Golden Globe Race

[SV Kittiwake]

I know the guy is extremely experienced, but a telescopic alloy tilller seems a strange choice for that sort of voyage? A honking thick steel one maybe. Possibly a bit too keen on the weight saving? Not sure if he'll continue once he gets to Cape Town if he's completely out of the race? Seems like he was in it to win it and it's not like he's never sailed around the world before...

 

[Sandy]

I know the guy is extremely experienced, but a telescopic alloy tilller seems a strange choice for that sort of voyage? A honking thick steel one maybe. Possibly a bit too keen on the weight saving? Not sure if he'll continue once he gets to Cape Town if he's completely out of the race? Seems like he was in it to win it and it's not like he's never sailed around the world before...

Perhaps he was banking on the wind vane doing all the steering?

 

[SV Kittiwake]

Wasn't the wind vane connected to the tiller and what broke it?

 

[Sandy]

Wasn't the wind vane connected to the tiller and what broke it?

Not sure how his wind vane works. I am taking a good look at the Hydrovane at the boat show as I like the fact it is seperate from the boats steerage system.

 

[SV Kittiwake]

I thought he had a Beaufort wind vane that connects to the tiller.

 

[capnsensible]

Not sure how his wind vane works. I am taking a good look at the Hydrovane at the boat show as I like the fact it is seperate from the boats steerage system.

Hydrovane is Neptunes gift to sailors. Ours is called Robbie the Rudder.

 

[zoidberg]

Interesting that Philippe Peche - he of the broken tiller who was reduced to sailing at around 3 knots, to make for Cape Town - has for the past couple of days been heading east at 'hull speed', while Jean-Luc Van Den Heede, without a broken tiller AFAIK, ahead of him continues east at - for the past 2-3 days - a lesser speed which is not hull speed for those Rustlers.

WIHIH?

 

[Seven Spades]

Suzie Goodall is having problems with her boat apparently the chain plates have lifted 2mm above the deck which sounds ominous and she is not yet in the Southern Ocean.

 

[Motor_Sailor]

. . . and she is not yet in the Southern Ocean.

Yes the first skirmished with the southern ocean seems to have seen a fair number of casualties already.

 

[capnsensible]

Website is hard to get on this morning. Hope she gets something sorted out.

 

[Seven Spades]

I am really surprised as I thought that Rustlers were as tough as old boots. Most of the fleet are using the same boat including the oldest man in the race who is now over 900 miles ahead of his nearest competitor. I don't know if there are waypoints that restrict how far south these boats can go but my guess is that the only way someone is going to catch him, if his boat holds out, is by going farther south.

 

[Motor_Sailor]

. . . my guess is that the only way someone is going to catch him, . . . , is by going farther south.

There are a number of waypoints which prevent this.

 

[zoidberg]

There are a number of waypoints which prevent this.

In the longitudes where they are now, adjacent to South Africa, the limit imposed by the GGR people is 44° South Latitude. Further east in the Southern Ocean, that limit becomes 42° South Latitude. This is imposed due to the assessed risk of encounters with icebergs and, perhaps more dangerous, much smaller pieces of broken-off ice which can still knock a great big 'ole in one's front end.

Jean-Luc Van Den Heede, the leader by quite a few country miles, has stated his intention of steering broadly along the 40° South Parallel.


Edit:

I should have known better to rely on memory of a conversation.
Herezit....

"Race Route

The race course is an east-about circumnavigation starting and finishing in Les Sables-d’Olonne, France. Competitors will sail down the Atlantic from North to South leaving:

An inshore Canary Island mark (TBA) to starboard- a chance to interview the skippers as they sail past without stopping and for them to pass over films and letters.
Cape of Good Hope to port
Prince Edward Island to starboard
Crozet Islands to starboard
Kergulen Islands to starboard
45°S latitude to starboard. An imaginary line the entrants must not cross or face a time penalty. Race Control follows the satellite tracker.
Cape Leeuwin to port
To a Gate (TBA) in Storm Bay Tasmania. Entrants sail over a line and must drop sails and drift, or anchor for 90 minutes. Media, family and friends may then interview and chat without touching them and films and letters passed off the boats, but nothing goes onto the boats. Only after 90 minutes may they recross the line and continue on to Cape Horn. The clock does not stop.
Snares Islands to starboard.
Bounty Islands to starboard.
Waypoint 46°S, 174°W to starboard. An imaginary rounding mark.
46°S latitude to starboard until east of 115°W longitude. An imaginary line the entrants must not cross or face a time penalty. Race Control follows the satellite tracker.
Cape Horn to port
Sail up the Atlantic from South to North. Then to the Finish line (TBA)....."

 

[skua164]

44 S in the Indian and 46 S in the Pacific


Plus they have to stop & drift for 90 minutes Tasmania to hand over film. They also have to round an Island just off the South of New Zealand.

 

[Applespider]

In the longitudes where they are now, adjacent to South Africa, the limit imposed by the GGR people is 44° South Latitude. Further east in the Southern Ocean, that limit becomes 42° South Latitude. This is imposed due to the assessed risk of encounters with icebergs and, perhaps more dangerous, much smaller pieces of broken-off ice which can still knock a great big 'ole in one's front end.

Your memory was right. They amended the limit to 42° South because the entrants are there earlier than expected. The tracker now shows that limit between 40° E and 130°E

It's been interesting to watch the tactics. Susie was alongside Gregor and Are and not far behind Mark Slats a couple of week ago - but they tacked south and she tacked north (watching the weather fronts, I was willing her not to) with the result that she's been stuck with little wind for the last 2 weeks and Mark and Gregor are now several hundred miles in front. Admittedly, she avoided the storm that knocked Are out

 

[zoidberg]

Your memory was right. They amended the limit to 42° South because the entrants are there earlier than expected. The tracker now shows that limit between 40° E and 130°E

It's been interesting to watch the tactics. Susie was alongside Gregor and Are and not far behind Mark Slats a couple of week ago - but they tacked south and she tacked north (watching the weather fronts, I was willing her not to) with the result that she's been stuck with little wind for the last 2 weeks and Mark and Gregor are now several hundred miles in front. Admittedly, she avoided the storm that knocked Are out

Thanks for that. I now view every episode of seeming memory failure as a warning bell tolling of approaching dementia.

I, too, have wondered about Susie's tactics..... and I'm also wondering how she's sorting out the 'lifting chainplates' problem she reported. Also, J-L looks set for another week of warm favourable beam and quartering winds to help stretch his lead.

 

[PlankWalker]

Susie's Chainplates.
The standard chainplates on a R36 are 6x32x500mm bar with 4x 10mm bolts attached to webs that are glassed into the hull and deck, very unlikely that these will have moved.
The plates that Susie reported had lifted should not be attached to the chainplates but merely covers of 1.6mm plate with a 6x32 mm slot in, this slides over the chainplate and is masticked flat to the deck to cover a raged hole in the deck where the chainplates come through.
Why these plates have lifted I don't know, Susie shouldn't worry too much about them , but she will.

Plank

 

[Seven Spades]

What a stupid signature.

 

[zoidberg]

They amended the limit to 42° South because the entrants are there earlier than expected. The tracker now shows that limit between 40° E and 130°E

I seem unable to get 'that limit' to display on my iteration of the tracker. Could you describe what settings/button you use, to achieve that?

 

[Applespider]

Yes - on the toolbar at the top of the tracker, go to Overlays/Maps and click the third button that looks a little like an train interchange logo. That toggles on the waypoints and 'course'

There are some other useful ones up there - you can toggle on wind information (4th button, windsock), amend the length of the boat tracks (5th button) or switch to a different map/Navionics view (6th button, globe).

If you've got Windy on, a new control appears under the toolbar that lets you step ahead in the forecast (although doesn't move the boat positions).

The control on the bottom of the tracker lets you move back and forward in the race and watch what's happened - it's best to speed it up to virtually maximum (using the slider). If you take it back to early August, you can see the real shift in dynamics in the middle of the race since then.