Vendee Globe update, Women's Match Racing World Championship results, US Sailing and SailGP news
by David Schmidt 11 Dec 2024 03:00 AEDT
December 10, 2024
Yoann Richomme on PAPREC ARKÉA - 2024 Vendée Globe © Eloi Stichelbaut / Polaryse
A week doesn't seem like a big amount of time, but, when placed in the context of the singlehanded around-the-world Vendée Globe Race, it can translate into some serious velocity made good. This last week is a great example, as the race leader, Charlie Dalin, sailing aboard the IMOCA 60 Macif Sante Prevoyance, had recently passed the Cape of Good Hope and was preparing for a serious storm just seven days ago. Now, Dalin has passed Australia's Cape Leeuwin - the second of the three great capes that the race passes - and (at the time of this writing, Monday morning, U.S. West Coast time) was averaging about 16 knots of VMG.
Impressively, Dalin sailed from the race's starting line off of Les Sables-d'Olonne, France to Cape Leeuwin in just 29 days, 2 hours, 10 minutes and 59 seconds, which is within 6 hours of the record time posted by skipper Armel Le Cléac'h in the 2016 Vendée Globe.
While Dalin enjoys a lead of around 155 nautical miles over Sébastien Simon, sailing aboard Groupe Dubreuil, odds are good that the fleet's top three (add Yoann Richomme, racing aboard Paprec Arkea to this list) will have passed Cape Leeuwin within the next 24 hours.
In fact, Simon and Richomme are starting to earn back some of the miles that Dalin gained on his rivals in recent days and have posted much quicker 24-hour results than the race leader.
As the saying goes, the crown weighs heavy, especially when there's better breeze astern.
Farther back in the fleet, this last week's storm proved to be a powerful training ground for some of the race's first-time skippers.
"The depression we hit south of South Africa calmed us all down, us little Vendée Globe rookies," said skipper Benjamin Ferré, who is racing aboard Monnoyeur - Duo for a Job, who is currently sitting in 26th place in this 38-strong fleet, in an official race communication.
"We wanted to take the shortest route, follow the great circle, but we got hit with 50 knots," continued Ferré. "Tanguy [Le Turquais] broke his battens, Violette [Dorange] had a scare and I filled the boat with a wave. Since then, we've all gotten back in line!"
Sail-World wishes these brave sailors fast sailing as they push their way east around our lonely planet.
Meanwhile, much closer to shore, the 2024 Women's Match Racing World Championship recently concluded on the waters of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. After 21 races, the French-flagged Normandy Elite Team (Pauline Courtois, Maëlenn Lemaitre, Louise Acker, Sophie Faguet, and Laurane Mettraux) posted 21 wins to take home top honors.
The Normandy Elite Team were joined on the winner's podium by the Kiwi-flagged Team 2.0 (Megan Thomson, Charlotte Porter, Josefin Andres, Anna Merchant, and Tiana Wittey), who took second place, and Team Wings (Anna Östling, Linnea Wennergren, Annie Wennergren, Annika Carlunger, and Anna White Holmdal), who finished in third place.
"Another great day of close racing in perfect Jeddah conditions!" said Thomson. "We always seem to take it to five races against Anna, but we're stoked to have made it to the finals against Pauline. Pauline made no errors in the final for a well-deserved win!".
And in American waters, the US Sailing's Youth and Olympic development Programs have been logging some hours ahead of the holidays in the form of three training camps that involved more than 200 sailors, 32 US Saling coaches, 22 regional coaches, plus US Sailing brass.
Olympic-focused sailors took to the waters off of the US Sailing Center, in Miami, Florida, for the US Sailing Olympic Development Program Camp 1, which took place from November 23-27, while the bicoastal Youth Thanksgiving Racing Camp took place at both the Miami Yacht Club, in Miami, Florida (November 23-26), and at the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club, in Long Beach, California (November 25-27).
"This was our first official ODP camp of the new LA2028 quad, and we're off to an excellent start," said Rosie Chapman, Olympic Development Director, in an official US Sailing communication about the ODP Camp 1 event. "We're getting the right resources paired with hardworking sailors to create a holistic, full-time training oasis when athletes are on the ground with us.
"Each day we prioritize sailing and adjust the schedule to capitalize on the best breeze, but we also build in time for the gym, enrichment presentations from specialists, land drills and briefings, and recovery sessions with our physiotherapists," Chapman continued.
This included an off-the-record panel discussion with former Olympians Stephanie Roble, Stu McNay, David Liebenberg, Lara Dallman-Weiss, and Maggie Shea.
Meanwhile, the Miami Youth Thanksgiving Racing Camp attracted 120 sailors, and another 45 attended the West Coast camp.
"The future of our youth program is in collaboration with college sailing, professional sailing, and Olympic class sailing," said Phil Muller, US Sailing's Youth Performance Manager, also in an official communication. "The message to our youth is consistent from every arena: become a great teammate to be part of a great team."
Sail-World has our fingers crossed that coaching and development early in the Olympic quadrennial will help the U.S.-flagged team start earning gold medals again soon.
Speaking of training camps, SailGP recently hosted their first Women's Performance Camp (November 25-26) in Dubai's Port Mina Rashid, following the Season 5's first event, which also took place in Dubai (November 23-24).
"The SailGP Women's Performance Camp, delivered by DP World, was the perfect way to kick off the 2025 season, bringing fresh energy and momentum to our vision of changing the face of sailing," said Fiona Morgan, SailGP's Chief Purpose Officer, in an official report. "This camp marks an important step forward in SailGP's commitment to achieving greater gender equity in the sport. To make this a reality, we must continue to deliver on-water training programs, which presents unique operational challenges but with huge rewards."
Finally, if you find yourself wishing for some warm-weather sailing on this December day, check out the multi-media report from the 36th Phuket King's Cup (November 30-December 6), which just concluded on the waters off of Chon Buri, Thailand.
May the four winds blow you safely home,
David Schmidt
Sail-World.com North American Editor