WHAT IS HF and SSB? is it winning the 2018GGR?

Australia is a BIG place and being brought up in South Australia you must sail through the Southern Ocean getting out to sail the world. In the 70’s when I started sailing, your only safety link was High Frequency long range radio. You needed to radio long distances. EPIRBS did NOT exist. During my 1990 BOC Challenge there were EPIRBS, but NO Iridium sat phones. Nearly every day for eight months, I called Sydney Radio direct from anywhere in the world on my trusty High Frequency (HF) Single Side band (SSB) long range radio. My early experience helped. I won a communications award because of it. 22 years earlier in the first Golden Globe, HF radios were basic and Unreliable.
In Europe HF SSB radios were never popular. You only need to call short distance and now with Sat phones they have virtually disappeared. Most GGR entrants had NEVER used an HF SSB before entering. They are mandatory for the Race. We stressed to entrants their importance for safety between the fleet. For group communications in an emergency, they could be vital. All had mandatory radio performance tests, but I have to say some were installed better than others.
The first seven weeks and the last seven weeks of this GGR are tactically VERY important if you hope to win. Weather planning is vital. Get it wrong and you stop. The rest of the Voyage is more hanging on for the ride as you sail in a narrow band through the Southern Ocean.
Entrants with Good HF SSB radios, and who know how to use them have a HUGE advantage by receiving accurate weather data and even discussing computer weather information with friends. This kind of information is potentially worth more than the best sails. It could win you the race after rounding Cape Horn. It is allowed under the rules. They cannot accept weather ROUTING which is someone else telling the entrant where to go to get the best winds.
As they race south to meet the Southern Ocean for the first time, weather info will be about missing storms rather than sailing fast. Realistically they are so slow they will not miss many, but one thing you can be sure of, is that every entrant will be relying on his/her HF SSB radio for more than they ever imagined when they were planning for the race. Twice a day they can chat with each other to give encouragement and feel not so alone. I remember in my BOC this was amazing. Many have not spoken to family and friends since they left. Their sense of isolation and being at the end of the world will grow. Their ability to call anyone on the radio is a HUGE plus.
Loic has serious problems with his radio and will climb the mast soon to try and fix it. He talks to no one. Others have little issues. Some make the daily chat session, others not. We have direct satellite links to them all, but in an emergency, we may need them to use HF SSB radio too.
The GGR is all about individual human endeavour and personal challenge. In 1968 most entrants took HF radios. Bernard Moitessier did not. In 1968, only official GOVT. radio weather broadcasts were available. Those same reports are all still available today. Nothing fancy like Windyty? It is enough to get you safely around the world. Maybe in the 2022 GGR (open for entries in three weeks) we should only allow the Official Weather reports and give no access to private information from onshore computer weather like Windyty etc? It may create a more level playing field and bring it even closer to 1969? If that was the case now, Mark Slats may not be on his own in the west!

Windvanes are a BIG DEAL!

Windvanes, those funny gadgets on the back of the boats that steer 24hrs a day and eat no food can make or break any solo sailor. They are vital in the GGR. There are two basic principles, Servo pendulum systems and Auxiliary rudder systems. If you want to see how they work, GGR YOUTUBE Channel has a VIDEO tutorial I made, so check it out. The mayhem and disaster they have caused in the GGR is surprising and created a lot of news and comment, but now it is settling down. ANTOINE is talking about heading to Cape Town with continuing Windpilot issues and ISTVAN just had a servo paddle failure with his Windpilot he was able to eventually fix.
My first windvane was a Navik in 1975. I was the ARIES agent in Australia for decades. I have sailed with most types and understand them all and have advised sailors for the last 30 years on best types for different boats. Here is a rundown and my opinion on what has happened so far. HYDROVANE are a sponsor of the GGR, but have nothing to do with this story, or my opinions and only offer a 25% discount to GGR entrants.

• ABHILASH..…….WINDPILOT…..SPONSORED….OK
• ANTOINE……….WINDPILOT……SPONSORED….NOT OK..Parts and Operator issue?
• ARE Wiig……… MONITOR………. NEW…………. OK
• ERTAN.. ………..HYDROVANE……NEW…….…… OK
• Francesco………BEAUFORT………NEW…………. OK
• GREGOR………..HYDROVANE……NEW…………..OK
• IGOR……………..WINDPILOT…..…SPONSORED…….OK
• ISTVAN…………..WINDPILOT……..SPONSORED…….NOT OK..A whole story.
• JL VDH……….….HYDROVANE……NEW……….…..OK
• KEVIN…………….HYDROVANE……OLD………..….OK…(Operator issue)?
• LOIC ………………HYDROVANE……OLD……….….OK
• COCONUT……..…ARIES…………….OLD………..…OK
• MARK SLATS…….ARIES…………….NEW……….…OK
• NABIL………………BEAUFORT………NEW…………..NOT OK..welds broken on critical part!
• PHILIPPE …………BEAUFORT………NEW……….…OK
• SUSIE………..…….MONITOR………..NEW…………..OK
• TAPIO………………WINDPILOT………NEW………….OK.. after a week settling in
• UKU…………………HYDROVANE…….NEW………….OK

6 Hydrovane all working fine!
5 Windpilot 2 working fine ..one ok, after a week of frustration and two not OK.
3 Beaufort with 2 working fine and one destroyed.
2 ARIES both working fine.
2 Monitors both working fine
The stories of doom and gloom came from ISTVAN, ANTOINE, NABIL, TAPIO and KEVIN with everyone else quickly settling down to satisfactory operation of their windvanes. Windvanes do a good job, but they cannot do everything. A skipper can overpower them striving for Max. performance, but all the brands represented have happily cruised sailors around the world. So what happened?
ISTVAN: chose a windvane he did not know, possibly because it was free. 1st mistake! He had previously sailed around the world with a Monitor with no problems? He then had problems with Windpilot sailing across the Atlantic to the start, threatened to chuck it, but never did. Maybe 2nd problem? Neither he, nor the manufacture sorted the issues before the start, even after a visit to the Race Village. Too late once you leave, so whatever it was, could have and should have been avoided.
ANTOINE: Sailed into Les Sables d’Olonne just one month before the start of the GGR and hand steered all night, because he could not get his windvane working? After that it appears he was thinking of other things. One bolt dropped out of the Vane head just after the start and another bolt a week later. He hand steered for a week to the Canaries, but the fix at the Marina took less than an hour using bolts he had onboard. After advice and adjustments, he left with it working, but now news gets back, that he may be considering a stop in Cape Town, with ongoing windvane issues. This would be the end of his GGR?
NABIL: The steering line post on his Beaufort windvane broke clean off and was impossible to fix. Failure of the SS welding and tube. (Philippe has the same system) Nabil Quit the GGR.
TAPIO: Was stressed leading into the start, still building his boat at the Race Village. His early frustrations with his Windpilot in the first week were no doubt in my mind, Operator issues and now all is going OK.
KEVIN: This Hydrovane unit was rebuilt to new spec. before the start with new parts and is the original 20-year-old unit that had already sailed halfway around the world. I sold it to Kevin with the boat. I checked it on arrival in Canaries and it is fine. It steers the boat. This too seems to be Operator issues.
In my opinion the most important thing in the GGR after a good boat is a good windvane, that has a proven track record in the Southern Ocean and importantly, knowing how to use it. There is also a lot to be said for Auxiliary Rudder systems on heavy displacement full keel boats like all GGR boats, that track reasonably well. These boats may not need the fast response of a servo pendulum, Nor all its moving parts, associated ropes, pulleys and wheel drums, all working the ships rudder for nine months. A Hydrovane has none of that. Maybe IGOR is now thinking the same thing?
But that is the interesting part of the GGR. 17 sailors from 13 countries, in different boats with different equipment and different ideas. Only some will cross the finish line and we are all watching! It is a Grand adventure, and all are winners, but only one will be first!
Don

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PRB leads – but is the computer right?

Istvan Kopar reinstated to the Golden Globe class

As the fleet leaders crossed the Equator over the weekend, the computer tracking gives Philippe Péché (FRA) Rustler 36 PRB an 18 mile lead over fellow Frenchman Jean-Luc Van Den Heede with Dutchman Mark Slats trailing in third. But computers track straight courses – in this case from the Cape Verde Islands to the Cape of Good Hope – taking no account of the South Atlantic High pressure system, which these sailors must skirt around before getting down into the Roaring Forty latitudes.

So who of these three is better placed?

Slats’ Rustler 36 Ohpen Maverick is almost 1,000 miles west from the main body of the fleet and 36 miles south of Péché who is charting a middle route down the Atlantic with Van Den Heede’s Matmut further east and with 37 miles less southing. The Dutchman’s hope is that the southeast trade winds will turn further east during the next couple of days, to give him a one or two day jump on his rivals.

Jean-Luc reported today that nothing had broken on his boat since the start and that he was picking up excellent weather forecasts from the Ham radio net. He also reported that he had not experienced any rain since the start, in marked difference to most others in the fleet including Slats who used a downpour today to replenish his drinking water.

Other potentials winners this week include Britain’s Susie Goodall (Rustler 36 DHL Starlight) whose birthday present was a move up to 4th place, and Estonian Uku Randmaa who has jumped from 7th to 5th. Goodall made the most of unexpected calms this morning to dive overboard and scrub the bottom of the boat. “It turns out that I left my deck brush on the dockside back in Les Sables d’Olonne, so I’ve had to use the brush I use for cleaning dishes.” She joked during a call to Race HQ today

The losers look to be Norwegian Are Wiig (OE 32 Olleanna) down from 4th to 6th, Ireland’s Gregor McGuckin (Biscay 36 Hanley Energy Endurance) and Australian Mark Sinclair (Lello 34 Coconut) who has slipped 10 miles behind Frenchman Loïc Lepage’s Nicholson 32 Laaland during the past week.

Finland’s Tapio Lehtinen sailing the Gaia 36 Asteria, (8th), Russian Igor Zaretskiy in his Endurance 35 Esmeralda (9th) and Indian Abhilash Tomy sailing the Suhaili replica Thuriya (10th) have all maintained their fleet positions despite the calms of the Doldrums moving south to envelope all those in mid fleet.

Istvan Kopar reinstated to the Golden Globe class

A decision was made on Friday 27th July to reinstate the US/Hungarian sailor Istvan Kopar to the Golden Globe Class after he stopped in the Cape Verde Islands to repair the wind vane self-steering system on his Tradewind 35 Puffin.

On 17th July Kopar, who had been complaining of problems with his self-steering since the start from Les Sables d’Olonne on July 1st, called Don McIntyre, the Race Chairman, on his satellite phone reserved for emergency use and direct communication with Race HQ, to declare that he would be pulling in to the Cape Verde Islands and accepted that he would be demoted to the Chichester Class. He subsequently asked for a message to be passed to his team manager to order a new wind vane and have it shipped to the Islands. He also requested navigation advice on the best port to proceed to.

Two days later, Istvan appears to have had second thoughts about making a stop. A new wind vane could not be delivered before 31st July and he may have received advice via the HAM radio net proffered from the manufacturer on how to repair his existing vane.

What is known is that Kopar dropped anchor in Mindeo port at 06:00 UTC on 23rd July and departed again at 2100 UTC on 24th July. The Race Organisers accept that Istvan did not go ashore nor received any outside assistance during this period. He accepted his new status as a Chichester Class sailor but asked the organisers to reconsider his position, siting that his decision-making process had been impaired by stress caused by lack of sleep and that no material advantage had been gained from the stop-over.

In the spirit of the Golden Glone Race, the Race Organisers agreed instead to impose a 24-hour time penalty for inappropriate use of his satellite phone and the outside assistance gained from the navigation advice he received.

Kopar remains at the back of the GGR fleet, and like Frenchman Antoine Cousot (Biscay 36 Métier Intérim) who was relegated to the Chichester Class after stopping for two days in the Canary Islands, is currently trapped in the Doldrums.

Day 30: 0800 UTC positions

1. Philippe Péché (FRA) Rustler 36 PRB
2. Jean- Luc VDH (FRA)Rustler 36 Matmut
3. Mark Slats (NED)Rustler 36 Ohpen Maverick
4. Susie Goodall (GBR) Rustler 36 DHL Starlight
5. Uku Randmaa (EST) Rustler 36 One and All
6. Are Wiig (NOR) OE 32 Olleanna
7. Gregor McGuckin (IRE) Biscay 36 Hanley Energy Endurance
8. Tapio Lehtinen (FIN) Gaia 36 Asteria
9. Igor Zaretskiy (RUS) Endurance 35 Esmeralda
10. Abhilash Tomy (IND) Suhaili replica Thuriya
11. Loïc Lepage (FRA) Nicholson 32 Laaland
12. Mark Sinclair (Aus) Lello 34 Coconut
13. Istvan Kopar (USA) Tradewind 35 Puffin

• CHICHESTER CLASS
  1. Antoine Cousot (FRA) Biscay 36 Métier Intérim

   

• COROZZO SAILOR
  1. Francesco Cappelletti (ITA) Endurance 35 007

   

• RETIRED
  1. 1. Ertan Beskardes (GBR) Rustler 36 Lazy Otter
     2. Kevin Farebrother (AUS) Tradewind 35 Sagarmatha
     3. Nabil Amra (PAL) Biscay 36 Liberty II

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COMPLAINTS!! There are a few!!

ENTRANT UPDATE
ISTVAN CHICHESTER CLASS Consideration

In Les Sables d’Olonne Jane and I live in the 15th floor apartment of my friend JL VDH who is away sailing. We overlook the entrance to the river with a commanding 270 degree view of the ocean day and night. This full moon is incredible lighting my favourite silver-grey highway to the horizon. Looking out, I think of our GGR sailors all the time, as do all those in the GGR family. That family is spread around the world and is growing. We are focused on the Tracker, the Tweets, the Soundcloud and Facebook updates. That is where the GGR is and while personally I still cringe at the sight of so many people in Airports, restaurants, offices, buses in fact everywhere, endlessly staring at their mobile device, GGR is feeding that too.

For GGR Social media it is the easiest and quickest way to get all types of media out as it happens. You may not know but if you go to the web site and hit LIVE– then hit DAY BY DAY you have ALL the GGR social media news in the one spot online. You can check everything from there. It is the best place to get it all.

On GGR Facebook, in the past two weeks, we reached over 1 Million people with over 400,000 Video views. It works. We have even had some complaints that now with Flickr picture galleries, there is too much content and people cannot keep up. Yes we are happy about that. A few complained that our emailed news updates are Not competitor updates like the “other” Races put out every day. YES that is true, but we do not want to put out 300 updates and bore people. The daily stuff on Social media is there for those who look for it. That works! You will only ever get one regular PRESS RELEASE from BARRY and hopefully just one NEWS LETTER a week from me that could be about anything, not just entrant Race news.

Compliments? Yes there are and that’s the good news! We are receiving a huge amount of simple little messages and emails from all over the world. People enjoy experiencing this very REAL GGR adventure. They love the little tweets, they accept the entrant isolation and understand there will never be live satellite vision or photos from the sailors and they understand the 1968 concept. The 50th Anniversary edition of the original seems to be working for now. It is not for everyone if you are after high adrenalin, but what a journey and beautiful example of the human spirit….Don

ENTRANT UPDATE

WATCH THIS SPACE!…Wow it is interesting watching the fleet when they do not all have computer weather and the same routing program onboard like the VENDEE. The leaders are making very different decisions. Who will be right, or wrong will play out in the next two days!

At the back of the fleet ANTOINE and ISTVAN are moving OK and about to sail into a no wind trough that will just sit there for a couple days so they will slow. LOIC and ABHILASH will finally get out of their light wind zone today and start moving again to keep up with the rest of the fleet. They know they need to get East to keep in the general air flow. Entrants speak with each other on HF radio occasionally and hear what each is doing. LOIC’s HF radio is now working again.

The main pack continues to move SE, which is the general recommendation for passing through this area in the least amount of time. Historically the Doldrums are the narrowest here. Then when you get through you need the easting to prepare yourself to tack and cut across the predominate SE trades to get south. GREGOR is moving at 6kts to the SE. Strangely IGOR has slowed to 3.4kts when the wind map suggests he should be moving well? Not sure why? Over the past days ARE doing 4.6kts has lost ground as I predicted two days ago with the others in this group in consistent wind catching up. UKU has sailed over to SUSIE for Her BIRTHDAY party today with both making 5.5kts and TAPIO further to the east where the breeze holds firm is still making up ground each day, currently doing 6kts.

Now the fun part JL VDH is holding his nerve! He continues to make SE and it is clear to me he is working to a PLAN! He knows this is the right thing to do “NORMALLY” I am not sure how good his weather reports are. He uses the HAM network but he will be sure to tack anytime now. He is in an excellent position to move fast to the South and West. PHILIPPE has been forced to TACK with the wind and is now on Starboard heading away to the SE. In my opinion MARK SLATS may be too far to the west already that will cost him speed when he has to hold the trade winds closer to the bow to head south.

BUT!!!! when you look at the forecast for the wind of these leaders in the next 24 hours, it shifts from SSE to SE and then 24 hours after that is keeps swinging to the ESE. This could change everything. JL VDH may lose some strategic advantage but sail faster on the best course. PHILIPPE will tack by late today probably and get back on track and even MARK SLATS could just squeak through. ALL very interesting indeed.

The Leader board is hard to follow right now. It may not reflect the true leader. The computer distance sailed is worked out on a straight line to a waypoint just under CAPETOWN. The reality is all entrants now want to head south west (away from the direct line) and down the east coast of south America and around the South Atlantic high. This is the traditional way. BUT!!!! The only thing wrong with that is that sailors do not usually do that at this time of the year and the South Atlantic High (a zone of light winds in the middle of the Atlantic) is not well formed yet. So watch this space. Anything could happen in the next week or so.

ISTVAN CHICHESTER CLASS Consideration

BACKGROUND
On 17th JULY ISTVAN called GGR Chairman on his SAT Phone to DECLARE his move to CHICHESTER CLASS. This was accepted. ISTVAN asked for messages to be passed to his USA Manager to order a new wind vane and ship by air to Cape VERDE. ISTVAN requested navigation advice on best port to proceed to in CAPE VERDE. Only based on ISTVANS declared move to CHICHESTER CLASS did GGR comply with both requests as a SAT PHONE may NOT be used for any form of assistance for a GGR Entrant other than in an Emergency. NOR 3.1.4

Subsequently two days later, on the 19th JULY ISTVAN appears to have second thoughts about the Cape Verde stop. A new wind vane would not be delivered until 31st July at earliest and this could have been a factor. ISTVAN stopped at UTC 0600hrs on the 23rd JULY in MINDEO PORT on anchor. He received NO outside assistance and departed at approx. UTC 2100hrs on the 24th JULY. GGR Entrants may NOT enter any port. NOR 3.1.5

ISTVAN has now accepted his status as a CHICHESTER CLASS sailor, but requests re-consideration due to stress, effecting his decisions and that NO materiel advantage was gained through his actions.

BREACH OF RULES of NOTICE OF RACE

1. Requesting and Accepting NON-EMERGENCY assistance on the SAT PHONE.
2. Entering a Port.

MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES

ISTVAN was under stress from hand steering due to a Faulty wind vane. In a phone conversation of the 19th JULY he is clearly confused even about making emergency/distress Satellite phone calls being allowed. The responsibility for understanding NOR Rules rests with the Entrant. (The issue of SAT Phone use has been covered by GGR over the past two years in EXTREME detail in conference briefings, emails, publications and at two very comprehensive full day safety seminars in the weeks leading up to the Start of the GGR).

FINDINGS

1.  GGR may make exceptions in the Application of the Rules. NOR 3.2
2.  In the spirit of the GGR and accepting stress may have confused ISTVAN on Rule interpretation and on the basis that no real or materiel advantage has been provided to ISTVAN through the inappropriate use of his satellite phone and his stop in Port, an alternate time penalty has been decided.
3.  For breaching NOR 3.1.4 an 18-hour time penalty is given.
4.  For breaching NOR 3.1.5 a 6-hour time penalty is given.
5.  ISTVAN will now move from CHICHESTER CLASS back into the GGR ENTRANT status.

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DAY 23: The Rich get Richer as leaders break out of the Doldrums

Istvan Kopar pulls in to Sao Vincente, Cape Verde and joins the Chichester Class

Francesco Cappelletti starts from Les Sables d’Olonne in the Carozzo Class

The last few days has seen frustration sweep across the entire Golden Globe Race fleet as these solo circumnavigators experience the intense heat and humidity of the Tropics while trying to escape the clutches of the Doldrums. But today, the leaders at least can turn the page as they hit the refreshing South East Trades and extend their lead on the remainder of the fleet.

French leader Philippe Péché (Rustler 36 PRB) was first to tack on to port and head south west. Early today. Second placed Jean-Luc Van Den Heede (Rustler 36 Matmut), 50 miles away, was still on starboard but expected to tack soon along with Dutchman Mark Slats (Rustler 36 Ohpen Maverick). The question now is how close they should sail into the new winds to loop round the Cape of Good Hope without running into the South Atlantic High pressures system.

Back in the days of the great clipper ships, the traditional route was to set a course with freed sheets across towards Brazil and enter the Roaring Forty latitudes of the Southern Ocean mid-way across the Atlantic, but the GGR yachts all have close-winded rigs that give these skippers the option to continue almost due south and gain a considerable mileage advantage.

Péché, Van Den Heede and Slats are already a week ahead of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s average daily distance 50 years ago and on par with Moitessier’s time in his larger 40ft Joshua.

Speed however is subjective. These GGR sailors are expecting to be at sea for between 240 – 300 days, a far cry from the 40 days 23 hours 30 minute outright record set by Francois Joyon and his crew in their giant trimaran IDEC Sport back in 2017. Race leader Philippe Péché who was one of the crew aboard Loïck Peyron’s record setting trimaran Banque Populaire V back in 2012 reflected on this last week: “Day 18. I am off Dakar. We were off Cape Leeuwin (SW Australia) on this day.”

On Saturday, Italian Francesco Cappelletti, who missed the start from Les Sables d’Olonne back on July 1st, finally set out to chase after the leaders only to find himself caught in a huge area of calm extending right across the Bay of Biscay. He is sailing his Endurance 35 007 in the Carozzo Class, for those keen to continue the adventure after dropping out of the main event.

Early today, American/Hungarian Istvan Kopar also stepped down a class after calling in to Sao Vincente in the Cape Verde Islands to repair or replace the wind vane self-steering on his Tradewind 35 Puffin. He now joins Frenchman Antoine Cousot (Métier Intérim) in the Chichester Class for those who make one stop.

Behind the leaders, Britain’s 5th placed Susie Goodall (Rustler 36 DHL Starlight) was expressing her frustration with a message to Race HQ: “CAN’T ESCAPE THIS HEAT. NEED SOME BREEZE!”
And behind her, Estonian Uku Randmas (Rustler 36 One and All) now in 7th position, summed it up with: “YESTERDAY I PARKED MY CAR. TODAY, START FROM SAME PLACE.”

Ireland’s Gregor McGuckin (Biscay 36 Hanley Energy Endurance) who took the opportunity to go for a swim last Friday, was keeping his spirits up fishing: “TUNA FOR BREAKFAST! HOOK TO PAN IN 15MINS. DELICIOUS”

Indian Abhilash Tomy sailing the Suhaili replica Thuriya back in 10th place, became so frustrated that he sailed due west for a few hours on Friday and has since passed the Cape Verde Islands on the opposite side to the leaders. This morning, he is still in calms but moving south at 5knots, presumably under engine power, sacrificing some of his precious 40 gallons supply of fuel to find new wind.

Positions et 06:00 23. 07. 2018

1. 1. Philippe Péché (FRA) Rustler 36 PRB
   2. Jean- Luc VDH (FRA)Rustler 36 Matmut
   3. Mark Slats (NED)Rustler 36 Ohpen Maverick
   4. Are Wiig (NOR) OE 32 Olleanna
   5. Susie Goodall (GBR) Rustler 36 DHL Starlight
   6. Gregor McGuckin (IRE) Biscay 36 Hanley Energy Endurance
   7. Uku Randmaa (EST) Rustler 36 One and All
   8. Tapio Lehtinen (FIN) Gaia 36 Asteria
   9. Igor Zaretskiy (RUS) Endurance 35 Esmeralda
   10. Abhilash Tomy (IND) Suhaili replica Thuriya
   11. Mark Sinclair (Aus) Lello 34 Coconut
   12. Loïc Lepage (FRA) Nicholson 32 Laaland

    

2. CHICHESTER CLASS
   1. Istvan Kopar (USA) Tradewind 35 Puffin
   2. Antoine Cousot (FRA) Biscay 36 Métier Intérim

    

3. COROZZO SAILOR
   1. Francesco Cappelletti (ITA) Endurance 35 007

    

4. RETIRED
   1. Ertan Beskardes (GBR) Rustler 36 Lazy Otter
   2. Kevin Farebrother (AUS) Tradewind 35 Sagarmatha
   3. Nabil Amra (PAL) Biscay 36 Liberty II

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BEEN AWHILE!

I am in the Canary Islands with Jane and Christophe. We head back to the GGR Office in Les Sables D’Olonne tomorrow. So would you like to read something interesting, even fascinating? When you finish reading this, scroll down the News section and read some of the very first newsletters I wrote back in 2015. From an idea to here we are. Game on! It is happening now. Sailors are out there. For them, everything is on the line to achieve something very personal, something intensely unique and very human. A little boat, driven by pure passion and the integrity of its skipper to take on the oceans of the world in a responsible way. Real adventure, real people in real boats!

I have been so busy I have not had time to write a News letter since APRIL 4th! Three and a Half months ago. It has been crazy for Jane and I, seven days a week and 14-16 hr days. We have been caught up in something very special. It is the GGR. There has never been anything like this in the world before. Not in 1968 and not now. This is a grand adventure and one of the biggest I have ever undertaken. For Jane and me it is like we are on another expedition. We never have enough money, nor time and that is true now. Expeditions always have moments of frustration, excitement, risk and pure emotion, all true today.

In these past months many things have happened, and some things have not. Sadly we still have no title sponsor, but our friends in Les Sables D’Olonne Agglomeration made the launch of the Race Village and the Vendee marina spectacular. Over 100,000 people visited the GGR Village and over 35,000 people lined the wall and beaches for that amazing start. I was on Suhaili with Sir Robin when he lit the powder. It was a moment both hard for me to believe and forever etched now in my mind. Thanks Sir Robin for everything!!!

Nothing beats French passion for adventure and solo sailing. Today something else happened that made me proud of my little management team that has varied over the years from four up to 15 during the Race Village. (next week we will be back to six). It was a story by a friend by the name of Maggie. Not an ordinary story. She is a New York times bestselling author. She came and spent two weeks with us at the village meeting Entrants and absorbing the flavour and emotion of the GGR. She wrote this story for the 800,000 OUTSIDE Magazine Facebook followers. It is the finest written piece about the original and this GGR that I have ever enjoyed. I think you may to. Here it is….. https://www.outsideonline.com/2325796/golden-globe-race-voyage-madmen?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=facebookpost

Over 600,000 people experienced our GGR Facebook page this week and we had 190,000 Views on our live FB videos. GGR stories are popping up all over the world and we know people are being inspired. I am happy about that! I wonder what we will be saying in seven or eight months when the first GGR boats are headed to the finish. Something tells me it will be BIG. Thanks for all your support and being part of this adventure.

GGR REVIEW!!!

The train ride south with strong following northerly winds is about to come to a screaming halt for the front runners. The game of chance begins. Those in the middle group who stay to the west may do well and quickly make up ground on the front runners. On the LIVE TRACKER with wind overlay you see a trough of light winds running north south and many are skirting the edge. Anyone drifting to the east will run out of wind. Those holding west will still have good speed. Be prepared for sudden changes in position right now.

As the GGR fleet make their way to the equator they pass through the area of Doldrums where local thunder storms and small weather systems can be completely different just miles apart. There will be many frustrations in the week ahead, hot humid conditions and sleepless nights trying to make headway through to the other side and consistent trade winds. The first through this tricky area will have a HUGE break on the rest of the fleet.

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 already have by the simple decision to NOT take headsail furling gear or to FIT all headsail furling gear ? We have seen what is happening to the fleet with decisions on 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.

Next week we start LIVE FACEBOOK updates about the adventure and sailors of the GGR. Listen to the weekly Satellite phone check ins on GGR Soundcloud and read the short text messages from all entrants every day on Twitter or the GGR web site Social media hub…it is all there. Sleep well tonight and think of our sailors out there spending the next eight months doing something quite special. Share the story and tell your friends. Thanks!

Don

GGR Founder and Race Chairman

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