficient and very friendly too.
If you love Fish & Chips, you must try the Ship & Shore. Check out their menu here.
Who doesn’t like a great hamburger? I love burgers and there are lots of choices in the PARKSVILLE Qualicum Beach area. Of course most Restaurants and Pubs have them as do the big chain Burger Joints. Some are good, some not so good.
Today, finally I tried PAPA’S BURGERS in PARKSVILLE. Went to their drive thru window and ordered a Deluxe Cheeseburger. $9. The young lady said, park out back and they did.
Cooked from scratch apparently and it showed. Perfectly cooked beef, with Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Red onion, & Pickle all contained within a very nice bun. It was absolutely delicious. Like a home made burger.
Papa’s does 11 kinds of burgers including Vegan (yikes). They also serve up Home Cut Fries, Hot Dogs, Chicken Strips, and Fish & Chips, both Halibut and Cod. If you are thirsty a variety of soft drinks are offered along with MILK SHAKES!
Craving a great Burger? You must give PaPa’s a try. You will find them at 487 E. Island Highway in PARKSVILLE just across the road from Tim Horton’s. Open Tuesday thru Saturday! They have a few tables so you can eat in or
drive thru or take out.
You can order ahead at 250-586-3743. Check out the menu here:
As the world reopens as the pandemic subsides, the Pub Lunch is back. The Shady Rest Pub in Qualicum Beach has been open for a couple of weeks and seems to be thriving. We are still waiting for the Lantzville Pub, which is undergoing renovations. Might be open by July 20.
Today I met my old friend, Beast, at the Rocking Horse Pub on Northwest Bay Road. Our server told us they had been very busy since reopening. As per the new rules, the tables are well spaced to ensure correct social distancing and the garden patio is open too.
They seem to be offering the full menu and always have daily specials. One of today’s was a Ham & Cheese on Rye served with Salad, Fries, or soup. We opted for the special and it was a good choice. Really good sandwich.
Sunday nights is Traditional ROAST BEEF Dinner and Friday nights they serve up PRIME RIB dinner. Call for a reservation for those nights.
If you’ve not been to the Rocking Horse, please give it a try. Traditional British Pub atmosphere in a country setting. Lots of free parking.They do a Wednesday night Open Mike Music night weekly and often have stand up Comedy. Check the website, rockinghorsepub.ca
MURPH..Just Saying. 