Golden Globe Race

[Seven Spades]

I would love to know what VDH is doing that has put him so far ahead. The race seems to have separated into three groups but they are not separated by boat model. Is VDH an old fox or has he just benifited from “The rich get richer” syndrome?

 

[zoidberg]

There are many adages that may fit, but one in particular comes to mind - "He who makes the fewest mistakes wins."

VDH very deliberately reduced the size, weight and complexity of his rig, reasoning from experience that he'd spent far more of his time, on his previous circumnavigations, with at least one reef in.... compared with using full sail. And a smaller rig is far less liable to failure.

He ensured all his working sails could be managed from the cockpit, avoiding the many time-consuming and exhausting trips to the foredeck to change headsails. He tested and re-tested all his systems on the water during the previous winter until they were simply reliable. He employed the 'KISS' principle...

Freed from much unhelpful drudgery, he could concentrate his energy on route decision-making and sailing the boat closer to its potential than others.

Now, on the 'rolling road' that is the Cape to Tassie leg, he's chosen a latitude and is tracking down it. Others are gybing here, tacking there, and sailing further. VDH is 1100 miles ahead.

But perhaps that's all due to luck....
http://www.ybw.com/forums/images/smilies/rolleyes.png

 

[zoidberg]

Interesting watching the track of Mark Sinclair, who seems to have gone 'sightseeing' along the Eastern Cape coast. His last position and 'tail' shows him slowly making way SE'ly at 1.7 knots, from Cape St Blaize at Mossel Bai.

That's a perfectly sound headland from which to take a Departure ( trad nav ), but I do hope he's not mistaking that headland for several similar ones, including Cape Seal, Cape St Francis and Cape Recife.

And those waters, close inshore, are turbulent, shoal and with complex counter-currents. Not a good place to be hanging about....

 

[Hacker]

I suspect he was trying to cross the Aghulas current, but wind was against tide. So he turned back

 

[GHA]

I suspect he was trying to cross the Aghulas current, but wind was against tide. So he turned back

Also the shelf extends far out to sea until further up the coast.

 

[zoidberg]

I'm a little concerned that Marc Sinclair is at risk of becoming embayed. He's heading quite close inshore now, probably trying to find a favourable slant, and a peek at 'raw' Windy/Currents and Windy/Swell - which he will not have access to - show that both are pushing him inshore. Add to that a light and fickle head wind, and he could readily find himself, like many ships' masters before him, out of options on an ironbound coast.

It's night there, now. Not many lights. And if the wind dies, as it does....

 

[GHA]

I'm a little concerned that Marc Sinclair is at risk of becoming embayed. He's heading quite close inshore now, probably trying to find a favourable slant, and a peek at 'raw' Windy/Currents and Windy/Swell - which he will not have access to - show that both are pushing him inshore. Add to that a light and fickle head wind, and he could readily find himself, like many ships' masters before him, out of options on an ironbound coast. It's night there, now. Not many lights. And if the wind dies, as it does....

He knows more being there than we do sitting at home warm and dry... Sounds like he's trying to pick up a counter current closer in and waiting for better wind to get across the aghulas current. Plus the Aghulas follows the 1000m shelf contour and gets narrower which is closer further east. https://soundcloud.com/goldengloberace/mark-sinclair-safety-satellite-call-180918

 

[Yellow Ballad]

What's the craic with Susie? Seems to have turned west this morning?

 

[Kukri]

Not on my PC...

I feel one is watching other people's vane gears in a demolition derby...

 

[capnsensible]

Not on my PC...

I feel one is watching other people's vane gears in a demolition derby...

Try putting your cursor on her boat. Click will centre it on the screen. Then zoom to say, +5. looks like a tracker glitch to me.

Ive got a Hydrovane. Im helping my next door neighbour fit an Atoms. Know which Id rather have.....:nonchalance:

 

[Kukri]

I see what you mean. I agree - that's got to be a glitch.

I'm in the market for a vane; at the moment I am dithering between Monitor and Hydrovane. SIBS here we come. The boat's characteristics under way lead me in a Monitor direction, but we'll see.

 

[zoidberg]

Reports coming in that McGuckin is dismasted and Tomy is injured. A monster of a storm has just rolled over them - and/or rolled them over - and the violence of the 'pyramidal' cross-seas must have been beyond description.

The preceding storm-sector had sustained winds of over 50 knots, from the north. The following sector, shown, had similar sustained winds, from the south.

There's a barren island to the NNE. This one....

 

[capnsensible]

Flippin eck, I was loking at that this morning thinking its gonna get a tad bumpy....

Fingers crossed for them.

 

[capnsensible]

Press release here:

https://goldengloberace.com/day-82-breaking-news/

 

[Applespider]

It's been a dramatic 24 hours in the GGR. 4 knockdowns - Istvan, Gregor, Tomy and Slats. Istvan and Slats both flooded but continuing for now. Slats also apparently had a fire to deal with. Gregor and Tomy both demasted - and it's not clear how badly injured Tomy is. I'm hoping the 'can't move' with the message re the back injury is more that it's too painful to move rather than he actually can't move. Thoughts are with them all as it looks like heavy seas and winds for a good few hours to come.

 

[zoidberg]

Based on GGR's reported positions, Tomy is about 40nm from Ile Saint Paul, while McGuckin is 100nm further out. Apparently, there are some other vessels - doing the Longue Route re-enactment - in the general vicinity.

There's some interesting info in the Wikipedia entry - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Île_Saint-Paul

 

[Eeyore]

Based on GGR's reported positions, Tomy is about 40nm from Ile Saint Paul, while McGuckin is 100nm further out. Apparently, there are some other vessels - doing the Longue Route re-enactment - in the general vicinity.



I think Suzanne Huber is closest to the stricken boats.

 

[Old Bumbulum]

I am wondering why we are seeing such a huge number of retirements, injuries and damage in this race. So far, not counting the last 24hrs 8 out of 18 have gone and today it looks as though there maybe two, possibly more to add to the list. The original race didn't suffer anything like this, did it?
Yet these boats are by far better prepared with better gear, better rigging and better sails/rigs, understanding of the weather is orders of magnitude better - so why are they falling by the wayside like this? Are they so much more competitive that they're pushing too hard whereas the originals treated progress more as one does in a cruise? We don't see this sort of attrition rate in other round the world races with modern superfast superlight boats that are traditionally viewed as far less stable and seakindly if not less seaworthy.
Any theories?

 

[Motor_Sailor]

The original race didn't suffer anything like this, did it?

In 1968 there were 9 starters and one finisher.

Admittedly one of the 9 lost interest and went his own way, but still only RKJ actually finished the task in hand.

In today's race, the combination of human qualities and seamanship are still the most important ingredients, so I would expect a similar rate of attrition.

 

[{151760}]

Only Knox-Johnston and, arguably, Moitessier finished the first race out of nine starters. They didn't all start at the same time, so never had the same conditions.
Here is my theorising.
Modern boats are beamier, so their initial stability is greater; they're lighter and faster, so they can get to the optimal zone of any weather system more readily; the lightness, smaller (but more efficient) keels and greater strength of modern materials means they are both stronger yet 'give' more to large seas; and most importantly perhaps, the weather information they get is vastly superior today so they are able often to avoid the worst storms.

Edit: I think my take on this race is that if you want to circumnavigate non-stop buy yourself a modern fast boat with the best modern gear!
But I have great admiration for those who have undertaken this voyage, and I'm hoping fervently that Tomy will be ok. I can't imagine what lying injured in a stricken, mastless boat must be like.