While, this morning of the 9th day, Hugo Boss at the top of the Vendée globe 2020 finishes crossing the "Doldrums" at a slow trot(¹), followed by the fleet of competitors stretching out behind him to the north of the Cape Verde Islands, it's a whole different score that the game leaders play Virtual Regatta.
Alex Thomson topped the Doldrums. Head for 197 ° on the most logical routing this morning of 18 November.
The top three in the game chose a route no browser would have taken. They may not be, but on the contrary I suspect them to be experienced players.
The most logical route is to reach the Cape of Good Hope bypassing the Saint Helena high, whose winds blow in an anti-clockwise direction (Southern Hemisphere requires). It is therefore generally necessary to descend very far to the south to find the trains of depressions which circulate, with favorable downwind winds to the east. Knowing that the downhill road to the south can take a good week, it is difficult to predict the exact position of the southwest edge of this high, who has the bad habit of traveling frequently during the southern summer.
Predicted position of the Saint Helena high pressure 25 November.
On the side of Virtual Regatta, two radically different options present themselves. The big pack of players more or less grouped together on the same route as the real skippers, and the small clan of leading players who are trying the option along the African coast. Looking at the routings today, it is not impossible that the strategy of the latter is winning. We won't know until we pass the Cape.
The two-week forecast is quite uncertain, but the bet could pay off…
What to take care of for the next few days !
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(¹) Zcit : Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone
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See previous episodes :
Routing : from game to reality
Routing : from game to reality (continue)
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Thank you very much for this article. For a long time I just regret the impossibility of defining an exclusion zone, do you know if this option is under study ?
She is more than studying, it is planned for a next version.
Thank you Francis for your analyzes, guesswork and different patterns.
Beautiful W4 D !
Xavier for AIP