Golden Globe 2018 - 50th Anniversary

[Norman]

Are Wilg, sailing his little double ender, is moving up nicely in the fleet, and now in 4th place.  That is impressive sailing.  Susie Goodall is next behind him.  So far the sailors and boats who excel in light air are favored, and will be for quite a while on the west coast of Africa.  That is predicted to change as they approach the Cape, but that is far off, and may change.  Great fun to watch the live feed.

Norman

[SeaHusky]

So far the sailors and boats who excel in light air are favored, and will be for quite a while on the west coast of Africa.  That is predicted to change as they approach the Cape, but that is far off, and may change.  Great fun to watch the live feed.

Philippe Péché, who has been in front since the start is the only one using hank on sails and apparently has an enormous genua for light airs.

[Norman]

That is the major advantage of hank on sails.  You hoist a sail that is designed, corner to corner, for the same conditions, not one that can be rolled up into a heavy weather one, meaning the outer portion was too heavy for the light winds when completely unfurled.

I have raced a lot on roller furling vessels, and rarely did the weight of fabric in the sail match the wind, but when it did, we were much more competitive than the vessels around us.

Many years ago, sailing on a class boat that was dedicated to speed, the owner checked the forecast, measured the local wind, and only then selected which of his 3 main sails would be used for the races that day.  The boat was a Lightning, and in a race, we sailed in as much as 20 K wind, and for fun in the after flow from a hurricane, 30 K.  He did have a reef in his heaviest main sail, and we used the reef both times.  Both times, the wind was perpendicular to the river, and all sailing was on reaches.

Pesche gave up a lot of lead, apparently due to either the inability to get a sun sight, or a miss calculated one, and sailed far past the gate in the Canaries, but even after sailing back , he is still well in the lead.

Are Wiig, I believe that I have spelled it right this time, is steadily improving his position.  I am still rooting for the smallest boat!

Mark Slats must really be rowing hard, as he also is advancing well, but he has been among he leaders from the start.

The tail enders seem to have entered a low wind area early in the race, and are having a tough time recovering.

This is a fun race to follow so far.

Norman

[SeaHusky]

Comparing boats:

The smallest, OE 32
http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=1638

The most common (7 of 16) Rustler 36
http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=3696

Endurance 35
http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=1543

Interesting that the smallest boat has the longest waterline. It also has a larger Sail Area/Disp. than the Rustler.
Is this the reason Are Wiig could catch up with, and overtake, Suzie Goodall?

[Norman]

Antoine Cousat is having windpilot troubles, and making very few nm per day.  Apparently, he is either unable, or does not try sheet to tiller to get some non tiller time.  A real shame, as that would allow less than optimum trim and speed, but much more than he is obtaining hand steering  85 nm, vs 126 for the leaders for the last day, and he is not even to the Canary check point.

Looking ahead on the wind forecast, there are going to be some difficult choices to make when the wind changes from the northerly direction, to southerly.  Whether to go off shore, or stay close to shore, will depend on which day you arrive.  Without modern access to the map, the choice will be difficult to get right.  The boats further back will have even worse conditions than the leaders, IF the forecast is right.

Are Wiig continues to do well in the wind and sea conditions that he is encountering.  A bit further, as he is working to windward, that relatively blunt bow will start to slow him, but who knows, he may have helming skills that overcome that.  He hoisted a jib with his Genoa to lift the bow, and keep from diving into the wave ahead on the fast downwind, so may have the skill and familiarity with this hull shape to still excel to windward.

The best news is that no more boats have dropped out.

Norman

[SeaHusky]

I agree, this is a really fun race to follow! It's only been two weeks of the total nine months but we are already discussing hours.
Are Wiig made a mistake when he chose to pass east of Lanzarote and has almost lost his lead over the group. Mark Slats is now second.
In a few days they will be in the doldrums. Phillipe has a huge genua but Mark has oars...

[Norman]

The doldrums have some wind close to shore, and McGuckin seems to be planning to take advantage of that, as he has sailed near the coast.  The wind gradually shifts to onshore as they travel south.

Cousot has stopped at the checkpoint, and if the GPS  is literally correct, he is in a slip, and out of the primary race, but he may actually be just outside the marina, at anchor, working on his wind pilot.  I am visualizing him in his dinghy, at the stern, trying not to drop any essential piece into the water.  Most of his experience has been deliveries, which normally have at least two on board, and luxury cruises, which always have adequate crew, so he may have relatively little experience with wind pilots.
Some are hard to tune for proper gain, sensitivity, and power, and each of those affects the other two.  Getting them to work down  wind is the hardest.  Nearly all the initial sailing has been downwind.

I wish him well in finding his solution, and rejoining the race.  He may get under way before Farebrother passes him, which will be a psychological boost.  Otherwise, he falls to last.

Tomy took a course to much to the west leaving the checkpoint, and LePage passed him.  Errors coming in to the island are more expected, as the overcast skies prevented sun sights for days, and errors built up in ded reckoning.

So far, Rustler is the boat to have!

Norman

[SeaHusky]

Great commentary! I can learn a lot from this.
Rustlers in the lead but Are Wiig is still holding his position among them.

[Norman]

Sea Husky, first I watch the progress, next go to the skippers pages for the ones who seem to be doing especially badly, and then their dispatches.  Then, the reasons for slow begin to make sense.  The age and nature of their sailing history is a major factor, and I suspect advanced age will become more critical in the 40's, where both debilitating weather, and increasing demands for energy to keep the vessel under control will tax age more than youth.  Youth, on the other hand will be meeting conditions that they have never experienced, and gain the insights that the leaders already have.  They will have to pass the test on sailing 40 foot waves on the first encounter.  There is no choice.  The present leader has already passed that test.

Couton seems to have little mechanical background, and that may explain his inability in getting the wind pilot working properly.  Mark Slats is very much mechanical, and I would expect that he would do a more effective preparation of the moving parts to make sure that all was perfect before departing.  Once under way, this ability should result in rapid repair of failures.  These are arbitrarily chosen examples of the things that I am looking to find, from the limited sources on the site.

The wind overlay indicates that Mark Slats should have stronger wind than the two Frenchmen as they pass La Guera Point, the inshore wind is favorable.  If Are similarly moves inshore, he should move up as well.  Just past Dakar, the offshore winds become quite light, and again, closer in is favored.  This might change as they arrive there, though.

The unpredictable factor is the chance meeting of commercial shipping, within VHF range, and the ability to legally obtain exact position to update DED reckoning, and also weather conditions.  The original racers had this opportunity as well, and that is why it is legal now.

That saved Pesche's lead, when he far overshot the gate, saw a commercial vessel, obtained his position, reversed course, and beat to windward to reach the gate.  A few more hours before turning would have put him in second or third.  At that time, overcast skies hampered all of them in attempting to get accurate fixes.  His DED reckoning seems to have had a large error.

Cousot and Farebrother seem to be within a few hundred yards of each other, and settled in for repairs in calm water.  As far back as they both are, they may stay overnight, and make departure in daylight, much rested.

Are Wiig "rift" his asymmetrical, and took it down.  Later he complimented his suppliers on their choice of repair material, as they were both the correct products, and suitable quantities.  Obviously, the sailing of his vessel is not overpowering his attention and endurance, routine maintenance is done soon after the "rift".  Others further back do not have this luxury.

I do wish that I could read the messages in French, but I took that language for one semester 70 years ago.

A real issue, though, is will I and others on this board continue to watch and update 1 month, or 6 from now.  I certainly hope we do, as these vessel are just moderately larger than the size we laud here.

Norman

[SeaHusky]

Copied from GGR official FaceTube:

Nabil Amra is returning to Marina Rubicón into strong head winds after damaging his windvane self steering gear in 30-35kt tail winds...it will be a struggle beating back....LATEST SAT TEXT messages from entrants below. PRB - Philippe Péché will be worried about this as he also chose the same BEAUFORT Self steering gear made in France. Some people believe that while it steers the boats well they are not so strong and appear a light build in manufacture. This saves weight and keeps the boat moving fast but there is three months of hard running in the Southern Ocean yet to come??

[Norman]

Nabil is still progressing to the south, slowly.  He must be attempting a repair at sea, rather than give up that much time and distance.  He is another whose bio leaves some doubt of his mechanical skills, but since the information is so short, may just be incomplete.

We can hope that he gets it working and under way soon.

Couton and Farebrother remain in port, but the GPS location moves enough to give hope they are not in slips.

Norman

[Norman]

Peche crossed close ahead of Slats, and is now closer to shore, and increasing his lead again.  How they make their decisions to move closer or further from the coast in anticipation of better wind and sea conditions is a mystery for us!

Naturally, further out provides more safety from navigational errors, until the Cape Verde Islands.

McGuckin, after a close approach to shore, has headed back out to the deep water, and safety from nav errors, plus poorer winds.

Susie reports taking a wave into the cabin, everything soaked.  Waves of that sort are the ones that damage less robust wind pilots as they come over the stern.  It also illustrates the danger of sailing without being securely battened down except when entering or leaving the cabin.  Lessons learned now may save her in the 40's.

Nabil continues drifting, so repair attempt is under way,  Really hope he is successful.

Norman

[Bubba the Pirate]

Thank you, Norman for the excellent commentary and analysis. I will be following them through you!  :-) 

Grog

[Norman]

The wind vanes certainly have been the one failure mode that has moved boats to the rear of the pack, and has hampered even some in the middle from sailing to their true potential.  Radio troubles come and go, but do not slow the boat, or exhaust the sailor.  Poor position calculations, whether by bad DED reckoning, or difficulty getting an astronomical fix, seems to be second.

Nabil has made  it to the southern most Canary Island, Tenerife, and is in the marina.  It is not certain if he will continue after repairs, or resign from the race.  If he continues as a Chichester, he will be racing Cousot, who at this moment is still well behind him.

The leaders continue to spread out and open up the difference between them, and if he remains on his present course, Are Wiig will pass west of some of the Cape Verde Islands.

It is amazing to me that Peche has continuously held the lead the entire race, while the next 2 positions change repeatedly.  The lead once was reduced to single digits, but he opens it up again.

Looking at pictures of Ohpenn, I have realized that Slats, at least then, also had hank on sails, so perhaps there are two competitors so equipped, and both right up there striving for the lead.

Peche has now sailed 10% of the total distance, but this is the easy segment.

The real test will not come until they round the cape, and turn east. They are approximately 1/3 of the way to that turning point and check in

[SeaHusky]

That was observant!
Both of the leading boats have hank on sails. I,ll see if I can find any more.

Mark Slats, Ohpen


Phillipe Peche, PRB


Edit: Antoine Cousot, now in the Chichester Class.

[SeaHusky]

I have a growing suspicion that the GGR staff are reading SailFar. This is the latest on FaceTube...

The GGR is above everything else an adventure to the very end, where you must finish. You must pace yourself looking after your boat and gear, but it is also a RACE for those who want to win at all cost. But what price are they prepared to pay? Some have already bet their position by the simple decision to NOT take headsail furling gear, or to FIT all headsail furling gear. ? We have seen what happens with windvane Self-steering gear! Get it wrong and you are out! The next issue to effect sailors will be Hanked sails or Furling sails...WHO got it right? And who got it wrong!! ...we may see very soon.

WE hope to discuss all these issues and review the GGR late today with a LIVE FB discussion here in Marina Rubicón. Watch out for it and keep up with the latest on the LIVE TRACER. ......Don :)

[Bubba the Pirate]

All hail hanks!!

And continued thanks to Norman for his commentary.

[Norman]

Nabil Amra is out of the race completely.

He is an American born Palestinian, and hoped that by competing under the Palestinian flag, he would increase positive views of his countrymen.  Most of his experience was in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, and not solo.  Fitting out his vessel was delayed to April, and he had a very tight schedule to get it approved, and his shakedown completed.  I suspect that there were issues that were accepted as unavoidable prices for the quest to be at the starting line on time.  such things will often come back at the worst time, and he is fortunate that he was not in the 40's when the failure occurred.

His wind vane steering did not perform suitably, requiring much hand steering, and eventually a weld broke.  He drifted under bare poles for a day or so, and jury rigged a repair, but it was inadequate, so he sailed to Tenerife.

He is safe in Tenerife, in the Yacht Harbor, and he and his sailboat are in good shape. Primarily the failed weld is the issue. Solo means that you have no presence of another to either help adjust, figure out, or repair what ever goes wrong, and limited contact by radio with the outside world for emotional support. With a steering device that is not doing its job, even using the radio becomes near impossible.

The leaders in the race are all very experienced with the self steering devices they are depending on, and have extensive previous time alone in difficult environments.

Turning off your transponder is the definitive action of removing yourself, and he has done that. Only Nabil can do that, it is a personal decision.

Rick, when you next communicate with him, give him my best wishes and sympathy for his need to bring his participation to an end. I recognized the huge amount of his personal energy that has gone into this, and admire both what he has tried to do, and the personal price paid in the decision to end it there and return to his other life. Both take personal courage.

Norman

[Norman]

I have been having trouble logging in to the full home page today.

A skipper reported putting the helm hard over to avoid  being run down by a large cargo vessel.

I have come to believe that the organizers should have required an AIS in the sealed package, with an alarm to alert the racers of the presence of a transponder equipped vessel so that they would be alerted even if asleep.  That would not aid them in sailing or navigating, just save their lives.

Bernard Moittessier had some close calls, and occasionally worried about the possibility, but in those days, there was usually at least a helmsman at the wheel at all times.

In his book, The Long Way", he debated whether to go close to the coast of Africa, or further out for the best wind, and it is fascinating to watch the tracks of the various competitors take all the various options, and when the wind overlay is turned on, see that it is purely a gamble, as the doldrums drift aimlessly about.

A surprising number of sails have been ripped, including mainsails.  Moittessier  had at last two, of very different strength, both with 3 reefs, and also two mizzens, three reefs.

Reading his book, I have to keep reminding myself that he was sailing the race in 1968, and the political state of the region, which was very different from when he grew up there, and sailed a junk rig cargo ship, hauling rice and lumber.

The steering problems are settling out, presumably the skippers are learning how to make them work as they are designed to.  Are Wiig developed trouble, but it was a tailing line tangled into the rudder.

The real challenges are still well ahead of them.

Norman

[SeaHusky]

A surprising number of sails have been ripped, including mainsails.  Moittessier  had at last two, of very different strength, both with 3 reefs, and also two mizzens, three reefs.

I have a feeling that they are "racing" too hard in the beginning, pushing their boats and equipment to the point of failure or stress induced weaknesses that may haunt them later?