GGR 2022

[littlechay]

And also, you can't go through Chilean territorial waters direct to Ushuaia without seriously pissing orf the Chileans. Last bloke I know that played that game was fined US$50k - reduced on appeal to $5k - and was kicked out of the country and told not to bother coming back.
Then there are the issues with importing stuff into Argentina and even just getting things down from BA.

Correct. He would have to go to Puerto Williams first; clear in, clear out then Ushuaia. Then he would have a shitstorm with corrupt customs etc to get his spares.. Not a good way to do it.. I know he has done it now... just agreeing.

I took a short cut in through some islands at the eastern end of the Beagle once and went straight to Ushuaia (it was only a tiny shortcut but beer o'clock was fast approaching) and got a very severe dressing down when I next went to Puerto Williams.

 

[Cisco]

Jeanne(sp?) Socrates did it in style - up Canal Murray directo to Ushuaia. You know but others don't that Canal Murray is todo verboten to all but Chilean flag boats and not even them if they have RGs on board. That being due to the secret Chilean missile boat ( the 'black boats' ) base there.
She got away with it.
The dumbo I referred to had cleared out of Chile - for Ushuaia - in Montt . Having arrived in Ush he decided to go directo to the Horn - turned around before Pto Toro and escorted back to Williams.

Rule #1 - don't fuck with the Armada de Chile.

Gun emplacement above Puerto Toro looking towards Isla Picton - dating from around the time of the Battle of Isla Snipe. You would have seen the old artillery out by the side of the road on the way from Williams to Navarino, yes?

Rule #2 - refer rule #1

 

[Cisco]

Well bugger me gently - as the actress said to the bishop much to her immediate discomforture - I was a bit out with me dates.
The Snipe incident was 1958 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snipe_incident a full 20 years before Operation Soberanía https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Soberanía

Bit of a selfie - one of the guns outside Williams - said to be 'pointed at' ( technical military lingo) the Ushuaia prefectura. Those 'farm sheds' down on the flat lands beyond the airport still have old artillery pieces in them.
That was 2008 - where did me hair go!!

Back on track - Simon is well on track to Boca de Guafo and the south.

 

[littlechay]

Jeanne(sp?) Socrates did it in style - up Canal Murray directo to Ushuaia. You know but others don't that Canal Murray is todo verboten to all but Chilean flag boats and not even them if they have RGs on board. That being due to the secret Chilean missile boat ( the 'black boats' ) base there.
She got away with it.
The dumbo I referred to had cleared out of Chile - for Ushuaia - in Montt . Having arrived in Ush he decided to go directo to the Horn - turned around before Pto Toro and escorted back to Williams.

Rule #1 - don't fuck with the Armada de Chile.

Gun emplacement above Puerto Toro looking towards Isla Picton - dating from around the time of the Battle of Isla Snipe. You would have seen the old artillery out by the side of the road on the way from Williams to Navarino, yes?

Rule #2 - refer rule #1

Yea.. I've seen the emplacements, the old APC's, sniper hides etc.. all left in place as a reminder. I don't think there is a black boats (they are cool, was overtaken by one at night and it was doing over 40 knots) base there anymore; I took a stroll over that way. But it they don't like the idea of somebody taking a short cut up the Murray and over to Ushuaia before they can stop them.

Jeanne did lots of things that she shouldn't have that she got away with... some of them quite relevant to the discussion above on drogues (she lost a few over the years).

I was there in 2008 too... (I was working that area from 2007 to 2016 or 2015 or something....)

 

[Jud - s/v Sputnik]

A warp doesn't have to be of very large diameter to be effective. It's the bight that does all the work.

The warp v drogue thing is very interesting. Whilst a series drogue might be more effective in theory it is very difficult to handle safely, very difficult to retrieve, difficult (impossible) to effectively rig at tripline for. etc.. I have never used one but know several people who have; none successfully retrieved it.

A warp streamed in bight is very easy to handle, very easy to retrieve (well it is still a bit of work) as you just let one end go and wind in the other end. I've used a warp a few times in 40 knots or so, just a single line with a fender on the end (once with a 20kg anchor and 10m of chain on the end) just to slow the boat a little and provide more directional stability to help the Aries. It works very well. My boat is a steel 35 foot Charpentier trireme design; so quite comparable to the GGR boats. I have played with a warp streamed in a bight an it is amazingly effective and creates a great slick if you can tune it to the wavelength (something you can't do with a series drogue).

My missus and I started building a drogue some years ago but never finished it.. not sure we ever will.

Interesting info, Chay - I’d be curious to read more about towing warps as a heavy weather strategy. A lot has been written on drogues, of course, both officially (testing) and anecdotally (users at sea), so perhaps “the old ways” (i.e., warps) have been sort of more or less forgotten about/fallen out of favour nowadays? Dunno.

I noticed, looking at vids of Kirsten’s Cape George that she doesn’t have any dedicated attachment points on her stern quarters for towing warps - presumably she tows them off stern cleats or another solid point(s) (an argument in favour of warps as a strategy, maybe, since doesn’t require specialized equipment for the loads? The main con, it seems to me, might be the length/bulk of rope required to get sufficient drag, as compared to a drogue -which by design, had a lot of drag? Think I recall reading that RKJ’s warps on Suhaili were on the order of 500 or so feet?)

Any idea what length of warp you towed (in a bight)?

 

[Laser1]

I have a feeling Simon is going to be first back to Le Sables

And deservedly so!

 

[Cisco]

And deservedly so!

If he gets out of Guafo.
Last position report at 0000Z was a bit of a worry.
Possy and course transferred to the attached chartlet.
In Chile inside the dotted line amongst the blue is unsurveyed and usually full of unmarked hazards.

 

[Jud - s/v Sputnik]

I have a feeling Simon is going to be first back to Le Sables

Too hard to know at this point - so much could change, no? Do you recall how close it was between Slats and VDH in 2019? Duelling up the Atlantic…only five days separated their finishes! Kirsten (brown boat) seems determined…

(Separately, looking at the tracker, I hadn’t remembered that VDH —the very light blue line— went through the Straits of Le Maire, which can apparently be quite rough at the wrong time due to tidal currents - I would’ve assumed the normal way would be to leave Isla de los Estados/Staten Island to port - but he obviously timed the Strait well!)

 

[Kolibri]

Too hard to know at this point - so much could change, no? Do you recall how close it was between Slats and VDH in 2019? Duelling up the Atlantic…only five days separated their finishes! Kirsten (brown boat) seems determined…

(Separately, looking at the tracker, I hadn’t remembered that VDH —the very light blue line— went through the Straits of Le Maire, which can apparently be quite rough at the wrong time due to tidal currents - I would’ve assumed the normal way would be to leave Isla de los Estados/Staten Island to port - but he obviously timed the Strait well!)

Yep...anything can happen Jud and it's extremely unpredictable. The only thing that is 100% for sure is that Laser1 will get an extreme boner if Kirsten has any type of issue that slows her down even the slightest amount

 

[Slark]

From race management:

GGR 2022 - Simon Curwen is returning to an anchorage yet to be decided. He sailed out into 30kn gusting 40kn SW headwinds and not making pleasant progress, so has decided to make for a safe anchorage and wait for a few days. He has chosen an anchorage on the northeast of Isla Guamblin, approx. 50 miles further SSE of his current position.
Contrary to what you will hear in this report, we have now strongly recommended to turn around and sail downwind NE of his current position to seek shelter in a bay between Isla Guaiteca and Isla Marta. It will be his choice, but he is currently sailing on a LEE shore without a reliable engine. WE have allowed the use of his emergency GPS and will provide weather information and navigation advice once he decides his preferred refuge. He has not asked for any other assistance and all other systems onboard are well.

 

[Jud - s/v Sputnik]

As

Yep...anything can happen

As we see now (with Simon struggling to get out of Chile)…a pity, since he’s obviously a very strong contender, the one with the most actual racing experience, I think. Gotta be really hard…we’ll see what happens…meanwhile to Isla Guamblin to anchor…a dodgy engine fuel lift pump… southerly forecast for the next several days…no fun.

Looks like Simon will eventually be worshipping Kirsten as SCOTY… Unless the speculation is true that his Rustler, freshly scrubbed in Montt, is faster than K’s Cape George in the upcoming Battle of the Atlantic…then there’s a remote possibility that Tapio’s sunken ship returns like the Flying Dutchman, a ghost ship, arising from the depths to fly ahead and haunt-taunt the fleet from ahead….

 

[Jambalaya]

Simon and K are in different races now. Yes for certain Simon would to be back in Sables first but Kirsten can just match race Ablish

 

[OPAL]

Any port in a storm, i guess...

 

[shebeen]

storm incoming before the Horn, kirsten goes south

Ahead, Abhilash has put the turbo back on after putting his Rustler back in order, and is making up distance on Kirsten who is only 250 miles from Cape Horn, less than 2 days away! Both will be hit by a south easterly gale later today which will affect Kirsten more, moving south in anticipation, than Abhilash who will remain on the northern edge.

 

[Snowden]

dodgy engine fuel lift pump

I'm sure Simon will know how to rig up the "Mike Golding" lift pump if required (i.e. jerry can feeding directly into the high pressure side) :-D

 

[Kolibri]

storm incoming before the Horn, kirsten goes south



Ahead, Abhilash has put the turbo back on after putting his Rustler back in order, and is making up distance on Kirsten who is only 250 miles from Cape Horn, less than 2 days away! Both will be hit by a south easterly gale later today which will affect Kirsten more, moving south in anticipation, than Abhilash who will remain on the northern edge.

Looks like Kirsten is set up to round the horn with a fair amount of sea room to deal with the storm. Abhilash has had good boat speed for the last few days. Hopefully he doesn't get hit hard by the storm and can continue making it an interesting race.

 

[Schakel]

That's unbelievable. Woman are better in keeping things safe perhaps,
Taking care of their family, household and boats.
She, Kirsten will be something like Dame Ellen Mc Arthur.
Hopes she finishes the race.

Extremely good.
I hope she ends up first.

 

[Schakel]

Here she is:
Remarkable.

 

[Jud - s/v Sputnik]

Cape Horn comin’ up.

As an aside, the resolution of the images on the YB tracker are incredible. But I almost wished I lived in the old days, when there was more “mystery” about the Horn.

 

[oschonrock]

agreed, surely there is something sacrificial on it that goes first and is easily replaceable?

On a nice bicycle you get a derailleur hanger. bang your expensive derailleur and the hanger bends/brakes. simple (relatively) cheap part to replace.

Yes, there is...

It's hard to replace though. You need a Dinghy or go for a swim.