Golden Globe Race

[zoidberg]

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'

Ah! Got it now, thanks. That, and the adjacent Day/Night, were greyed-out on my presentation. I'd ignored them.....

I have all the rest.

Gregor seems to be 'motoring' now, at 8.4 knots reported. Who makes his sails, I wonder.... http://www.ybw.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.png

 

[SV Kittiwake]

Sounds like all three boats with Beaufort wind vanes have now dropped out because of problems with their wind vane. Shame, as it looks like a nice piece of equipment. Guess marketing through these events is risky?

 

[zoidberg]

...... dropped out because of problems with their wind vane.

There comes a point, not long after the longitude of Cape Town, where dropping out due to 'wind vane steering failure' is not an option any more. The only option is to continue. What then?

Quite a number of Jesters are well-versed in the arcane art of 'sheet-to-tiller' steering.....

 

[capnsensible]

Is it me or has the windy overlay gone awol?

 

[Motor_Sailor]

Is it me or has the windy overlay gone awol?

Mine's ok.

 

[zoidberg]

'Twas gorn a couple of days, and now seems to be restored to its former glory.

Question for those wot know better..... Is this the best source of easily-understood wind/waves/cloud forecasting using GRIB files?

 

[capnsensible]

Yeah, got it back after about a two day leave period.

 

[zoidberg]

It looks like Cape Town is proving, for some, a more interesting place to stop for a beer and a rethink than Hobart.

Also, the bipole jury rig - sheerlegs from a pair of spinnaker poles - is again proving a popular and effective option. Who's is the first recorded use.... David Lewis, perhaps, or Bill King?

 

[SV Kittiwake]

There comes a point, not long after the longitude of Cape Town, where dropping out due to 'wind vane steering failure' is not an option any more. The only option is to continue. What then?

Quite a number of Jesters are well-versed in the arcane art of 'sheet-to-tiller' steering.....

Would sheet to tiller work downwind in the southern ocean's big seas? The guy doing the figure eight voyage lost steering in the southern ocean I think and opted for handsteer then heave to for rest. I guess that's the default option down there? Would be hard graft though.

 

[zoidberg]

Rather a lot of speculative guessing here - https://goldengloberace.com/whats-going-on/ - by Don McIntyre. Could be he's right on a couple of points.....

The attrition rate is, as D McI suggests, surprisingly high. Perhaps, given the long history of boat-breaking storms in this region, we shouldn't be surprised. And yes, Are Wiig has pulled off an exemplary display of fine seamanship in getting himself out of trouble.

"ARE WIIG became a headline banner for honest seamanship. Strong as an OX, he and his boat took a fall! It shocked us all. It was ARE. No way, Not ARE. But that is the way of the sea. Without realizing, ARE became a headline banner for the SPIRIT of the Golden Globe. He sailed himself home. We were all proud. He praised the GGR regulations and the GGR family. It is a story for all sailors yet to be told, but it will be."

 

[dunedin]

The attrition rate is, as D McI suggests, surprisingly high. Perhaps, given the long history of boat-breaking storms in this region, we shouldn't be surprised.

It will be interesting to see how the attrition rate compares to modern boats doing this same route - eg the Vendee Globe, where the last race had 18 finishers vs 11 retirals.
Many have hypothesised that older boats with heavier builds, long keels and manual systems such as wind vane steering are needed for reliable blue water sailing.
So presumably they would expect a lower proportion of retirals due to gear and boat failures with heavy Rustlers etc, rather than modern boats, with wide sterns (possibly twin wheels or tillers), built down to minimum weight with complex swinging keels, foils, carbon rigs and electronic autopilots, and bashing through these waters at 4 times the speed.

 

[GHA]

It will be interesting to see how the attrition rate compares to modern boats doing this same route - eg the Vendee Globe, where the last race had 18 finishers vs 11 retirals.
Many have hypothesised that older boats with heavier builds, long keels and manual systems such as wind vane steering are needed for reliable blue water sailing.
So presumably they would expect a lower proportion of retirals due to gear and boat failures with heavy Rustlers etc, rather than modern boats, with wide sterns (possibly twin wheels or tillers), built down to minimum weight with complex swinging keels, foils, carbon rigs and electronic autopilots, and bashing through these waters at 4 times the speed.

Any way at all you can compare much larger boats designed purely for one thing bristling with modern electronics and the best weather forecasting and computer route options available against older production boats looking at a barometer?

Those leaving so far have been for personal/health reasons and/or broken windvanes (all the same model?) , bar one feat of seamanship after getting rolled.





Ertan Beskardes Retired on 5/7/2018, put in to A Coruña. Did not wish to continue due to inability to communicate with family.
Australia Kevin Farebrother Retired on 15/7/2018, 'disillusioned by solo sailing and lack of sleep'.
State of Palestine Nabil Amra Retired on 17/7/2018 due to broken windvane, put in to Tenerife.
France Antoine Cousot Retired on 24/8/2018 due to broken windvane and injuries.
France Philippe Péché Retired on 25/8/2018 due to broken windvane, put in to Cape Town.
Norway Are Wiig Retired on 27/8/2018 after capsizing and dismasting while repairing his windvane.

 

[dgadee]

Looks like an awful lot of tubing on those Beaufort gears.

 

[zoidberg]

Mark Slats with a problem? He appears to have stopped..... Maybe it's just a wind hole and he'll get a stoncking northerly any minute now.....

Meanwhile, Jean-Luc just marches on.

 

[SV Kittiwake]

Mark Slats with a problem? He appears to have stopped..... Maybe it's just a wind hole and he'll get a stoncking northerly any minute now.....

Meanwhile, Jean-Luc just marches on.

Looks like a windhole, the twitter account said that the wind went from 40 knots to zero knots in 5 minutes. Looks like a change of wind system. VDH is in a great position, looks like favourable winds for the near future where he is.

 

[zoidberg]

VDH is in a great position, looks like favourable winds for the near future where he is.

Why am I reminded of that famous quote, attributed by some to golfer Arnold Palmer - "The harder I practice, the luckier I get...."

 

[zoidberg]

With the pitstop of Hobart still a couple of long weeks away, I'm sure Jean-Luc VDH peers at the chart of Isle St-Paul just to the north, and wonders about going to have a look.

I know I'd be tempted...

 

[zoidberg]

Today it looks like Jean-Luc VDH is about 1100 miles ahead of the next bunch. He must be doing something right!

And 'Golden Girl' Susie seems to being stalked by Istvan and Tapio, creeping up behind her.....

 

[zoidberg]

"Behind you, Susie! Behind you...!"

 

[capnsensible]

The work those people are doing to keep going is humbling.