On the morning of 13 November, the middle of the North Atlantic glowed a deep magenta on the weather maps. Some 200 miles south of the Azores, around 470 miles north-east of the Canaries, and bang in the way of the Vendée Globe fleet, tropical Storm Theta was deepening, with 45-50 knot winds whipping up the grey waves.
Avid Vendée Globe followers, overlaying the race tracker with the forecast, couldn’t help but notice the hot pink icon of Hugo Boss pointing directly at the swirling arrows and dark crimson that indicated the centre of the storm. Just a week after the fleet had left from Les Sables d’Olonne, would this be a defining moment in the 24,200-mile race?
Nothing about the beginning of this year’s Vendée Globe was as might have been expected, even for an event as unpredictable as this one. Shortly before start day on 8 November, France went back into lockdown. The Vendée Globe village drew down the shutters, and strict rules against public gatherings forbade spectators even from cheering the 33 competitors from afar along the walls of the famous channel. Armed police stood silent guard instead. Les Sables d’Olonne did its best to rouse an atmosphere, with indefatigable fans balanced on garden gates, banging saucepans out of balconies and blasting ships horns to show their appreciation instead.
NOT NORMALLY LIKE THIS
Then there was the weather. “The best way to describe it is that this year was all about the Azores Low, instead of the Azores High,” said navigator and racing router Wouter Verbraak. “Where you normally had a high pressure system, now there was a low pressure system in the same position. So you couldn’t be further upside down from a normal situation.”
この記事は Yachting World の January 2021 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Yachting World の January 2021 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
wallywind 110 launches
The first example of Wally Yacht's new wallywind performance cruising range launched this summer, during the iconic Italian brand's 30th anniversary year - and in time for its debut at the Monaco Yacht Show in September.
Irish skipper wins Figaro
Irish solo skipper Tom Dolan took a historic victory in this year's La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec, winning the solo multistage offshore race overall only the third non-French competitor ever to do so.
Youth AC puts on a show
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli's team won the UniCredit Youth America's Cup after a highly absorbing series comprising 12 international teams racing the one-design AC40s off Barcelona.
ATLANTIC BEYOND
SAILING THE SECOND EXPLORATION 60 ON A WEST-TO-EAST ATLANTIC CROSSING WAS IDEAL FOR A RIGOROUS TEST OF GARCIA'S NEW NOWHERE YOU CAN'T GO FLAGSHIP
UNCONTROLLED
HELPLESSLY APPROACHING AN UNINHABITED ISLAND IN THE GALAPAGOS WITHOUT ENGINE OR ELECTRONICS, JON VAN TAMELEN FEARED BEING IMMINENTLY SHIPWRECKED
SECRET ISLAND
BEYOND THE FORBIDDING ENTRY RULES OF TAIWAN IS A CULTURE RICH IN SEAFARING HISTORY AND STUNNING LANDSCAPES, FINDS CAMERON DUECK
LAND OF THE BIRDS
SKIP NOVAK DESCRIBES THE PERILS, CHALLENGES AND JOYS OF A CRITICAL EXPEDITION VOAYGE TO SURVEY SOUTH GEORGIA'S ENDANGERED WANDERING ALBATROSS
FIRST STEPS TO BLUEWATER
YOU CAN GET INTO WORLD CRUISING FROM A STANDING START AND EXPERIENCE THINGS NO OTHER TRAVELLERS DO. CATHERINE LAWSON AND DAVID BRISTOW TALK TO FOUR COUPLES WHO PROVE IT
HARD CHOICES
IN AN EXCLUSIVE EXTRACT FROM HER NEW BOOK, PIP HARE REVEALS WHAT DROVE HER ON WHILE RACING THROUGH THE SOUTHERN OCEAN IN THE 2020 VENDÉE GLOBE.
INTO BATTLE
COULD THIS BE THE MOST COMPETITIVE VENDÉE GLOBE EVER? HELEN FRETTER FINDS OUT WHAT THE SKIPPERS WILL BE FACING.