GGR 2022

[harrygee]

How much information, if any, do they have about their competitors and their position in the race?

Looking at Simon Curwen's position in relation to Tapio's, he looks like losing a few miles and a position, so no following competitor would choose to go to the west.

And who would have done a Pat Lawless, sailing to the east in the lee and going really well. The lee, if the Windy overlay is right.

The boats are quite evenly matched in their hull speed so the real gains / losses will be in the random quirks of nature (we call them calculated decisions of genius when they pay off), the stamina and appetite for risk of the competitors and the need to finish upright and unshredded.

Their next challenge, once they clear the area of holes in front of them, will be Chay's circulating low, a few days hence.

My experience of weatherfax was limited to bumming a look on bigger boats and I don't recall anyone ever expressing any hope of predicting weather more than a couple of days ahead. So I'm not sure whether they will be picking up on the possible unpleasantness ahead.

What's not to like in this race?

 

[harrygee]

Guy deBoer looks very close to land and showing zero speed.

He has gone from 5th to 6th, as Kirsten has passed him, if the tracker is right.

I don't do the facebook / twitter thing. I hope he's ok, those two are having a good close race, which should help them both.

 

[GWB]

From Facebook
BREAKING : 0545hrs local time 18th SEPT. Guy DE Boer and "SPIRIT" his Tashiba 36 hits rocks 50 meters off the beach on the NORTH Coast of FUERTEVENTURA Las Palmas Island in the Canary Islands.
At 0410hrs local time Kersten Neuschafer called Race control by sat phone to report a MAYDAY VHF call from Guy who was on rocks and taking water. The local Coast Guard had also responded to the Mayday call. GUY was unsure of his position at that stage. Race control established contact with the Spanish Rescue Coordination center.
At 0424hrs Guy rang race control and reported the boat listing 45 degrees and being bashed by heavy surf taking water and on the rocks. He had his life raft ready, had reported his GPS position to the coast guard and was in VHF contact with them and was concerned about abandoning ship in the dark and heavy surf as he said he would not last long.. He could not see the beach. With surf breaking over the boat we lost contact.
At 0510hrs the Spanish rescue coordination center advised that the local Police and fire brigade were on the beach and that he was 50 meters off the beach but refused to abandon ship at this time.
At 0536hrs Guy called Race control reporting that he was safe on the beach. Spirit had dragged across the rocks some distance and then the local rescue coast guard had come out through the surf to him and assisted him off the boat. He sounded in good spirits and that a local salvage company was already considering attempting to salvage the boat in daylight if possible. Guy said he will contact Race Control again with all the details as soon as things settle.
Golden Globe Race wish to thank all those rescue personnel who responded so professionally and quickly to a demanding and difficult situation #GGR2022

 

[harrygee]

Thanks for that.

At least he's safe.

Hopefully, they can save his boat, she's a beauty.

 

[OPAL]

Spirit on the rocks with a 45 degree list and filling with water due to strong surf.
Not looking good at all.

 

[zoomee]

Sucks but he handled it well...your impulse aboard a small boat being pounded by surf on the rocks would be to GTFO but he apparently stayed aboard till daylight and until the boat was pushed up the shore a bit. Alex Thompson managed the same feat with fully modern nav suite.

 

[Jud - s/v Sputnik]

Guy deBoer looks very close to land and showing zero speed.

He has gone from 5th to 6th, as Kirsten has passed him, if the tracker is right.

I don't do the facebook / twitter thing. I hope he's ok, those two are having a good close race, which should help them both.

Harry- There’s not necessarily anything to “do” with Facebook. If you just want to read something (and not post), simply click and read (no need to register). Don M does updates on the race: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?st...ABodQaSwUCVvDoaAQC3Ap6PSnl&id=100063768451833

Edit- updated GGR post. Here are some close up shots: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?st...qDNRwAmzKy4XoXc5ugq8kyD2nl&id=100063768451833

 

[harrygee]

Thanks Jud, I'll have a look when I get a minute. Retirement is a full time job.

Spirit looks pretty forlorn but better than it might.

If they can get organized quickly, there may be a good outcome.

I once "helped", trying to recover a sloop on the reef near Noumea. We got her upright at high tide and layed her over the other way to repair but then she stove in on the other side. Total loss.

 

[harrygee]

I think I'll give up my attempt at route planning.

Three boats went to the east, where they're doing less than 2 knots.

Two went west, where any fool (me) could see that there was a hole, and they're sailing away with it. For now.

And Elliot looks like he's trying to sneak down to the east.

That won't work.

 

[Schakel]

I think I'll give up my attempt at route planning.

Three boats went to the east, where they're doing less than 2 knots.

Two went west, where any fool (me) could see that there was a hole, and they're sailing away with it. For now.

And Elliot looks like he's trying to sneak down to the east.

That won't work.

12 hours later it worked out fine for Simon Curwen.
I have my eyes on Kirsten Neuschaffer who might creep further to the top.
Windy stimulation gives her a slight advantage with more wind then the eastward part of the topfleet.

 

[cill123]

Pat Lawless is suffering with a knee infection. Hope he stays in the race

Irish Solo Sailor Pat Lawless is Suffering a Knee Infection in Golden Globe Race

It is a pre-existing medical condition to the GGR, which has come back unexpectedly during the first week of sailing

afloat.ie

 

[low bum]

I hope Pat has antibiotics on board - he should.

Tell me I shouldn't be pissed at McIntyre for forcing the boats through a photo stop there. Am I wrong for feeling that if he had allowed the skippers to choose their own routes this wouldn't have happened?

 

[Smiley Junction]

I hope Pat has antibiotics on board - he should.

Tell me I shouldn't be pissed at McIntyre for forcing the boats through a photo stop there. Am I wrong for feeling that if he had allowed the skippers to choose their own routes this wouldn't have happened?

I was wondering why he was cutting it so close to shore when one would think of getting more sea room. Have been following this thread instead of the race site because it’s more interesting so didn’t catch that. It would be truly idiotic. This is supposed to be an “offshore” race.

 

[harrygee]

Pat has antibiotics on board and has been taking them but he's got a limited stock.

He had the choice of stopping to get more but chose to push on. He has options further down the track.

He's going well, among the front four, which are gapping the next five.

Guy would have been pretty tired after closing the coast and doing the publicity thing at some uncivilized hour. He may have fallen asleep or made an error of judgement or experienced a wind shift that he didn't notice. He's racing so cutting it fine is not unusual. Lee shore so unforgiving.

What's happening with Elliott? It looks like he's anchored, hopefully getting some rest, maybe there's not much wind so there's not much to gain by drifting out. I hope he's able to continue, he comes across as a genuine bloke doing his adventure while the rest of us mow the lawn.

The wallabies mow mine.

 

[DtM]

At least your wallabies are doing something useful, the Rugby Wallabies on the other hand ...

 

[loneshark64]

Pat has antibiotics on board and has been taking them but he's got a limited stock.

He had the choice of stopping to get more but chose to push on. He has options further down the track.

He's going well, among the front four, which are gapping the next five.

Guy would have been pretty tired after closing the coast and doing the publicity thing at some uncivilized hour. He may have fallen asleep or made an error of judgement or experienced a wind shift that he didn't notice. He's racing so cutting it fine is not unusual. Lee shore so unforgiving.

What's happening with Elliott? It looks like he's anchored,

I enjoy following the GGR, the people, endurance etc are fascinating. I haven’t bothered to study the rules though and it is confusing. I didn’t know they could stop and anchor. So… it’s non-stop unassisted, but they can stop one time and stay in the race, and then it’s for some participation award class?? Is Elliot now already out of the main race because he anchored, so early on? If Pat stops for antibiotics is he out of it altogether?

This photo drop thing is dangerous and stupid. part of the intrigue of the golden globe was they didn’t have interaction with people and didn’t know how the others were doing. Now they have to tweet and do photo ops and all this bullshit while avoiding lee shores at night.

 

[Snowden]

part of the intrigue of the golden globe was they didn’t have interaction with people and didn’t know how the others were doing

I don't think that's true. Most (all?) of the competitors in '69 had a radio on board, although I think Suhaili's broke down early on. Wasn't one of the reasons Tetley's boat broke up that he was pushing hard to beat Crowhurst's false position reports?

 

[loneshark64]

you’re right.

 

[JonRowe]

Quoting wikpedia here but Sir Robin:

On 7 November, he dropped mail off in Melbourne, and on 19 November he made an arranged meeting off the Southern Coast of New Zealand with a Sunday Mirror journalist from Otago, New Zealand.

And when he was missing later on (no radio contact) he was found by a ship and communicated via lamp

However, on 6 April he finally managed to make contact with a British tanker using his signal lamp, which reported the news of his position, 1,200 nautical miles (1,400 mi; 2,200 km) from home. This created a sensation in Britain, with Knox-Johnston now clearly set to win the Golden Globe trophy

Apparently they also had the rules changed on them whilst underway like the first recreation lap so maybe it is in the spirit

It soon became clear to Ridgway that his boat was not up to a serious voyage, and he was also becoming affected by loneliness. On 17 June, at Madeira, he made an arranged rendezvous with a friend to drop off his photos and logs, and received some mail in exchange. While reading a recent issue of the Sunday Times that he had just received, he discovered that the rules against assistance prohibited receiving mail – including the newspaper in which he was reading this – and so he was technically disqualified.

 

[trisail]

I enjoy following the GGR, the people, endurance etc are fascinating. I haven’t bothered to study the rules though and it is confusing. I didn’t know they could stop and anchor. So… it’s non-stop unassisted, but they can stop one time and stay in the race, and then it’s for some participation award class?? Is Elliot now already out of the main race because he anchored, so early on? If Pat stops for antibiotics is he out of it altogether?

This photo drop thing is dangerous and stupid. part of the intrigue of the golden globe was they didn’t have interaction with people and didn’t know how the others were doing. Now they have to tweet and do photo ops and all this bullshit while avoiding lee shores at night.

Good afternoon,
I have a very good friend sailing the race and I'm also his team manager.
I therefor have a reasonably good understanding of the rules.
If you find things confusing, wait until you've studied the rules. That will really confuse you!
The rules run over about 60 pages.
I also attended all the race and safety briefings before the start. And the race director just added to the confusion.


But in response to your two questions.
1. The rule is Non Stop.
They may anchor, but they may not anchor inside a harbour or breakwater. If they want to anchor it must be done in an open anchorage or whatever spot they feel suitable. They also cannot sail into a harbour and just go around in circles to seek shelter.
Any shelter they might want, must be in bays or behind headlands.
So young Elliot is all above board and still in the race. He anchored in a sheltered open bay. Nobody assisted him. He can catch a bit of sleep, dive to check the boat out, all legal.

2. The unassisted question.
They cannot receive any physical assistance. So Pat cannot receive medication from outside while in the race. He can receive medical advice though by calling the appointed race doctor on sat phone.
He cannot phone his own doctor with the sat phone for advice, only the race doctor.

That's why Pat chose to keep on sailing. He is doing well and receiving medication from outside what he has onboard would have knocked him out of the race. So he is gonna take his chances with his knee and hope for the best

As for the film drops and gates.
That is a debate all in itself. A pretty stupid thing in this day and age not to allow sat communication.

But, as for the boat running aground, that was just plain negligence and, or careless navigation.
He sailed onto an island 10 miles away from the film drop, in perfect conditions.
If he had drawn a course on his chart from his last known position, the bouy at Lanzarote, he would have realized his course is taking him onto the rocks.
Look at his tracker. It tells you the story.
His initial course does not clear the next island. After 5 miles, his course changes for the worst. Another 5 miles later he is on the rocks.
All this, and there is a lighthouse right in front of him, on his starboard bow. But on the wrong side of him.
That was just bad navigation. He should have plotted and steered a course which would have given him a degree of safety. But the same person also had difficulty in providing proof of his celestial navigation skills before the start. Read about it under NEWS on the GGR website. It's date is a few days prior to the start.

That's enough from me for now.
Regards.