The GGR race, discussion and news

[Seymore]

Here's the BBC's take one Suzie's situation....

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...rn-ocean-storm

[Seymore]

Originally Posted by SailRedemption

Hoping she is able to pack up her logs and whatnot when she gets picked up so she can write about it later.

I have in mind that the Organizers put a clause into the contract that says the participants will give their logs to the Organizer immediately when they finish, so the Organizer could write the definitive account of the race, to the exclusion of participants' accounts.

[44'cruisingcat]

So is that 8 left out of 19 starters?

[El Pinguino]

Seven by my count.... if Capt Coconut doesn't decide to spend Chrissy at home....

[MartinR]

There should be 5 left in the race and 2 in Chichester. Will probably whittle itself down a little more. Only 2 have passed Cape Horn yet, and the North Atlantic in winter is not a joke.

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

sorry to hear of yet another disaster in the GGR, and hope that she is picked up safely and soon.

One interesting question arises: did the JSD come off, thus allowing the pitchpole to occur, or did it get ripped off during the tumble? An important difference for other users to consider.

Jim

I'll be very interested in the answer to this question, plus exactly what part broke and how. This is exactly the kind of information and test the JSD needs to be given to see how it copes with the worst case scenario. The other questions are around luck. The sample size is too small to discount random cases of bad fortune. But Mark Slats survival in 'the' storm is another useful data point. A lot to be learnt here for the average sailor.

On another note, I am off to the deep south again for a month, so I will be without means to follow this thread. Hopefully my nominated GGR adviser will give me the odd update. (I am talking about you Gilow)

https://vimeo.com/208792357

https://youtu.be/pu4ogCy5d4k

[picklesandjesse]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

sorry to hear of yet another disaster in the GGR, and hope that she is picked up safely and soon.

One interesting question arises: did the JSD come off, thus allowing the pitchpole to occur, or did it get ripped off during the tumble? An important difference for other users to consider.

Jim

You're not kidding. Just bought a new to me ( old ) boat with one. Never used in 80,000 miles but looks good !! How can you tell?
Maybe best idea is not to go down there.

[JPA Cate]

A comment about JSD's.... The ones you buy are considered by the manufacturers to be a single use item.

There has been discussion here on CF about how to make them more durable, because there are some simple things to do to make them more durable: hemming and zig-zagging the leading edges, for instance. However, I think that for what these guys are doing, you should really make it hell for stout, and since there is little demand, it would be experiment all the way, so that uncertainty makes a risk for someone doing this, and then they would have to think about how to make it stronger or last longer. Storing them is always a conflict about space vs. how durable it is.

I don't know the best way to approach the task, at all. What we found, using a pvc cone, short series drogue for our dinghy is that it doesn't take many, and they hold up well. The problem comes in when you need 200 m. at least of drogue and 3/4" nylon line. Now, let me say here, some people are making them out of dyneema, with perhaps a stretchy bridle, (smaller diameter line, lighter weight, easier to stow in an opening bag), but I think the cones are very vulnerable to chafe from moving through the water. Perhaps a triple hemmed leading edge is the answer, with zig-zag, plus straight stitching, using ptfe thread, which does have some stretch, and is impervious to water.....and double, at the aft end of the cone. More work for whoever sews it, but it might cope for the duration of the event.

By the way, CF's own Seaworthy Lass has written about making her JSD here: http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...es-190315.html If you go to the CF Custom Google Search function and put in JSD + Seaworthy Lass, you''ll get a number of results.

As to Susie, oh, man, I'm wishing her well. The moment when she saw the deck was stripped, nothing to make a jury rig with---man, that must have been a heartbreaker.

Ann

[GILow]

Regarding the JSD failure... have we ruled out a failure of the attachment points on the boat itself? I’ve read so many cautions about the strength required for the deck cleats or whatever is used to fasten the devices to the boat.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by GILow

Regarding the JSD failure... have we ruled out a failure of the attachment points on the boat itself? I’ve read so many cautions about the strength required for the deck cleats or whatever is used to fasten the devices to the boat.

Somewhere in all the static it says the bridle was still attached....

[GILow]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Somewhere in all the static it says the bridle was still attached....

Ah... right. Missed that. Well, there goes my theory.

I should be used to that by now.

[ilenart]

Originally Posted by Orion Jim

Isn’t that was the safety tube is designed to do if the water paddle is struck by an object in the water? Or are we to presume it was a spontaneous component failure?

The safety tube on the monitor is designed to fail. However this is the 2nd time Susie's monitor has failed at the height of the storm. I really wonder if the safety tube should be stronger as this is defintely the wrong time to fail and would be unrepairable until conditions moderated. In contrast Mark's windvane (an Aries?) kept working throughout his storm in the Indian ocean.

Hopefully the maker's of Monitor's are following the GGR and are looking at an engineering solution. Maybe a "southern ocean" safety tube and / or re-engineering a stronger unit.

Ilenart

[TeddyDiver]

Originally Posted by ilenart

The safety tube on the monitor is designed to fail. However this is the 2nd time Susie's monitor has failed at the height of the storm. I really wonder if the safety tube should be stronger as this is defintely the wrong time to fail and would be unrepairable until conditions moderated. In contrast Mark's windvane (an Aries?) kept working throughout his storm in the Indian ocean.

Hopefully the maker's of Monitor's are following the GGR and are looking at an engineering solution. Maybe a "southern ocean" safety tube and / or re-engineering a stronger unit.

Ilenart

Maybe a smaller wing for extreme weather would appropriate?

[leboyd]

Very sad to read about her situation. As the youngest and only female in the race I'm sure she had many rooting for her - as I was. Every day I'd go on the site and read the messages from the leader (oldest contestant, sailing on a makeshift rig), Suzie (youngest) and Slat (second place, and generally gaining on Van Dee Heed). Godspeed to the remaining contestants.

[GILow]

The whole issue of windvane failures is going to be a big take-home from this race.

I dropped in to pay homage to Coconut yesterday, and I was very surprised by the state of her Aries windvane. The whole thing had been fully reconditioned by the factory, immediately prior to the race, so I was expecting it to look pretty good. But it looks like someone has been at it with an angle grinder and flap disk. These things must go through hell out there.