BP Jules Verne.
- Thread starter Potter
- Start date
couchsurfer
Super Anarchist
...and add me to th'list of those that are -quite- content to take it all in from the couch!!!
....it's exciting to follow,,but for me rather -too- exciting to think of being -in- the adventure :blink:
Guesses on what the light may be - from Brian's post
There was the most bizarre light in the sky the night before last, Christmas Day night, it was like one of those searchlights outside a nightclub, shining up into the sky from the South..it went from the horizon vertically up to about 25/30 degrees, so not as high as those searchlights, but that same kind of narrow, white beam..It was really odd, and it stayed there all night, so everyone saw it, and had a different opinion on what it might be. It did not spin round like the stars, it stayed vertical..The only thing that could be agreed upon, is that nobody, in all their miles at sea, had seen anything like it before.
alien landing staircase
solar reflection effect off Antarctica
something like a giant comet
My guess - The spirit of Kim Jon Ill leaving earth via Brazil
There was the most bizarre light in the sky the night before last, Christmas Day night, it was like one of those searchlights outside a nightclub, shining up into the sky from the South..it went from the horizon vertically up to about 25/30 degrees, so not as high as those searchlights, but that same kind of narrow, white beam..It was really odd, and it stayed there all night, so everyone saw it, and had a different opinion on what it might be. It did not spin round like the stars, it stayed vertical..The only thing that could be agreed upon, is that nobody, in all their miles at sea, had seen anything like it before.
alien landing staircase
solar reflection effect off Antarctica
something like a giant comet
My guess - The spirit of Kim Jon Ill leaving earth via Brazil
A new audio today from Thierry Chabagny. Thierry is one of the best Figaro single handed sailors in France. Quite a change from a 10 m monohull to a 40 m trimaran, as you will see below...
You can find the audio here:
http://www.voile.banquepopulaire.fr/Maxi-Trimaran-Banque-Populaire-V/Jour-35-Sauts-d-obstacles-6730.html#suite
"
Big sun today, the sea is warm at 22 degrees C and the air temperature is about 24 degrees C. It's very pleasant; I was steering a while ago, with shorts, teeshirt, cap and sunglasses; it's great! We are sailing upwind, so the boat speed is not crazy, but we have good air circulation in the boat and the temperature is absolutely bearable inside. It feels really good to sail in those latitudes, especially after the 3 weeks of cold weather we just went through.
I am very lucky to be able to do fleet racing in one design 10 m monohulls and do also transoceanic multihull; it is very interesting to do both; there is not much in common between both boats, except the speed... :blink:
... once both of them are tied to the dock... B)
With the multihull, it is a different way of sailing, it's much faster, the apparent wind is always stronger; the average speeds are mind boggling, compared to that, a Figaro is really a snail!!
Both sailing experience are interesting; being able to go from one to the other, it is one of the advantages of this sport. I am really blessed to have the opportunity to do both.
We all have that in mind right now. Loick and the shift leaders remind us to stay focused. Not being in the Roaring Forties anymore, sailing in the Tradewinds, we all tend to relax a bit, it's natural; but as Marcel is telling us, winning a race or breaking a record can depend on details; you miss a bit a transition period, you are late for the next weather system, and it slips away from you, and a small delay can make you lose big at the end.
The other key point is to preserve the boat, we have to make it go fast, but without pulling too hard on it; we have to sail smart. The boat has almost an around the world trip under its keel by now! We have to be careful, but still sail the boat on its polar charts...
It's great! We are all wearing white teeshirts, to not get too hot on our back, caps, sunscreen and sunglasses to avoid sunburns! All barefoot in our "Crocs". And as I said, upwind, so the good air circulation in the boat makes the inside temperature OK.
It's a great change from the Southern Ocean; not only it was much colder, but it was also really tougher sailing conditions, with the icebergs, and so on; so it was stressful. Now, we have squalls, so we still have to be careful, especially at night time. The nights are much longer now, so it's a bit more tiring; and you have to stay on watch duty on the radar to see the squalls coming. So it's a different kind of sailing.
That's one of the nice things about sailing back up the Atlantic Ocean, you go quickly through very different weather systems... We needed the warm weather, really. So we take full advantage of it.
We are sailing at 17-18 knots, at 45-50 degrees off the wind, we have 16 knots of wind, hot air, so not too powerful, a little bit of a chop, but nothing nasty. So it doesn't slow us down. Water temperature, 22.5 degrees C; that's pretty nice!
"
In the same post, Marcel Van Triest is quoted saying that they are going to increase their lead in the next 2 days, because Groupama was going through some slow stuff at the time. On the other hand, the North Atlantic looks much slower than for Franck Cammas; Marcel is predicting another 9 to 10 days to the finish line...
You can find the audio here:
http://www.voile.banquepopulaire.fr/Maxi-Trimaran-Banque-Populaire-V/Jour-35-Sauts-d-obstacles-6730.html#suite
"
Big sun today, the sea is warm at 22 degrees C and the air temperature is about 24 degrees C. It's very pleasant; I was steering a while ago, with shorts, teeshirt, cap and sunglasses; it's great! We are sailing upwind, so the boat speed is not crazy, but we have good air circulation in the boat and the temperature is absolutely bearable inside. It feels really good to sail in those latitudes, especially after the 3 weeks of cold weather we just went through.
I am very lucky to be able to do fleet racing in one design 10 m monohulls and do also transoceanic multihull; it is very interesting to do both; there is not much in common between both boats, except the speed... :blink:
... once both of them are tied to the dock... B)
With the multihull, it is a different way of sailing, it's much faster, the apparent wind is always stronger; the average speeds are mind boggling, compared to that, a Figaro is really a snail!!
Both sailing experience are interesting; being able to go from one to the other, it is one of the advantages of this sport. I am really blessed to have the opportunity to do both.
We all have that in mind right now. Loick and the shift leaders remind us to stay focused. Not being in the Roaring Forties anymore, sailing in the Tradewinds, we all tend to relax a bit, it's natural; but as Marcel is telling us, winning a race or breaking a record can depend on details; you miss a bit a transition period, you are late for the next weather system, and it slips away from you, and a small delay can make you lose big at the end.
The other key point is to preserve the boat, we have to make it go fast, but without pulling too hard on it; we have to sail smart. The boat has almost an around the world trip under its keel by now! We have to be careful, but still sail the boat on its polar charts...
It's great! We are all wearing white teeshirts, to not get too hot on our back, caps, sunscreen and sunglasses to avoid sunburns! All barefoot in our "Crocs". And as I said, upwind, so the good air circulation in the boat makes the inside temperature OK.
It's a great change from the Southern Ocean; not only it was much colder, but it was also really tougher sailing conditions, with the icebergs, and so on; so it was stressful. Now, we have squalls, so we still have to be careful, especially at night time. The nights are much longer now, so it's a bit more tiring; and you have to stay on watch duty on the radar to see the squalls coming. So it's a different kind of sailing.
That's one of the nice things about sailing back up the Atlantic Ocean, you go quickly through very different weather systems... We needed the warm weather, really. So we take full advantage of it.
We are sailing at 17-18 knots, at 45-50 degrees off the wind, we have 16 knots of wind, hot air, so not too powerful, a little bit of a chop, but nothing nasty. So it doesn't slow us down. Water temperature, 22.5 degrees C; that's pretty nice!
"
In the same post, Marcel Van Triest is quoted saying that they are going to increase their lead in the next 2 days, because Groupama was going through some slow stuff at the time. On the other hand, the North Atlantic looks much slower than for Franck Cammas; Marcel is predicting another 9 to 10 days to the finish line...
Last edited by a moderator:
KiwiJoker
Super Anarchist
abktoo
Member
- 337
- 0
"Within a few days of perihelion, the comet became visible to Southern Hemisphere observers, its tail pointing up out of the predawn twilight like a searchlight. Obvious and bright as the tail was, the comet lacked a discernable nucleus, bringing to mind descriptions of another Kreutz comet in the historical record, the Great Southern Comet of 1887, also known as the “Headless Wonder.” Some observers worried that the lack of a bright head meant that the nucleus might be disintegrating, but as the comet moved away from the Sun and became visible in a dark sky, the tail became all the more impressive, even as it began to fade.
Kreutz comets travel in orbits that strongly favor Southern Hemisphere observation, and that’s been particularly true of Comet Lovejoy’s mid-winter apparition, with the Sun already at its southernmost. Although the comet will head northward in January, by the time it clears the horizon in mid-Northern latitudes in early February it will have faded enough that a large telescope may be required to glimpse it."
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2398066,00.asp
Kreutz comets travel in orbits that strongly favor Southern Hemisphere observation, and that’s been particularly true of Comet Lovejoy’s mid-winter apparition, with the Sun already at its southernmost. Although the comet will head northward in January, by the time it clears the horizon in mid-Northern latitudes in early February it will have faded enough that a large telescope may be required to glimpse it."
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2398066,00.asp
Evo
Super Anarchist
oh no....they wear crocs.
Lipgloss & Latex
Member
This set of graphs is up until 09:00 UTC today.
/monthly_12_2011/post-41572-057603500%201325071326_thumb.jpg
/monthly_12_2011/post-41572-069991500%201325071337_thumb.jpg
/monthly_12_2011/post-41572-056162000%201325071346_thumb.jpg
/monthly_12_2011/post-41572-095948800%201325071355_thumb.jpg
/monthly_12_2011/post-41572-042002100%201325071457_thumb.jpg
/monthly_12_2011/post-41572-033138000%201325071469_thumb.jpg
/monthly_12_2011/post-41572-057603500%201325071326_thumb.jpg
/monthly_12_2011/post-41572-069991500%201325071337_thumb.jpg
/monthly_12_2011/post-41572-056162000%201325071346_thumb.jpg
/monthly_12_2011/post-41572-095948800%201325071355_thumb.jpg
/monthly_12_2011/post-41572-042002100%201325071457_thumb.jpg
/monthly_12_2011/post-41572-033138000%201325071469_thumb.jpg
Attachments
BGeff
Super Anarchist
Raked Aft\\
Super Anarchist
Help!!
My tracker is frozen! the map comes up then a msg saying "changing the days" [in french] and below that "98%", and the little
snowflake just spins above that.
Anyone getting that? any fixes? tried a full reboot... same msg.
thanks for any help!
My tracker is frozen! the map comes up then a msg saying "changing the days" [in french] and below that "98%", and the little
snowflake just spins above that.
Anyone getting that? any fixes? tried a full reboot... same msg.
thanks for any help!
Evo
Super Anarchist
GertInTenerife
Member
Try cleaning the cache of your browser. Or use another one.Help!!
My tracker is frozen! the map comes up then a msg saying "changing the days" [in french] and below that "98%", and the little
snowflake just spins above that.
Anyone getting that? any fixes? tried a full reboot... same msg.
thanks for any help!
forss
Anarchist
- 999
- 104
Agreed, I wouldn't even check the tracker, but thanks to awesome translations I check this thread daily.
Greatest thanks to Laurent and Cameleon for graphs!
BGeff
Super Anarchist
Right on! And at this point in the journey, it is too bad they can't push throttle down hard and rack up several 800+ days in a row to get to the magical 40 day mark
JaredC
Member
+2. This thread is the only place I go to follow BP5.
New video, on sailing upwind in the tradewinds, with fairly flat seas. Not much new, other than seeing the relaxed atmosphere on board.
You can find it here:
For some reason, I can no longer access the banque Populaire Channel on YouTube... Is it the same for you?
It's just a summary of the last 2 days, with going through that small front to get into the NE steady winds at 15 to 17 knots of wind; the beginning of the tradewinds. They explain as well that they were able to avoid most of the squalls.
A funy exchange between Thierry Chabagny and (I think) Yvan Ravussin at 1:00 in the video.
Yvan explains that he has to keep flexing his knees, because in 10 days, he will be "in the dust" ("dans la poudre" in the video)... to which Thierry Chabagny asks: "dans la poudre ou dans la poudreuse?..." which I can only loosely translate by "in the dust, or the dusty stuff?..." and Yvan correct himself: in the white dusty stuff in the Alps!!.
In street French, "la poudre", it's the illegal white stuff you may sniff to open up your airways... B) BUT "la poudreuse", it's fresh, untouched, white snow... so to be in one or the other is not exactly the same thing... Being from Switzerland, I bet that Yvan is an avid downhill skier and he sure hopes to be home in 10 days to take full advantage of the winter in the Alps...
After Brian on the video, getting ready to take the helm, Kevin explains that they have still 4 to 5 days of close haul sailing, through the Doldrums and into the Northern tradewinds, but as long as the sea stays flat, it is not unpleasant at all...
On the last post that you can find here:
http://www.voile.banquepopulaire.fr/Maxi-Trimaran-Banque-Populaire-V/Jour-36-Au-gre-des-alizes-6755.html#suite
Marcel Van Triest is quoted again with some interesting insight.
"
We are happy with what we have done so far, and now, it's straight ahead, all the way to the NE corner of Brazil. Our lead is still going to increase in the coming hours, and that's good, because after that, we will have to sail more miles than Groupama 3. The Doldrums don't seems to be too nasty. Then there will be two possible routes: one fairly direct and the other one that will make us do a big detour, to avoid the Azores High pressure system. We are studying that right now, very carefuly.
"
Another comment from Loick in the same post seems a bit more upbeat:
"
It's not too bad! We are going to reach the Equator in a fairly good time; what's after that, seems even better. In theory, today, we should be close to one day faster than the world record to the equator; still held by my brother Bruno. The wind is fluky, between 14 and 20 knots. There are a lot of squalls. Soon, we will pass close to the Brazilian shore, near Recife, but we have to be careful not to fall into a windless hole.
"
Then, he talks about the shape of the boat:
"
Strangely enough, this part of the trip may be the most "boat-breaking" part, going upwind; it's going to be hard on the gear for the next few days. The problem is that we still have 5,000 miles to go, and on a big multihull, each time you jump from one wave to the next, you believe you are going to lose your teeth!!! There are a few obvious signs of wear on the boat. We sent Florent up the mast, for instance, the batten cars for the main sail are getting worn out; but this is quite normal, really.
"
You can find it here:
For some reason, I can no longer access the banque Populaire Channel on YouTube... Is it the same for you?
It's just a summary of the last 2 days, with going through that small front to get into the NE steady winds at 15 to 17 knots of wind; the beginning of the tradewinds. They explain as well that they were able to avoid most of the squalls.
A funy exchange between Thierry Chabagny and (I think) Yvan Ravussin at 1:00 in the video.
Yvan explains that he has to keep flexing his knees, because in 10 days, he will be "in the dust" ("dans la poudre" in the video)... to which Thierry Chabagny asks: "dans la poudre ou dans la poudreuse?..." which I can only loosely translate by "in the dust, or the dusty stuff?..." and Yvan correct himself: in the white dusty stuff in the Alps!!.
In street French, "la poudre", it's the illegal white stuff you may sniff to open up your airways... B) BUT "la poudreuse", it's fresh, untouched, white snow... so to be in one or the other is not exactly the same thing... Being from Switzerland, I bet that Yvan is an avid downhill skier and he sure hopes to be home in 10 days to take full advantage of the winter in the Alps...
After Brian on the video, getting ready to take the helm, Kevin explains that they have still 4 to 5 days of close haul sailing, through the Doldrums and into the Northern tradewinds, but as long as the sea stays flat, it is not unpleasant at all...
On the last post that you can find here:
http://www.voile.banquepopulaire.fr/Maxi-Trimaran-Banque-Populaire-V/Jour-36-Au-gre-des-alizes-6755.html#suite
Marcel Van Triest is quoted again with some interesting insight.
"
We are happy with what we have done so far, and now, it's straight ahead, all the way to the NE corner of Brazil. Our lead is still going to increase in the coming hours, and that's good, because after that, we will have to sail more miles than Groupama 3. The Doldrums don't seems to be too nasty. Then there will be two possible routes: one fairly direct and the other one that will make us do a big detour, to avoid the Azores High pressure system. We are studying that right now, very carefuly.
"
Another comment from Loick in the same post seems a bit more upbeat:
"
It's not too bad! We are going to reach the Equator in a fairly good time; what's after that, seems even better. In theory, today, we should be close to one day faster than the world record to the equator; still held by my brother Bruno. The wind is fluky, between 14 and 20 knots. There are a lot of squalls. Soon, we will pass close to the Brazilian shore, near Recife, but we have to be careful not to fall into a windless hole.
"
Then, he talks about the shape of the boat:
"
Strangely enough, this part of the trip may be the most "boat-breaking" part, going upwind; it's going to be hard on the gear for the next few days. The problem is that we still have 5,000 miles to go, and on a big multihull, each time you jump from one wave to the next, you believe you are going to lose your teeth!!! There are a few obvious signs of wear on the boat. We sent Florent up the mast, for instance, the batten cars for the main sail are getting worn out; but this is quite normal, really.
"
Quote from Loick - Soon, We will pass close to the Brazilian shore, near Recife,
Shows my predictions were completely wrong, thats why I'm at home typing and not sailing
Last edited by a moderator:
Roy Mills
Member
Welcome to the Club. I was sure they would be into the SE trades by now, not northerly winds. Take credit for the fact that Loick said they would have to be careful to avoid a windless hole off the bulge of South America.
