The GGR race, discussion and news

[ullar]

It's a tough race anyways, just not as special as organizers want us to believe.

With modern safety requirements it's impossible to a run a race comparable to original GGR.

[ilenart]

Originally Posted by bobnlesley

Perhaps old news/something I've missed, but I was today reading an interview with Jeanne Socrates whose in that same area which noted that whilst the GGR yachts have all no doubt got their sextants aboard, they're not actually navigating 'traditionally' as seems to get mentioned in every publicity report:
Ms. Socrates advised - learnt from her own SSB conversations with the competitors - that when the racers receive weather info via SSB each day, these reports also include their precise position as transmitted by the locator units which each boat carries aboard.

I think we need to be careful on whether they are receiving "outside assistance" (which is not allowed) or are they receiving "Free positions" (which is allowed)

From the race rules detailing "Free Positions"

A Participant is free to ask any mariner at sea their current position to assist the Entrant to determine their own position at any time and to ask for entrant's position to reported to the GGR Organiser. A 24 ht GGR Hotlne number will be provided to Entrants for this purpose. On such occassions, the position reported, date and time, name of the vessel and callsign must be recorded in the entrant's communication log. This information must be provided to the Organisers at the end of the voyage for scrutiny.

In the original race participants were free to contact other mariners at sea and ask for their own location. Pretty sure Robin Knox-Johnston did this a couple of times. The current GGR participants can do the same.

Note that all their communication logs all have to handed in for scrutiny at the end of the race.

Ilenart

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by bobnlesley

Perhaps old news/something I've missed, but I was today reading an interview with Jeanne Socrates whose in that same area which noted that whilst the GGR yachts have all no doubt got their sextants aboard, they're not actually navigating 'traditionally' as seems to get mentioned in every publicity report:
Ms. Socrates advised - learnt from her own SSB conversations with the competitors - that when the racers receive weather info via SSB each day, these reports also include their precise position as transmitted by the locator units which each boat carries aboard.

Any chance of a link to that interview?

It would be very easy for a shore station.... with a $6 single ship subscription to Marinetraffic.com.... to find out and relay to a competitor their exact position via HF.... assuming the yacht is running AIS...

I feel , however, that would be quite outside the spirit of the event

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by ilenart

I think we need to be careful on whether they are receiving "outside assistance" (which is not allowed) or are they receiving "Free positions" (which is allowed)

From the race rules detailing "Free Positions"

A Participant is free to ask any mariner at sea their current position to assist the Entrant to determine their own position at any time and to ask for entrant's position to reported to the GGR Organiser. A 24 ht GGR Hotlne number will be provided to Entrants for this purpose. On such occassions, the position reported, date and time, name of the vessel and callsign must be recorded in the entrant's communication log. This information must be provided to the Organisers at the end of the voyage for scrutiny.

In the original race participants were free to contact other mariners at sea and ask for their own location. Pretty sure Robin Knox-Johnston did this a couple of times. The current GGR participants can do the same.

Note that all their communication logs all have to handed in for scrutiny at the end of the race.

Ilenart

That - the way I read it - means that you can ask a passing ship where you are.... not that you can get your position from a shore based HF station.....

[bobnlesley]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Any chance of a link to that interview?

Sorry, not at the moment, we're on a very weak/flakey internet signal and I can't get Facebook to open.

If you want to find it yourself, then I'm 99.9% certain that where I read it was on either the OCC or SSCA Facebook pages; If I could get them to open I'd look for it on the OCC page first.
It was a transcription of an interview which Jeanne had given 'Good Old Boat' magazine I think either over SSB radio, or via email/satphone..

[picklesandjesse]

Bit off topic but looks like Stanley Paris heads out tomorrow from St Augustine to be the oldest singlehanded RTW. His 4th and last attempt. 81 years old. Can't stop a Kiwi.

[bobnlesley]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Any chance of a link to that interview?

My internet signal's improved and a link - it's a long one! -to the interview and comments are here:

https://www.facebook.com/goodoldboat...902402?__xts__[0]=68.ARDLWglz0Qy0S4N_IL03oQ12uwhPNpHQorJ2z6xUntpBYC WF7OP5uW8FzIUI_huTKkKTBwiLUQuH5r-P-askYOX46hacB1RrU8tcvsT_w7dwDfoLhEdibePYSVvL5wmWORO xnipKF5tm3-w5DRGaf7Y99gWqK0SXlGNp9Vhd--SBD2JaOfXqo18SoiDGStQenk0XmlWgkG_BpuSzchUGYT9qmJu4 XhkPl85gE_S9MEKWT2kCQaO7sBynbw5ruupUEUa0yJa5gvsQ90 8kgJa71ZP4SAXhd6UOO5rwoifg41dHgv-nmib-_vU07TwXJDX-prW0UvnNN_2QIkZSjTCyoQ3v-s2_IHIeG1U93roXjSBgOSh9Nz09wv88OcwZf5HL9tkxAmwo-yVjMrTctCeVyBy8JTdZ-YE_Y2BlxJcihOLhZRBcAMtJ9MUKnf0B8-aZaoe9p7QJoK07xqcZ2P6CvKY5e2hA7vetxtORWPdHrjQDW_bu WBQ_WLQriEVSIw&__tn__=KH-R

[Matt Johnson]

Originally Posted by picklesandjesse

Bit off topic but looks like Stanley Paris heads out tomorrow from St Augustine to be the oldest singlehanded RTW. His 4th and last attempt. 81 years old. Can't stop a Kiwi.

Did you see his old 2012 Farr 63 'Kiwi Spirit' just sold for under $600k. Crazy good deal for whomever bought it.... I heard it was close to $4 million for the build.

Matt

[picklesandjesse]

Originally Posted by funjohnson

Did you see his old 2012 Farr 63 'Kiwi Spirit' just sold for under $600k. Crazy good deal for whomever bought it.... I heard it was close to $4 million for the build.

Matt

He's done very well for himself over there. Waterfront house too etc etc.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by bobnlesley

My internet signal's improved and a link - it's a long one! -to the interview and comments are here:

https://www.facebook.com/goodoldboat...902402?__xts__

Thanks... that worked...
'JEANNE: Please note - they get their positions from talking to radio contacts daily on SSB - the fact that skies are overcast for days on end, preventing sextant sights being taken, does not stop them from knowing exactly where they are from other people who can see their tracker positions! They don't have to wait to find a ship in their vicinity to talk to on VHF any more...'

Whole lot should be disqualified.......

[Jim Cate]

The longer this "race" goes on, the less I appreciate the (to me) silly rules that try to emulate the un-emulatable. I admire the zeal of the participants as well as their skills, but the whole contrived shtick lacks credibility.

The Longue Route folks seem to be having a better time of it from my limited observation.

I suppose that history will eventually pass judgement on the whole thing.

Jim

[ahun]

It was a bit suspicious from the beginning, navigating within fraction of a mile of each other and lee-shore, when the sensible thing would have been keeping tens of miles clearance. If you only and purely rely on sextant and compass.

[Snowpetrel]

I don't think all of them are getting HF position fixes. If so it's a little bit disappointing. I guess it's not against the rules specifically, but it does seen against the spirit.

Finally got to listen to Istvans woes on soundcloud. His wheel steering main bearing has let go, and his emergency tiller has flogged out the keyway. Prehaps his auxiliary rudder is the answer? He is also almost out of water. Not a happy chap, and I would be very worried in his place. I hope he can sort something workable out.

[ullar]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

The longer this "race" goes on, the less I appreciate the (to me) silly rules that try to emulate the un-emulatable. I admire the zeal of the participants as well as their skills, but the whole contrived shtick lacks credibility.

The Longue Route folks seem to be having a better time of it from my limited observation.

I suppose that history will eventually pass judgement on the whole thing.

Jim

+1

[TeddyDiver]

About the rules, I consider the "no go zones" a big mistake. Most of the participants seem to follow quite close the line and thus have a limited ability to duck weather only to north. I know the purpose was to prevent going too far south but just a single point per ocean to keep on your starboard, well mayby two for the Pacific, would have done the same without restricting weather routing so much.