Friday 13 November will not be a lucky day for the skippers of the Vendée Globe 2020 (¹). They will have to negotiate the encounter with tropical storm "Theta" which crosses their course with average winds that can reach the 40 nodes and powerful bursts. Above all, the sea will be to be feared because, strongly crossed as they passed the centre of the low pressure system, Waves may exceed 6 meters and break in a chaotic way.
Satellite analysis + Fronts 12 November 0600 UTC
A safety routing will certainly be required by the majority because these are only the first days of the race, especially for the " foilers " who have not benefited from a long preparation. The next screening on Friday 13 on this morning's routing from the head of the fleet, should be followed by the majority of seafarers :
Position on routing on Friday 13. GFS weather on 12 November at 00:00 UTC
They are expected to pass to the west of the storm moving eastward to avoid the most difficult conditions. This reality that imposes itself on the water will not be perceived by Virtual Regatta players, whose trajectories will be able to take advantage of the strong winds of the storm to increase their score (²).
Real race routing versus Virtual Regatta game
That's the subtlety of routing, A very useful tool for the browser, but which must be analysed and confronted with the realities experienced. A guide not to be followed blindly. In the "race" routing above, A clearance point has been introduced into the calculation. In order to force routing to go wide around the center of the storm.
After this muscular episode, two or three days of respite before the Doldrums will allow the sailors to decompress a little, and the " foilers " to make the powder speak ! As for the players, They will have little strategic option to make the difference.
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(¹) Météo Ouest-France – Vendée Globe 12/11/2020
(²) Météo Ouest-France – Vendée Globe – Virtual Regatta 12/11/2020
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