Golden Globe 2022 "kite" as jury rig, etc

[owly]

The Golden Globe Race rules for 2022 now include the possibility of a "kite" as a "jury rig". I assume that this means a chute, like a parasail....... I've advocated this as a last ditch option........ No mast, no way to jury rig, and realistically put enough mast up to make significant progress.


I am deeply disappointed that the GGR committee does not allow "period multihulls". The real drama in the original race 1968 / 1969 had two trimarans, both of which failed to complete the race, one only because he was pushing to the limit trying to beat the other who was just pretending to race. A dramatic story, to be found online or in the book A Voyage for Mad Men. Nigel Tetley and Donald Crowhurst. Of 9 entrants, only one completed the race. A race when men were men, and risked all to win the prize. Nobody mollycoddled. No make believe, with sat phones... to give interviews to the press, and assist in an emergency.... a 24 hour penalty for using one otherwise. No GPS (sealed). Their lives were really and truly on the line............ I understand all that. Like "reality TV"... A let's pretend scenario. We have to do everything possible to prevent loss of life....... There is still significant risk.



H.W.

[psk125]

A lot of the risk in the recent GGR was due to the relatively unsuitable and slow boats that were required to be used to make it “authentic”. Crowhurst and Knox-Johnson didn’t have anything better. We now do. It’s a bit like hiking the Appalachian trail. You can do it in hiking boots and polartec, but to really “be a man” do you have to do it barefoot and in a leather suit?

As mentioned, many of the monohulls in the recent GGR had problems dealing with wave and weather conditions. "Period multihulls” are even more notorious for this. The GGR OA got lots of flack for how they limited contestants and made the event more dangerous than it needed to be. They don’t want to (can’t afford the insurance?) make that problem worse.

Allowing kites as a jury rig is simple. They’re light, don’t take much room, are somewhat foolproof to deploy, and might make it easier for SAR operations to find people. Does having one on board mean you’re a wuss? Or does it mean that you’re smarter than Crowhurst was?

[owly]

Originally Posted by psk125

A lot of the risk in the recent GGR was due to the relatively unsuitable and slow boats that were required to be used to make it “authentic”. Crowhurst and Knox-Johnson didn’t have anything better. We now do. It’s a bit like hiking the Appalachian trail. You can do it in hiking boots and polartec, but to really “be a man” do you have to do it barefoot and in a leather suit?

As mentioned, many of the monohulls in the recent GGR had problems dealing with wave and weather conditions. "Period multihulls” are even more notorious for this. The GGR OA got lots of flack for how they limited contestants and made the event more dangerous than it needed to be. They don’t want to (can’t afford the insurance?) make that problem worse.

Allowing kites as a jury rig is simple. They’re light, don’t take much room, are somewhat foolproof to deploy, and might make it easier for SAR operations to find people. Does having one on board mean you’re a wuss? Or does it mean that you’re smarter than Crowhurst was?

The fact is that it would not take much to make either of those trimarans quite capable. The one broke up from being pushed to the limit, the other was never properly completed. Crowhurst's boat had issues with leakage as well as structural issues, that could have been addressed as well as the other boat without significantly changing the design. The issues with period multihulls was mostly based on being overdriven. Period monohulls used in the race were perfectly capable. Boats in that class, new or old are subject to the exact same failure issues. Equally likely to be dismasted in a knockdown, and equally likely to be knocked down, but the "period boats", if anything are more rugged with full or away keels, not the fin keels notorious for breaking away. In the southern ocean you are going to be knocked down..... that's a given. The strength of the shrouds and stays, chain plates, spreaders, and countless other standing rigging components are the difference. If anything modern boats are more, not less vulnerable. Lighter taller masts, more complex rigging to keep them up. It would be interesting to see one or two "equivalent" modern boats join the fray.


The Jester Challenge is my favorite race........ I could care less about the Vendee Globe with it's million dollar + boats. The America's Cup is entertaining and these two races lead with bleeding edge technology, some of which might someday be useful..maybe. Would I ever want a foil borne catamaran? ....no, or a rigid wing sail...nor would I want a boat with a hydraulically tilted fin keel. Racing technology creeps into the ordinary yacht, often to the detriment of reliability and simplicity.



I've been laughed at for advocating kites for emergency propulsion. They have several advantages...... and a number of disadvantages. Compact and light, and don't require a mast....lifting effect can be of value, rather than driving the bow under. Launch and retrieval would be a headache, and how do you reef them?


H.W.