November Preview
October 29 - Europe
Across the pond, three major events get
underway next month. We'll have more on all of these in both
'Lectronic Latitude and the December issue of Latitude
38. (The November issue, incidentally, hits the streets
today.) Here's a quick preview of each in the order they will
occur.
Jean Le Cam's Bonduelle practices in the Bay of Biscay.
Imagine doing this alone on a 60-ft boat 24/7 for weeks on end.
On November 7, the Vendée Globe
Race starts from Les Sables d'Olonne on the south coast of France.
Twenty high-tech 60-ft boats and their intrepid skippers will
battle the elements, each other, and their own exhaustion to
complete the world's premier, nonstop singlehanded race around
the globe. Among them is the only American, Alameda's Bruce Schwab
sailing the Wylie-designed Open 60 Ocean Planet. With nine days to go until the start, high
winds and huge seas in the Bay of Biscay kept the fleet in port
for the third straight day. That was just fine with the huge
crowds which visit daily. This may be the biggest event in Les
Sables of the year and they do it up right, complete with a Ferris
wheel and Disneyland-like atmosphere. Quite a contrast to the
solitary existence these 18 men and two women will feel for the
next three months. See www.vendeeglobe.fr/uk/ for more.
Huge crowds have been visiting the Vendée Village, and
yachts, in Les Sables D'Olonne.
Photos Courtesy Vendée Globe
Ellen MacArthur is on schedule to do what
no woman has ever attempted and only one man has accomplished
- sail a 75-ft multihull around the world nonstop in record time.
Unlike Francis Joyon, who amazed the world by accomplishing
this feat only a year ago aboard an old boat, Ellen has big-time
backing and a thoroughly prepared trimaran, both courtesy retailer
B&Q. The reigning queen of British sailing plans to go on
standby in Falmouth around mid-November, and then wait for her
weather routers to give her the green light. She'll start off
Ushant, using the same line as the Jules Verne course (although
this would not be a counting Jules Verne attempt). The current
record, set by Joyon, is 72 days, 22 hours, 54 minutes. See www.teamellen.com.
As mentioned in the last
'Lectronic, some 205 boats are signed up to do the Atlantic
Rally for Cruisers, which departs the Canary Islands on November
21 and ends in St. Lucia in mid-December. So far, 24 nations
are represented in the 2,700-mile event, with the majority being
Brits (43%), followed by Germans (14%). The U.S., Netherlands,
Norway, Italy and France are also making good showings. The average
size of an ARC yacht these days is 47 feet. See www.worldcruising.com/arc/english.htm.
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