Vendee Globe 2008-9

[King of Kailua]

Hells yah I love this race!

The Gitana Eighty is the first boat past the equator as of 21Nov08.

This race is no biggie. Just a bunch of folks single handling 45' sailing sleds non-stop around the world for 25,000 miles

Now on to the southern hemisphere

[redbike]

The middle link in your post is awesome.

You must know about Isabelle Autissier. I'll never forget about her lead in the first leg - across the Atlantic - of the 95-96 Around Alone race, where she took an unconventional course and beat her nearest competitor by 1,100 miles. Unfortunately she didn't finish because her boat suffered irreparable damage in a later leg.

[King of Kailua]

Yeah I remember her race. It was too bad about her vessel. I have a hard time conceptualizing doing this race / course alone with these speed sleds. The southern ocean must truly whip these guys. These boats are spooky because of the cantilevering keels and lack of any kind of a stern to speak of. If your boat capsizes, it ain't coming back over and you better be able to get out!

If I see any live coverage on tv, I may get all giddy, throw on my Henri Loyd's and bounce around the house like a mad man.

[King of Kailua]

Sounds like is was a stormy start to the race. The moon is a thin wax of a crescent now so visibility at night sucks. Dee reports she's been eating flying fish that jump on her boat.
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3C5Kv5zs4M[/YOUTUBE]