Vendee Globe 2020 - Virtual Race

[CapnK 114]

I was this close to mad and Wattie a week or ten days ago, and, as has happened with too much regularity throughout this race, since the day I started - I got stuffed by a light wind pocket which formed just head of my track, and they zoomed out 400 miles or so ahead in the good wind on the other side... That had happened enough already that back at C. Horn, of frustration and hoping to at least having had done something 'interesting' with my time to that point, I decided I would forego any ranking result (ha, as if I had a chance...) and see if these VR boats could make it through the Straits of Magellan. I never found out. I did find out, after 3 or 4 tries, that on backtracking and once past the mark, the server changed my status to having never cleared the CH checkpoint. Nice waste of time learning that... Not wanting a DNF, I gave up on the idea and resumed following the 'forced course'. So then, unknown and undeclared to mad and Wattie, I made them "The Reason", and have been tracking them relentlessly since. If the server forecast holds, I might finish between them. I'm ~50 miles behind Wattie, and only 30 behind mad right now, and a few miles enough further south that I have 2-3mph more wind than they do for the next 12-18 hours. I intend to make it close, even if they don't give a shit.

[Headntac 6]

Anybody know how many skippers in the Sydney to Auckland race...

Finished 2 hours behind Your Mom SA..exactly 1600th ..7 days and 7 minutes.

 

Fell asleep at the wrong time twice

[Laser1 584]

3 hours ago, Headntac said:

Anybody know how many skippers in the Sydney to Auckland race...

147896

[mad 3,967]

On 1/20/2021 at 1:47 AM, Tunnel Rat said:

Good morning,

No one has managed to finish since the last update. It is looking slow at the moment for everyone in the mid Atlantic, things should speed up soon for m2for after his interesting quadrilateral.

Mid has made it around the Horn and is chasing the rest of the pack in the S Atlantic. It will be interesting to see if Sticky's eastern route will pay off, I have my doubts!

20-Jan
01:30UTC
Place	SA Name	Boat Name	DTF	Days	Hours	Minutes	Seconds	Overall Finish
1	Your Mom	Your Mom SA		68	22	25	45	23
2	Blue Mountain YC	shockwave11		0	0	12	3	126
3	daan62	hutspot77		0	2	58	54	2202
4	Tunnel Rat	Mongrel		0	3	4	35	2440
5	Will Lee	Lorraine III		0	3	12	50	2853
6	Gybe Turkey	Gybe Turkey		0	3	14	29	2928
7	Marty6	Cambodunum_VSC		0	3	20	18	3210
8	MasterRobin	MasterRobin		0	3	20	50	3249
9	Gufmiester	BigBalls		0	3	28	8	3648
10	Wet Hog	WetHog-SA		0	3	28	36	3675
11	Iced Tea	rule69		0	3	35	51	4039
12	Kapt'n Kirk	prowler_1-SA		0	3	39	30	4221
13	TocToc	Vuvuzela		0	3	45	45	4541
14	Mud Sailor	Mudsailor SA		0	4	28	45	6046
15	Driftwood	Me Rongo Rekohu SA		0	4	37	15	6263
16	12345	Siafu		0	5	26	53	7273
17	TPG	Hooperdrivestheboat		0	6	42	32	8236
18	viper43	viper64043		0	8	40	1	8820
19	Hydrogene	Eau Gazeuse		0	11	1	8	9366
20	RIGO	Screaming_Eagle		0	22	21	8	11333
21	kea.nn	kea.nn SA		1	5	14	45	15428
22	yeahbuoy	Cool J		1	7	58	17	16694
23	gavinbpk	PGB		1	14	30	24	17688
24	arr4ws	Arr4ws		2	5	1	58	21927
25	ttc546	ChrisAero2542		2	5	28	27	22671
26	sailon2	jahmbo SA		2	5	39	49	23093
27	Raz'r	SVKahoots		2	6	42	55	25949
28	SteveJH	Stephen_1987		2	6	49	24	26185
29	Giddy Up	G-Troit_Express_SA		2	10	42	57	38366
30	bushsailor	rushour		2	11	50	51	41602
31	F15 AUS	AUS3572		2	12	29	54	43229
32	Flaming	Flaming		2	12	45	49	43894
33	Mike G	MikeVentura		2	13	11	45	44881
34	CordRipper	RumHam		2	13	16	42	45057
35	MalahideGreener	The GreeneMachine		2	16	43	33	48843
36	x2sea	m2for-SA	1882.76
37	Vibroman	Vibroman_SA	140.1
38	Headntac	Ryoochi	270.9
39	bbl	Gjallarhorn	749.1
40	PB2207	Chi-2207	811.6
41	Hike, Bitches	HikeBitches	871.1
42	klymen	klymen	910.4
43	rhenders	The Hooded Fang	923
44	chuso007	Lateral Festivis	1390
45	Laser1	Hotfoot	1563
46	Kenny Dumas	SA_ Kenny Dumas	1577
47	Knut Grotzki	SA_KnutG	1663.4
48	mad	Sticky	1665.7
49	Wattie	MuritaiWatt	1730.1
50	CapnK	KR deCap	2987
51	Mid	SA_Mid	4587
52	MobyBick	MobyBick	5xxx
53	gary	Hschutz	10xxx
54	Vin	Divided Sky	12xxx

I didn't have a massive amount of faith, but just for once decided on a flier.................it didn't work.

[mad 3,967]

Thank fuck that's over and done with. 

[CapnK 114]

21 minutes ago, mad said:

Thank fuck that's over and done with. 

Amen! I think you crossed the line about 15 miles ahead of me. Congrats, good race!

[mad 3,967]

12 minutes ago, CapnK said:

Amen! I think you crossed the line about 15 miles ahead of me. Congrats, good race!

I was watching to see who was around. 

[mad 3,967]

Having just played around around on Syd-Auck race, it’s plain to see the advantage of a full pack. The people I normally follow are back to being Corinthian and miles back again. The new format is getting clunky, change course and 10 minutes later it’s reverted back to the original or exactly 180 degrees opposite. 

[Marty6 432]

Yeah, those 10 minute update intervals are a pain in the ass, especially in close quarters to land. Don't really know why they went for that since the server load should me much less after deactivation of the automatic updates.

[mad 3,967]

33 minutes ago, Marty6 said:

Yeah, those 10 minute update intervals are a pain in the ass, especially in close quarters to land. Don't really know why they went for that since the server load should me much less after deactivation of the automatic updates.

Put me on the rocks in the Syd-Auck race and took me an hour to get back off, also paid for a CZ with points and never able to use it.  I'll never part cash for something so unreliable, and get some of the junk of the new upgrade screen as well.

[Kenny Dumas 302]

It was way more interesting having one design boats. I’m done for a while but recommend it for the future 

[Tunnel Rat 1,187]

Good morning,

This is that last update from me - the happy threesome have had a close finish with great relief all round. 

There are still 5 SAists out there.  @vibroman abruptly turned left just before the finish, bounced off Greenland and then stranded himself on the Labrador coast of NE Canada.  @Mid had some R&R on the beaches of Southern Brazil and is currently heading in roughly the correct direction in the middle of the S Atlantic. @MobyBick is ashore on King George Island just around the corner from The Machu Picchu Scientific Base which is a Peruvian polar scientific research facility in Antarctica (redundant fact time!). @gary (Divided Sky) spent quite a long time in a pub just south of Perth, but has relaunched and is heading towards the Horn, just north of Point Nemo.  And lastly @Vin and his boat Hschutz are firmly aground in Fjordland of SW New Zealand between Dusky Sound and Taiari Inlet.

Thanks to everyone for participating and making this thread a fun place to be.  See you for the next big one.

Tunnel Rat.

8-Feb
01:15UTC
Place	SA Name	Boat Name	DTF	Days	Hours	Minutes	Seconds	Overall Finish
1	Your Mom	Your Mom SA		68	22	25	45	23
2	Blue Mountain YC	shockwave11		0	0	12	3	126
3	daan62	hutspot77		0	2	58	54	2,202
4	Tunnel Rat	Mongrel		0	3	4	35	2,440
5	Will Lee	Lorraine III		0	3	12	50	2,853
6	Gybe Turkey	Gybe Turkey		0	3	14	29	2,928
7	Marty6	Cambodunum_VSC		0	3	20	18	3,210
8	MasterRobin	MasterRobin		0	3	20	50	3,249
9	Gufmiester	BigBalls		0	3	28	8	3,648
10	Wet Hog	WetHog-SA		0	3	28	36	3,675
11	Iced Tea	rule69		0	3	35	51	4,039
12	Kapt'n Kirk	prowler_1-SA		0	3	39	30	4,221
13	TocToc	Vuvuzela		0	3	45	45	4,541
14	Mud Sailor	Mudsailor SA		0	4	28	45	6,046
15	Driftwood	Me Rongo Rekohu SA		0	4	37	15	6,263
16	12345	Siafu		0	5	26	53	7,273
17	TPG	Hooperdrivestheboat		0	6	42	32	8,236
18	viper43	viper64043		0	8	40	1	8,820
19	Hydrogene	Eau Gazeuse		0	11	1	8	9,366
20	RIGO	Screaming_Eagle		0	22	21	8	11,333
21	kea.nn	kea.nn SA		1	5	14	45	15,428
22	yeahbuoy	Cool J		1	7	58	17	16,694
23	gavinbpk	PGB		1	14	30	24	17,688
24	arr4ws	Arr4ws		2	5	1	58	21,927
25	ttc546	ChrisAero2542		2	5	28	27	22,671
26	sailon2	jahmbo SA		2	5	39	49	23,093
27	Raz'r	SVKahoots		2	6	42	55	25,949
28	SteveJH	Stephen_1987		2	6	49	24	26,185
29	Giddy Up	G-Troit_Express_SA		2	10	42	57	38,366
30	bushsailor	rushour		2	11	50	51	41,602
31	F15 AUS	AUS3572		2	12	29	54	43,229
32	Flaming	Flaming		2	12	45	49	43,894
33	Mike G	MikeVentura		2	13	11	45	44,881
34	CordRipper	RumHam		2	13	16	42	45,057
35	MalahideGreener	The GreeneMachine		2	16	43	33	48,843
36	x2sea	m2for-SA		9	18	1	51	56,427
37	bbl	Gjallarhorn		11	7	54	39	57,975
38	Headntac	Ryoochi		11	17	9	51	59,646
39	PB2207	Chi-2207		11	17	38	44	59,840
40	rhenders	The Hooded Fang		11	17	39	58	59,847
41	klymen	klymen		11	22	41	57	63,478
42	Hike, Bitches	HikeBitches		11	23	1	8	63,949
43	chuso007	Lateral Festivis		14	7	35	33	135,208
44	Laser1	Hotfoot		14	18	36	32	141,895
45	Kenny Dumas	SA_ Kenny Dumas		15	14	23	21	152,099
46	Knut Grotzki	SA_KnutG		16	4	46	42	158,251
47	Wattie	MuritaiWatt		20	22	0	56	206,199
48	mad	Sticky		20	22	26	44	212,732
49	CapnK	KR deCap		21	0	10	43	233,928
50	Vibroman	Vibroman_SA	2529
51	Mid	SA_Mid	2016
52	MobyBick	MobyBick	4695
53	gary	Divided Sky	6801
54	Vin	Hschutz	9106

[DtM 582]

Well done Rat. Thank you.

[mad 3,967]

10 hours ago, Tunnel Rat said:

Good morning,

This is that last update from me - the happy threesome have had a close finish with great relief all round. 

There are still 5 SAists out there.  @vibroman abruptly turned left just before the finish, bounced off Greenland and then stranded himself on the Labrador coast of NE Canada.  @Mid had some R&R on the beaches of Southern Brazil and is currently heading in roughly the correct direction in the middle of the S Atlantic. @MobyBick is ashore on King George Island just around the corner from The Machu Picchu Scientific Base which is a Peruvian polar scientific research facility in Antarctica (redundant fact time!). @gary (Divided Sky) spent quite a long time in a pub just south of Perth, but has relaunched and is heading towards the Horn, just north of Point Nemo.  And lastly @Vin and his boat Hschutz are firmly aground in Fjordland of SW New Zealand between Dusky Sound and Taiari Inlet.

Thanks to everyone for participating and making this thread a fun place to be.  See you for the next big one.

Tunnel Rat.

8-Feb
01:15UTC
Place	SA Name	Boat Name	DTF	Days	Hours	Minutes	Seconds	Overall Finish
1	Your Mom	Your Mom SA		68	22	25	45	23
2	Blue Mountain YC	shockwave11		0	0	12	3	126
3	daan62	hutspot77		0	2	58	54	2,202
4	Tunnel Rat	Mongrel		0	3	4	35	2,440
5	Will Lee	Lorraine III		0	3	12	50	2,853
6	Gybe Turkey	Gybe Turkey		0	3	14	29	2,928
7	Marty6	Cambodunum_VSC		0	3	20	18	3,210
8	MasterRobin	MasterRobin		0	3	20	50	3,249
9	Gufmiester	BigBalls		0	3	28	8	3,648
10	Wet Hog	WetHog-SA		0	3	28	36	3,675
11	Iced Tea	rule69		0	3	35	51	4,039
12	Kapt'n Kirk	prowler_1-SA		0	3	39	30	4,221
13	TocToc	Vuvuzela		0	3	45	45	4,541
14	Mud Sailor	Mudsailor SA		0	4	28	45	6,046
15	Driftwood	Me Rongo Rekohu SA		0	4	37	15	6,263
16	12345	Siafu		0	5	26	53	7,273
17	TPG	Hooperdrivestheboat		0	6	42	32	8,236
18	viper43	viper64043		0	8	40	1	8,820
19	Hydrogene	Eau Gazeuse		0	11	1	8	9,366
20	RIGO	Screaming_Eagle		0	22	21	8	11,333
21	kea.nn	kea.nn SA		1	5	14	45	15,428
22	yeahbuoy	Cool J		1	7	58	17	16,694
23	gavinbpk	PGB		1	14	30	24	17,688
24	arr4ws	Arr4ws		2	5	1	58	21,927
25	ttc546	ChrisAero2542		2	5	28	27	22,671
26	sailon2	jahmbo SA		2	5	39	49	23,093
27	Raz'r	SVKahoots		2	6	42	55	25,949
28	SteveJH	Stephen_1987		2	6	49	24	26,185
29	Giddy Up	G-Troit_Express_SA		2	10	42	57	38,366
30	bushsailor	rushour		2	11	50	51	41,602
31	F15 AUS	AUS3572		2	12	29	54	43,229
32	Flaming	Flaming		2	12	45	49	43,894
33	Mike G	MikeVentura		2	13	11	45	44,881
34	CordRipper	RumHam		2	13	16	42	45,057
35	MalahideGreener	The GreeneMachine		2	16	43	33	48,843
36	x2sea	m2for-SA		9	18	1	51	56,427
37	bbl	Gjallarhorn		11	7	54	39	57,975
38	Headntac	Ryoochi		11	17	9	51	59,646
39	PB2207	Chi-2207		11	17	38	44	59,840
40	rhenders	The Hooded Fang		11	17	39	58	59,847
41	klymen	klymen		11	22	41	57	63,478
42	Hike, Bitches	HikeBitches		11	23	1	8	63,949
43	chuso007	Lateral Festivis		14	7	35	33	135,208
44	Laser1	Hotfoot		14	18	36	32	141,895
45	Kenny Dumas	SA_ Kenny Dumas		15	14	23	21	152,099
46	Knut Grotzki	SA_KnutG		16	4	46	42	158,251
47	Wattie	MuritaiWatt		20	22	0	56	206,199
48	mad	Sticky		20	22	26	44	212,732
49	CapnK	KR deCap		21	0	10	43	233,928
50	Vibroman	Vibroman_SA	2529
51	Mid	SA_Mid	2016
52	MobyBick	MobyBick	4695
53	gary	Divided Sky	6801
54	Vin	Hschutz	9106

Thanks for all the updates TR, when are we assembling again?

[Vin 163]

Yeah sorry....went to sleep on this one.

[Tunnel Rat 1,187]

12 hours ago, mad said:

Thanks for all the updates TR, when are we assembling again?

No problem - it has been enjoyable.

Here is the list in the VR calendar.  I might well do the RORC 600 and see how many islands I can bounce off.  Is there much interest from the rest of the gang?

Looking ahead the only other one that grabs my attention is the Fastnet.

[Your Mom 1,044]

I kinda have to do C600.  I have a bit of a reputation to uphold there.  I've done it five times, finishing 6th in 2020, 6th in 2019, 4th in 2018, 1st in 2017, 11th in 2016.  The 11th was my best finish at the time, and the win was my second win (only about 2 weeks after my first win).  I like that event.  With that said...  The Auckland race that just finished has me less confident than usual.  I shanked every decision in that one, and the spike in interest from Vendee has a huge number of people playing with fervor.  We'll see.

If you like coastal sprints, those events would be C600, SMQ, NCR, and Fastnet.  I'll probably do most of those.  Maybe all.  Depends on how much sleep I lose trying to do well in the first couple.

If you prefer long ocean passages, then the Transat, or the ongoing Tara Ocean thing (Isla Noir - Puerto Montt is starting in 5 days, and then Montte - Valpo, Valpo-Iquique, Iquique - Panama, Panama-Pitre, Pitre-Cayenne).  I'm not doing Tara, and I'll probably skip the transat because transats get dull to me...  The French really like transat races, so there are several per year.  I might think about the Mini Transat or Sables Horta.  The Tara would probably be fun if you've never done Clipper...  Long passages on slowish boats can make for interesting strategy.  But I've done two Clippers and last year's Magellan event (15 legs to circle the world in a caravelle that tacks through 130 degrees), so I'm a little tired of long passages on slowish boats.

They add events all the time, so the calendar is far from set.  They also generally have at least one record going.  Right now, it's Jules Verne, though mid-April.  You could start that any time in the next 2-3 weeks and still finish.  I've never done very well in it, but I keep trying.  (For those who don't know, records are events where you can start anytime, and the ranking is based on elapsed time, so finding a good start window is key...  You can also pay credits to restart anytime, and can restart free after a finish, completing multiple runs if there's time).  They haven't added whatever's next to the calendar yet.   If they do LA-Honolulu, I've won that the last two years.

[DRIFTW00D 116]

Have fun Mommie and Thank You Mr Rat.... BYEBYE...

oh and one last thing!!! a big round of applause for one overly big wet PIG who took my idea and ran way to fastaway with it,

Go Faster! Out

[chuso007 659]

6 hours ago, Tunnel Rat said:

Looking ahead the only other one that grabs my attention is the Fastnet.

Same here

[mad 3,967]

8 hours ago, Tunnel Rat said:

No problem - it has been enjoyable.

Here is the list in the VR calendar.  I might well do the RORC 600 and see how many islands I can bounce off.  Is there much interest from the rest of the gang?

Looking ahead the only other one that grabs my attention is the Fastnet.

probably the R600, channel race and Fastnet I think. Possibly one of the others if there's plenty of lumpy bits to avoid. 

[Laser1 584]

New to VR.  I looked years & years ago at the start of a Volvo and thought it was pay to play by default so canned that.

Vendee was the first one but will do other bits & bobs home & work time permitting.

Hoping to earn a few freebee points to buy some proper gear in the big events :-)

 

[Your Mom 1,044]

4 hours ago, Laser1 said:

Hoping to earn a few freebee points to buy some proper gear in the big events :-)

If you just want to earn credits and you don't mind posting some awful finishes, my recommendation would be to just enter as many events as you can stand to deal with, without buying any options for any.  Try to check in once a day and keep pointing in the right general direction.  They usually give you far more time before the race closure deadline than even the most casual users need to finish.  Literally just checking in once a day to re-activate autosails and set a decent straight-line course for the next 24 hours should get you to the finish, and will earn you some credits without much work.

Of course, if you occasionally find one that you want to invest more time into, you'll get more credits out of that.

The important thing is to remember to check into the race after finishing, and click the "Get" button to actually claim your credits.  If you never do that, you don't get any credits for your finish.

 

[Tunnel Rat 1,187]

RORC600 VR thread opened down the hallway.

[Hike, Bitches! 310]

I did the 1st leg of that Tara Ocean thing, and it was painful. An event that is only a few days might be fun like the RORC 600..

[Jean-Baptiste 227]

1 hour ago, Hike, Bitches! said:

I did the 1st leg of that Tara Ocean thing, and it was painful. An event that is only a few days might be fun like the RORC 600..

Tara leg 1 was quite painful, I spend 1/3 race at 1.5kts and not sail later legs. Looking forward to 600, should be fun!

[Your Mom 1,044]

I also skipped the Tara, but FWIW...  Apparently they improved the boatspeed starting with leg 2.

[Jean-Baptiste 227]

8 hours ago, Your Mom said:

I also skipped the Tara, but FWIW...  Apparently they improved the boatspeed starting with leg 2.

Was only really painful race I have ever sailed in (virtually). Looks as nice offerings ahead for 2021. Unsure regarding new scoring, ELO seems fairer but we will see.

[Your Mom 1,044]

4 hours ago, Jean-Baptiste said:

Unsure regarding new scoring, ELO seems fairer but we will see.

The new VSR is a participation contest.  You can be ranked higher finishing 1,000th in every race than entering only 70% of races and winning every race you enter.  Don't allow yourself to care about it unless you want to race in every event.

[Jean-Baptiste 227]

9 hours ago, Your Mom said:

The new VSR is a participation contest.  You can be ranked higher finishing 1,000th in every race than entering only 70% of races and winning every race you enter.  Don't allow yourself to care about it unless you want to race in every event.

Precisely, unsurprisingly they have put economics ahead of accuracy.

I think best plan is to just enter races that find of interest and not be concerned with ranking. 

I may just hold you off across the line in the Verne, my 11 day head start seems to have given me the required margin.

[Jean-Baptiste 227]

On 2/17/2021 at 10:48 PM, Your Mom said:

The new VSR is a participation contest.  You can be ranked higher finishing 1,000th in every race than entering only 70% of races and winning every race you enter.  Don't allow yourself to care about it unless you want to race in every event.

My apologies, I did believe I was up voting, turn out wss doing opposite.

[Mid 3,262]

 

[DtM 582]

You da man Mid.  Congrats.

[Bump-n-Grind 1,121]

Nord Stream Series anyone? 9 days out... SA_Bump is in.....

[Shorthanded 733]

I’m in. What else do I have to to until the snow melts. 

[mad 3,967]

I'm in as well.

[Tunnel Rat 1,187]

I'm in.  Not paying anything, but I have quite a lot of credits so I will probably get some bells and whistles - to be decided on when a clearer forecast is available.

 

[Laser1 584]

Yeah, why the heck not.  The real thing is still quite a way off. 

[Jean-Baptiste 227]

13 hours ago, Tunnel Rat said:

I'm in.  Not paying anything, but I have quite a lot of credits so I will probably get some bells and whistles - to be decided on when a clearer forecast is available.

 

My plan, I will get foils and see about sails when forecast becomes more clear. Bonne chance à tous!

[bbl 9]

Gjallarhorn is in.

Full pack: I want to know that it's me and not my boat when I sail badly.

[mred 4]

I am in.

[Tunnel Rat 1,187]

New thread started, just down the hallway.

[WetHog 570]

Anybody still racing VR?  I’ve been doing just about every race since the Vendee ended but without perks to save up credits.  Following Mom’s advice.  It’s been fun accept for Tara and that Nordstream business.  The current Med race with only 2 nav markers is tough but the open ocean stuff has been enjoyable.  Just checking in. 

WetHog  

[Tunnel Rat 1,187]

Hello mate, check just along the hall for threads with VR.  @Laser1 is currently holding the fort on the Transat En Double, with the occasional check in on the Med race.  BTW - If you don't mention Formentera, then I won't...... 

[Laser1 584]

Yup, the usual suspects still very much active in the Vela Med Cup - just finished this morning in the cheap ass class &  Transat En Double (full pack) finishing in about 15 hours and just started in the Normandy Chanel Race (full gucci gear).  Mom is in Atlantic record run & Tokyo Olympic thing.

Tried the Atlantic record, cheap ass, but did not look for 36 hours and failed dismally so have to have another crack at that.

With IRL sailing now taking centre stage a lot of straight line/point & shoot nav. 

Quite a bit going on but can't do it all.