Dutch Sailor Mark Slats arrived at the finish of the 2018 GGR, Golden Globe Retro Sailing Race, in Les Sables D’Lonne, France at 11:18 PM local time on January 31, 2019, after 214 days at sea. He sailed around the world solo-nonstop and unassisted in the Southern Ocean around the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn. After a 36-hour time penalty, his official time will be 216 days. He will be second place because the third place skipper Uku Randamaa is over 3,000 nm from the finish. Mark Slats was the second GGR 2018 finisher in sailing a Rustler 36. Jean-Luc Van Den Heede (VDH or JLVDH) finished in just less than 212 days smashing Sir Robin Knox Johnston’s 1968 Sunday Times’ Golden Globe Race record of 312 days. We quote the biography of Mark Slats at http://www.goldengloberace.com:
“Mark Slats is another to have completed a solo circumnavigation before, sailing the 46ft Alan Buchanan designed yacht Cornelia in 2004/5. The Dutch sailor who was born in Darwin, Australia and moved to the Netherlands at the age of 8, has bought the Rustler 36 The Ohpen Maverick – the first one to be built.
Mark has his own business renovating old houses, but found preparing for the GGR and the 2017 Talisker Transatlantic Rowing Challenge took up a great deal of his time. “I’m out training 8 hours each day and been spending the rest planning for these two events. It is very time consuming!”
Remarkably, Slats overcame the disappointment of losing his fellow rower in the 2-man class, shortly before the start of the Talisker Challenge, but went on and won the singlehanded class, in record time after finishing 4th overall, ahead of all the 2-man crews!
Mark’s GGR challenge is managed by Dutch naval architect Dick Koopmans. The yacht was sailed across the North Sea to his home port of Wassenaar near the fishing port of Scheveningen earlier in 2017, and had a 3-man team fitting the boat out under Koopman’s direction while Mark was rowing across the Atlantic.
Why has he entered the GGR? ‘Because I live for this stuff’ he says.”
Eighteen sailors got to the start line, but only five remained by day 212 of the fiftieth anniversary GGR 2018. Van Den Heede led most of the way as Are Wiig, Abhilash Tomy, Gregor McGucken, Loic Lepage, and Susie Goodall’s sailboats were dismasted. This retro race for 32-to-36-foot sailboats runs through the stormy Southern Ocean. VDH’s boat was pitchpoled a few thousand miles from Cape Horn. VDH was able to enact a repair and sailed on more slowly allowing Dutch sailor Mark Slats to almost catch him south of the Azores High. A tactical misstep of motoring though the center of the high instead of sailing more quickly to its west cost Slats any chance of taking the lead short of disaster as Van Den Heede stretched his lead to over 400 nm. Slats was told by Dutch authorities to not use HAM without a license limiting his weather information. He was penalized for a satellite phone message from his manager. Jean Socrates said he received his position over SSB.
Video from VNR/PPL/GGR and Mark Slats was reproduced with the permission of the GGR 2018.
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On the Slow Boat Sailing Podcast Linus Wilson has interviewed the crew of Sailing SV Delos, WhiteSpotPirates (Untie the Lines), Chase the Story Sailing, Gone with the Wynns, MJ Sailing, Sailing Doodles, SV Prism, Sailing Miss Lone Star, and many others.
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Copyright Linus Wilson, Oxriver Publishing, Vermilion Advisory Services, LLC, 2019
Jean Luc Van Den Heede shatters Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s Sunday Time’s 1968 Golden Globe Race record by 100 days, finishing first in the 2018 Golden Globe Race on UTC January 29, 2019. See how JLVDH did it from the start to finish of the toughest race in sailing, the GGR2018. Eighteen sailors got to the start line, but only five remained by day 212 of the fiftieth anniversary GGR 2018. Van Den Heede led most of the way as Are Wiig, Abhilash Tomy, Gregor McGucken, Loic Lepage, and Susie Goodall’s sailboats were dismasted. This retro race for 32-to-36-foot sailboats runs through the stormy Southern Ocean and even Van Den Heede could not escape unscathed. His boat was pitchpoled a few thousand miles from Cape Horn and he contemplated dropping out. His shrouds were damaged endangering his mast. Vandenheede was able to enact a repair and sailed on more slowly allowing Dutch sailor Mark Slats to almost catch him south of the Azores High. A tactical misstep of motoring though the center of the high instead of sailing more quickly to its west cost Slats any chance of taking the lead short of disaster as Van Den Heede stretched his lead to over 400 nm. This video features commentary from Sunday Time’s 1968 race winner English sailor Sir Robin Knox-Johnston who was the only finisher of the original race in 312 days. Van Den Heede says he was inspired by his contemporary sailor Bernard Moitessier. Jean-Luc Van Den Head was the oldest entrant in the 2018 GGR. The race is his 6th circumnavigation of the Globe. Besides holding the GGR race record Van Den Heed still holds the record for the fastest east to west solo-circumnavigation of the globe. His 36-foot Rustler yacht is named Matmut after his main sponsor.
Video from VNR/PPL/GGR and Mark Slats was reproduced with the permission of the GGR 2018.
Support the videos at http://www.Patreon.com/slowboatsailing
On the Slow Boat Sailing Podcast Linus Wilson has interviewed the crew of Sailing SV Delos, WhiteSpotPirates (Untie the Lines), Chase the Story Sailing, Gone with the Wynns, MJ Sailing, Sailing Doodles, SV Prism, Sailing Miss Lone Star, and many others.
Get Linus Wilson’s bestselling sailing books:
Slow Boat to the Bahamas
https://gumroad.com/l/sailing
have been #1 sailing ebook bestsellers on Amazon.
You can get the full audiobook of Sailing to Treasure Island by Captain John C. Voss. at
Get the paperback or eBook
Sailing the Ogre: The Log of a Woman Wanderer (Annotated)
by Mabel M. Stock
at
or the audiobook at http://www.Patreon.com/slowboatsailing
Associate Producers Larry Wilson, Kevin Yager, and Rick Moore (SSL).
Sign up for our free newsletter for access to free books and other promotions at http://www.slowboatsailing.com
Copyright Linus Wilson, Oxriver Publishing, Vermilion Advisory Services, LLC, 2019
It seems like second place Mark Slats could have gotten his manager’s opinion without breaking race rules and could have diverted to La Coruna, Spain, without penalty. Unfortunately, it did not turn out that way as Team Slats chafes at the Golden Globe Race 2018’s ban on satellite communications and weather routing. Now Slats was given a 36-hour time penalty which will be tacked onto his time at the finish. The GGR does not want to assess time penalties at sea above 40 degrees north because of the Gale and Storm risks. This is unlikely to matter since Slats nearest competitor, Estonian Uku Randamaa, who is in 3rd place, is 3,000 nm away in the Southern Hemisphere. Slats nearest competitor Jean Luc Van Den Heede finished on the morning of January 29, 2019.
The skippers can communicate with rescue personal or the race headquarters, but they cannot use satellite phones to communicate with anyone else. Skippers are allowed to anchor in the course of the solo-nonstop unassisted sailboat race. Dutch authorities recently banned Slats from using HAM frequencies ashore because he lacks a license complicating communications between Slats and his supporters. Slats’ manager was concerned that GGR was giving bad weather advice encouraging Slats to speed to the finish. Instead, Slats’ shore team believed that Slats should find the nearest safe harbor on January 28, 2019. It seems that GGR did communicate that advice from Slats’ manager.
Slats’ Facebook page denies that he is dropping out writing, “no he’s not dropping out, safety first and then on his way to Les Sables d’Olonne.” His most recent tweet says he is turning around from Spain and heading for La Sables d’Olonne where he is expected on February 1. The updated weather report has the projected storm breaking up. Slats also said he was “hungry”. The solo, nonstop, assisted race prevents competitors from restocking food. Slats has been at sea for 212 days. If he stopped in La Coruna as he planned on January 28, 2019, Slats could not leave the boat or accept anything without being disqualified from the race.
At the time of the infractions on January 28, 2019, Slats was 400 nm from the finish over 300 nm from first-place Jean-Luc Van Den Heede who finished on January 29, 2019, at 10:13 AM in Les Sables D’Olonne, France. The third place competitor is several thousands of miles behind Slats.
Below is the official timeline from the Golden Globe Race:
Second placed Golden Globe Race skipper Mark Slats tonight is facing a time penalty for a breach of satellite communication rules, and direct outside assistance from his Dutch team manager Dick Koopmans.
Slats is facing a dilemma: To run ahead of an approaching north-westerly storm and hope to reach the finish line off Les Sables d’Olonne on Thursday evening before it strikes the Vendee coast – a lee shore; lie hove-to outside the Bay of Biscay until the storm has passed, or seek a refuge, which is allowed under the race rules, provided he does not step ashore or communicate with the outside world other than via VHF or HF radio.
At 10:30, Race HQ received a communication from Dick Koopmans, Mark Slats’ team manager, asking for the Race finish line to be moved 50 miles offshore. This was denied.
11:59, Race HQ responded to Koopmans saying that Race Chairman Don McIntyre had sent a weather warning to Slats and that Mark and subsequently called via his safety sat phone to discuss the weather scenario. Slats advised that he was receiving weather forecasts onboard and was aware of the approaching storm. The email advised Koopmans that Slats was not slowing down and continuing towards the finish line. It added. “But if you want a message passed on the weather, we are happy to do that. Just email here.”
12:21 Koopmans replied by e.mail saying that “I spoke to Geerit Hiemsta, one of our leading meteorologists in Holland…In his opinion it is completely unsafe to sail into the Bay of Biscay. He suggests to stay outside and finish in La Coruna or Brest, but not in Les Sables d’Olonne. This is also the (unofficial) opinion of the Dutch Coastguard and Falmouth Coastguard.
I am very unhappy with your advice and consider to call Mark on his Iridium phone, whatever the consequences may be.”
13:16, Race Chairman Don McIntyre responded: “Just a reminder, we never give directives to entrants. We give opinions and the final choice is up to entrants. Mark is receiving weather reports on his radio….
I would strongly suggest that you do NOT call Mark. I have offered to message him any advice you wish to send him in relation to safety avoiding the storm. I am awaiting for that advice. All decisions are the responsibility of the skipper. …I am now officially asking you for your advice on the safest route for him to take if you wish to be involved with efforts to send him to the safest place. I will then pass him that from you.”
13:28: message from GGR HQ to Mark. “Dick advice: head to la Corunna or Brest to miss the storm.”
13:33 Email from Koopmans to GGR: ”Ignoring authorities like Coastguard and top meteorologist. I do not trust the Race Committee on their knowledge in the situation. I think safety is now more important than rules.
I will send Mark messages to his Iridium phones from now on.
Advice from Mr Hiemstra – ‘Have a helicopter ready’
13:34. Email from Koopmans to GGR: Do not speak to Mark in my name.”
13:38 Race HQ to Koopmans: “Mark will be penalised for breech of rules. We have NOT been directed by any authority and if you look at your emails, we are awaiting your advice on where to send him. Your actions and comments DO NOT relate in the best interests of Mark’s race and we are both working towards Mark’s Safety. PLEASE place your message through GGR. If you need clarification, please ring. WE ARE STILL WAITING YOUR ADVICE.
YOU RISK PENALISING MARK FOR NO REASON AT ALL…YOUR CHOICE. WE HAVE MADE IT CLEAR WE CAN SEND ANY MESSAGE TO HIM. WE ARE STILL WAITING. YOU MUST NOT CONTACT MARK
13:46: Email from Koopmans to Race HQ: “Safety is more important than penalties. You can read all the messages later and decide on penalties.”
Koopmans ignored RACE HQ advise and messaged Slats directly – a direct breech of the Notice of Race.
16: 00 (approx.): Mark phoned Race HQ to discuss the weather and asked permission to call Koopmans for advice, and asked for Koopman’s phone number. GGR agreed as Koopmans would not give GGR the safety information. At subsequent meeting of the Race Committee, it was decided not to provide the number since a call to Koopmans constituted outside assistance and a further breech of the Notice of Race.
16:12: Mark called Race HQ to say that he had altered course to La Corunna and confirmed that Koopmans had contacted him directly. Slats was advised that he now faced a time penalty.
The Race Committee will meet tomorrow to access the evidence and any time penalty will have to be served at sea before the finish.
In a statement tonight, Don McIntyre said: “There are two issues here. One is safety and we all work in the best interests of Mark Slats. The second is process under the Notice of Race. GGR continues to offer safety weather advice to all competitors. Unfortunately, Slats’ team manager decided not to abide by the Notice of Race.”
Here is the statement from Slats’ team:
SLATS SETS SAIL TO LA CORUNA
Mark Slats, currently number two in the Golden Globe Race, has decided Monday January 28 in the afternoon to contact his shoremanager Dick Koopmans. Mark experienced different insights about the concept of ‘safe sailing’ and decided to discuss with his manager about the best choice for the coming days is. Together they have decided that Mark is now heading for La Coruña Spain to take shelter and continue his race at a later date.
Monday morning January 28, the weather forecasts for the last part of the Golden Globe Race looked very bad for Mark Slats. The predictions showed huge storms and also huge waves. Don McIntyre, race organizer of the Golden Globe Race, gave Mark the advice, earlier that day, to sail with his boat, Ohpen Maverick, in to the Bay of Biscay. Mark’s shoremanager Dick Koopmans did not agree with this and contacted both Dutch and English coastguards. Both authorities fully understood the care provided by Team Slats. Contact was also made with Gerrit Hiemstra, a Dutch authority in the field of meteorology and also a self-employed ocean sailor. Hiemstra indicated that it is completely irresponsible to enter the Bay of Biscay and to visit the port of Les Sables d’Olonne on Thursday 31 January. The Golden Globe Race has been asked to move the finish further offshore or even to move to Brest (France) or Falmouth (UK). This request was simply rejected.
Slats currently sails for 211 days in the Golden Globe Race. A historic sailing race solo non-stop around the world without outside assistance and without the use of modern communication and navigation equipment.
There were 18 entrants at the start , only 5 are still in the race. Slats survived an enormous storm in the Southern Indian Ocean where two participants, who were close by lost their mast and both had to be evacuated from their ship. One of them, Abhilash Tomy broke a number of vertebrae to which he had to undergo surgery. Tomy is still working on his rehabilitation. Slats also had to contend with extreme periods of no wind before he could sail to Tasmania Australia. In a radio interview, Slats indicated that the periods of windcalms felt worse than when he had to deal with a storm of 50-60 knots of wind.
Slats has trailed the number 1 in the race, the French sailing veteran Jean-Luc van den Heede from Les Sables d’Olonne France, he decreased the distance from 2000 miles to the moment of writing only another 400 miles.
If Slats were to follow the advice of the Golden Globe Race, he would be expected to arrive at the port of Les Sables d’Olonne around 17:00 on Thursday afternoon. At the finsih, the water is only 10 meters deep. When Slats has to deal with waves of 6-9 meters high from behind, this can lead to very dangerous situations in combination with the shallows. When Slats arrives at the port of Les Sables d’Olonne is not yet known.
🇳🇱️ MARK SLATS ZET KOERS NA LA CORUNA SPANJE
Slats zet koers naar La Coruña , momenteel nummer twee in de Golden Globe Race, heeft maandagmiddag besloten contact op te nemen met zijn shoremanager Dick Koopmans. Mark ervaarde afwijkende inzichten over het begrip ‘veilig varen’ en besloot met zijn manager te overleggen over wat de beste keuze is voor de komende dagen. Gezamenlijk hebben zij besloten dat Mark nu koers maakt naar La Coruña om daar te schuilen en zijn weg op een later tijdstip te vervolgen.
Maandagochtend 28 januari zagen de weersvoorspellingen voor het laatste stuk van de Golden Globe Race er zeer slecht uit voor Mark Slats. De voorspellingen lieten enorme stormen en tevens enorme hoge golven zien. Don McIntyre, race organisator van de Golden Globe Race, gaf Mark eerder die dag het advies om zijn boot, Ohpen Maverick, de Golf van Biskaje in te varen. Mark’s shoremanager Dick Koopmans was het hier niet mee eens en heeft hierop contact gezocht met zowel Kustwacht Nederland als de Engelse kustwacht. Beiden autoriteiten begrepen de zorg vanuit Team Slats volkomen. Ook werd er contact gezocht met Gerrit Hiemstra, een Nederlandse autoriteit op het gebied van meteorologie en tevens zelf oceaanzeiler. Hiemstra gaf aan dat het volstrekt onverantwoord is om de Golf van Biskaje in te gaan en donderdag 31 Januari de haven van Les Sables d’Olonne aan te lopen. De Golden Globe Race is gevraagd de finish verder buitengaats te verleggen of zelfs te verplaatsen naar Brest (Frankrijk) of Falmouth (UK). Dit verzoek werd simpelweg afgewezen.
Slats vaart momenteel al 211 dagen in de Golden Globe Race. Een historische zeilrace solo non-stop rond de wereld zonder hulp van buitenaf en zonder het gebruik van moderne communicatie – en navigatieapparatuur. Van de 18 deelnemers aan de start zijn er nog slechts 5 in de race. Slats overleefde een gigantische storm in de Zuidelijk Indische Oceaan waarbij twee deelnemers die vlak achter hem lagen hun mast verloren en beiden van boord afgehaald moesten worden. Een van hen, de Indiase Abhilash Tomy brak een aantal rugwervels waaraan hij geopereerd moest worden. Tomy werkt nog steeds aan zijn revalidatie. Ook heeft Slats te kampen gehad met extreme windstiltes voordat hij onder Australië kon doorvaren. In een radiogesprek gaf Slats aan de periodes van windstilte zelfs als erger te ervaren dan wanneer hij te kampen heeft met een storm van 50-60 knopen wind.
Slats heeft zijn achterstand op de nummer 1 in de race, de Franse zeilveteraan Jean-Luc van den Heede uit Les Sables d’Olonne Frankrijk, weten terug te brengen van 2000 mijl naar op het moment van schrijven slechts nog een kleine 400 mijl.
Wanneer Slats het advies van de Golden Globe Race zou volgen zou de verwachting zijn dat hij donderdagmiddag rond 17:00 uur de haven van Les Sables d’Olonne aan te lopen. Ter hoogte van de finish is het water nog maar 10 meter diep. Wanneer Slats van achteren te maken krijgt met golven van 6-9 meter hoogte kan dit in combinatie met de ondiepte nog weleens zeer gevaarlijke situaties opleveren. Wanneer Slats nu in de haven van Les Sables d’Olonne aankomt is nog niet bekend.
Slats has managed to steal some of the feel-good spotlight from Jean-Luc Van Den Heede who shattered the Golden Globe Race record time by over 100 days. This may be the opening salvo in a protracted battle from Team Slats, who have felt that Van Den Heede got better shore support over the radio. Nevertheless, Slats would be in a much better position to win any protest if he avoided penalties and finished quickly as possible.
Dateline: 11:00 UTC 28. 01. 2019 – Les Sables d’Olonne, France
Jean-Luc Van Den Heede running towards the finish line.
Mark Slats has been pushing hard but faces one last storm on Wednesday and is expected to reach the finish late Thursday.
A huge crowd will gather to welcome the first two finishers in the Les Sables d’Olonne GGR Race Village.
Jean-Luc Van Den Heede endured another tough night with 45knots winds and 6-7m seas but his Rustler 36 Matmut is now within 100 miles of the finish line at Les Sables d’Olonne and the 73-year old Frenchman is expected to arrive to a huge welcome at 08:00 UTC tomorrow (09:00 French time)
Relative positions of Jean-Luc Van Den Heede and Mark Slats at 08:00 UTC today
His great rival, Dutchman Mark Slats sailing a second Rustler 36 Ophen Maverick, narrowed the lead by 91 miles over the weekend, but remains 312 miles astern. He is not now expected to finish until late on Thursday, experiencing another Bay of Biscay gale just before his arrival.
The weather in the Bay of Biscay is forecast to moderate today and, barring light winds at dawn, should provide good sailing conditions all the way to the finish.
3,600 miles astern, Estonian Uku Randmaa, sailing a third Rustler 36 One and All, is making the most of his last day of SE trade winds, sailing at 6.6 knots today and is expected to run into the Dolrdums sooner than he expected. This marks the start of a frustrating period of calms, squalls and thunderstorms as he makes his way to his next goal, the Equator 500 miles north
Fouth placed American/Hungarian Istvan Kopar sailing his Tradewind 35 Puffin is still enjoying the SE tradewinds but making 4.6knots because the Trades are lighter than usual. These will hold for a few more days, so he has a chance to close on Randmaa once more.
Finland’s Tapio Lehtinen is still in the Southern Ocean sailing at 4.4knots some 850 miles from Cape Horn. There is plenty of strong Southern Ocean weather blowing at 45knots+ but his Gaia 36 Astreria is covered in barnacles which is slowing her progress. Today, this additional drag has cost Tapio the lead in his virtual race against Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s Suhaili from 50 years ago. Suhaili’s relative position on 26th January was just 8 miles behind Asteria in terms of distance to finish, and she would now be more than 100 miles ahead.
Position of skippers at 08:00 UTC 25.01.19
Skipper, Distance to finish, VMG during last 24 hours, Approx. distance behind leader
If his damaged Rustler 36 sailboat can survive the Bay of Biscay’s steep waves, Jean-Luc Van Den Heede will be the first racer to cross the finish line early next week. With 315 nautical miles to go, he had half the distance to travel of his nearest competitor, Dutch sailor Mark Slats, to finish. Still Slats’ team are hinting at a potential challenge as the Frenchmen Van Den Heede’s first round the world race victory at age 73 seems all but assured for the five-time (and soon to be six-time) circumnavigator.
Nine-meter waves are forecast overnight and into the morning of UTC January 27, 2019, for Van Den Heede and his chase team. Van Den Heede will be accompanied in the rough waters of the Bay of Biscay by a motorized catamaran operated by his shore support, according to Golden Globe Race (GGR) 2018 chairman Don MacIntyre. Windy is only forecasting gale force conditions but up to 9-meter waves over the next 24 hours in the French solo-sailor’s path.
Over 600 miles from the finish at UTC 0:00 January 27, 2019, Mark Slats needs nothing short of a disaster for Van Den Heede or a technical challenge to win the first place trophy. Slats came within 10 nm of the lead before his tactical blunder of motoring at 3 to 4 knots in the dead zone of the Azores High while Van Den Heede ripped off at 7 knots along its western side and extended his lead to over 400 nm before giving up some ground in wind hole before the Bay of Biscay. Slats decision to motor slowly rather than sail was all the more puzzling since he was consistently the fastest sailor since Van Den Heede damaged his mast in a pitchpole about 2,000 nm from Cape Horn in the Pacific Ocean. Since the Azores High in the North Atlantic Ocean, Van Den Heede has shown the sailing skill that let him build a 2,000 nm lead over Slats in the Pacific Ocean prior to the pitchpole disaster, ripping off near hull speed on the slow, GGR-class 36-foot boat in moderate winds.
If Van Den Heede sails to his home port of Les Sables D’Lonne, France first, a new strategy for team Slats may be emerging. They may protest the weather reports Van Den Heede has been getting over SSB radio. Dick Koopmans wrote the following for Mark Slats Facebook page:
Although it is a race without assistance, there is a lot of assistance allowed. Jean Luc had the best preparation and has support from his team from start to finish. Very detailed weather information and positions of the other boats were sent to him on a daily base. We just did not have the time nor the money to get this organised, it was all about getting the boat ready. It took us a few months and only around Cape of Good Hope we could send the same sort of info to Mark that Jean Luc had from the start. But preparation is an important part of the race and Jean Luc beat our shore team here. Because of this, Mark lost a lot but nearly overtook Jean-Luc by sailing faster.
Golden Globe Radio Club which has been posting the French language weather transmissions to Van Den Heede for the last several days seems to be arguing that Van Den Heede is getting “weather routing” which is illegal according to the 2018 GGR notice of Race. Golden Globe Radio Club wrote on its Facebook page on January 26, 2019, the following:
GGR ROUTING. TWO DEFINITIONS.
1. Routing definition from Golden Globe Race 2018-19 NOTICE OF RACE:
p.1.14 Routing means any personalized indication, especially prepared or tailored for one or a group of entrants, information coming from the outside, allowing the understanding of different weather scenarios and choice of route or routes to follow or avoid.
2. Routing definition from Don McIntyre Q&A 26.01.2019:
“You can get weather reports from anywhere you like. Over there at this longitude, latitude you have this particular weather, 24 hour later that’s gonna happen there, … that all fine. That is weather reporting.
The weather routing is when someone tells to skipper – I wanna you to go to this latitude, longitude, or I want you to steer the course to East for 48 hours, or 12 hours. That is weather routing and it is not allowed. You can have any number of personalized weather reporting (???) but you cannot tell to skipper where to go. You cannot give the clear directions. It is very simple principle.”
Seriously? “personalized indication, allowing understanding” and instruction “I wanna you to go..” – is it the same definition of Routing?
We, as radio operators team, were very strict with regional official weather reports transmitted to several GGR participants over the shortwaves to comply to the signed by them GGR NOTICE OF RACE.
Now, instead of penalties to entrants who ignored the rules, GGR Administration just replacing the rules. Why?
And who is cheating then?
Van Den Heede is expected at 10:00 AM in Les Sables D’Lonne at the finish on Tuesday, January 29, 2019. He probably will have to slow down just so his fans can greet him in daylight.
It looks like the crew of Sailing Uma acted irresponsibly and filmed themselves potentially encouraging their 96,000 subscribers others to allegedly poach conch. Sailing Uma possessed 20 conch by their own admission. That was 14 conch over the limit for foreign boats in the Bahamas. Some of the conch that they took aboard appeared to have unformed lips of juveniles, which the captain of Sailing Uma, Dan Deckert, admitted. Shame on them! A recent report warns that the Conch fishery could disappear in ten years. Cruisers should not help push it over the edge by exceeding the limits.
Moreover, at the time of writing, over 50,000 people had viewed the video of the alleged poaching. Lonnie Knowles, who was upset about the harvest in the Sailing Uma video, wrote a Facebook post critical about the Sailing Uma video wrote, “..those are juvenile, it is illegal to harvest them.” YouTube creators with a over 96,000 subscribers like Sailing Uma set an example for their viewers.
This is from Slow Boat Sailing’s correspondence with Bahamas Department of Marine Resources dated 1/23/19:
“1. Foreign vessels with relevant permits including the sportsfishing are still permitted to harvest conch in The Bahamas;
2. The Bahamas’ law states that all harvested conch must have a well formed lip, If you are unsure, I suggest that you harvest only those with a thick lip;
3. Your allowable quota (each person), if you are exiting The Bahamas on a airplane, is the possession of not more than ten(10) pounds of conch at any one time;
4. If you are exiting on a licensed sportsfishing vessel, the vessel’s allowable quota is the possession of not more than six (6) conch at any one time.
Mr. Gilford Lloyd
Department of Marine Resources”
The captain of SV Uma and the creator of the Sailing Uma YouTube channel, Dan Deckert wrote as follows responding to Mr. Knowles critical post in the Bahamas Sailing and Cruising Facebook Group:
“One of our followers led us over to this discussion. So let’s set the record straight. Between the 4 of us, we picked up about 20 Conch and took them back to the boat in the crate. Only about 9 were eaten. The rest went back in the ocean because they were too small. Sorry if that didn’t make it into the video, perhaps it should have. But those watching are responsible for learning and obeying the laws. It’s not our job to educate those unwilling to educate themselves.”
Sailing Uma’s crew at the end of the video said they planned to stay in the Bahamas until February 2019 and leave before their cruising permit ran out. The 7:58 minute mark of the video shows their 20-conch catch.
If you believe the after-the-fact explanation, 20 in the dinghy is also over the old 6 per boat rule. Finally, not all things are legal are worth doing. Shame on Sailing Uma! All cruisers of the Bahamas should think carefully about harvesting or consuming conch that is threatened. The Bahamas is likely behind the curve on preserving the conch fishery, and cruisers should not speed the collapse of the species in the Bahamas which has collapsed all over Florida and the Caribbean.
The elastic between Jean-Luc Van Den Heede and Mark Slats has stretched in the Frenchman’s favour over the weekend allowing him to open up a 215-mile lead over his Dutch rival. A week ago, the difference in terms of distance to finish was just 28 miles. Both skippers have used up what remained of their 160 litre supply of diesel fuel, with Slats expending the last drop pushing his way through the windless high pressure system sitting over the Azores. The two are now within the same weather system.
Slats is currently 330 miles south of Van Den Heede’s upwind position at the start of what could be a straight drag race to the finish. The unknown factor is the forecast – especially for these two skippers, for both have been cut off from weather feeds from the Ham Radio Net community for using unlicensed call signs throughout the Race. This came to light last week when Dutch and St Lucia radio authorities issued warning notices against the skippers. Licenced Ham radio operators who communicate with them not only face losing their licences, but the threat of a large fine and possible prison sentence!
Forecasting is particularly acute for Van Den Heede whose Rustler 36 Matmut has the prospect of running straight into another high pressure system predicted to form to the north east by Wednesday. It could affect Slats too, but not before his yacht Ophen Maverick has closed the distance.
The question then for Jean-Luc is whether to push hard for the finish and run the risk of breaking Matmut’s damaged mast, or settle for second place. The fact that 3rd placed Estonian Uku Randmaa trails 3,450 miles behind, could well persuade the Frenchman to push all out for a win, knowing that if the worst happens, he could still finish 2nd under a jury rig.
The above is from the day 204, UTC January 21, 2019, press release from the Golden Globe Race (GGR) 2018 #GGR2018; Jean Luc Van Den Heede is pictured in Hobart Australia with a 1,600 nm lead over Mark Slats; Photo credit: Christophe Favreau/PPL/GGR.
You could finish the Vendee Globe or Golden Globe 2018 races and never circumnavigate the globe. This is the dirty little secret of both of these grueling round the world races.
The often forgotten requirement of a circumnavigation is that you need to travel to opposite sides of the earth to complete one. How can you determine what is your antipode which is the opposite side of the earth as defined by a line through your position and the center of the earth?
It is easy. Here is how you do it:
The latitude of the antipode is the your latitude in the other hemisphere. For example, if you are at 30 degrees North latitude, your antipode is at 30 degrees south latitude. Alternatively, if you are at 10 degrees South latitude then your antipode is at 10 degrees North latitude.
The longitude of the antipode is takes a little calculation. Subtract your east or west longitude from 180 and your antipode will be that number in the opposite hemisphere.
When longitude is expressed in fractions the simple calculation in step 2 is the simplest. Otherwise, with minutes and or seconds of longitude you have to remember the 60 minutes = 1 degree of longitude and 60 seconds = 1 minute of longitude.
Our video found that the round the world races of the Vendee Globe and the 2018 Golden Globe Race don’t require that finishers circumnavigate the globe. That is because you need to go as far north as you go south to hit an antipode. The farthest north point on the course is Les Sabes D’Lonne, France, 46°29′50″N 1°47′00″W, that has an antipode just east of the south island of New Zealand which the participants sail under. Thus, if a competitor in those races sails far under New Zealand or does not dip south to sail under New Zealand then there is an excellent chance they will never hit an antipode pair in their 30,000 nm trip. Thus, you could finish the Vendee Globe or Golden Globe 2018 races and never circumnavigate the globe. That is a pity. The original 1968 Golden Globe was much more likely to require finishers to circumnavigate the earth because it left from England which is roughly at the same longitude as Les Sabes D’Lonne, France but farther north.
The GGR 2018 retro sailing race requires competitors to stop in Hobart, Australia for its “film drop.” That is about 43S and 147E. The Hobart antipode is 43N and 33W. Then they must pass under the south island of New Zealand and north of Snares Island at about 48S and 166.5E. The opposite side of the earth from Snares Island is 48N and 13.5W approximately. Both Jean Luc Van Den Heede, first place in the GGR, and his closest competitor Mark Slats are east of 33W approaching Les Sabes D’Lonne, France (46.5N and 2W approximately) but well south of 43S, the southernmost point of that line of antipodes. Only if Slats moves well north of his great circle route to the finish will he ever hit an antipode. Jean Luc Van Den Heede crossed an antipodal pair just east of New Zealand and near the Les Sables D’Lonne start. Second place Mark Slats sailed too far south after passing New Zealand to hit an antipode at the start. On January 19, 2019, Slats was at about 33N and 27W. He had less than 1,400 nm to finish at 16:00 UTC on January 19, 2019.
Below are the commonly requirements of a circumnavigation.
A circumnavigation of the Earth must:
1. start and finish at the same point
2. travel in one general direction
3. reach two antipodes
4. cross the equator
5. cross all longitudes
6. exceed the circumference of the earth at the equator of 21,600 nm
Note that the antipode rule (#3) guarantees that #4 and #6, you cross the equator and your journey exceeds the circumference of the earth at the equator, are satisfied. Thus, crossing the equator and travelling over 21,600 nm are necessary, but not sufficient conditions for a circumnavigation or reaching an antipode in science speak. The antipode rule requires that you travel to the opposite side of the earth and back, which means that you traveled a distance greater than the equator and touched the equator on your journey.
Capt. Linus Wilson, is the author of How to Sail Around the World Part-Time. The Slow Boat has only traveled across 83 degrees of longitude since 2016, and no antipodes have been reached in that time.
In December 2018, Mark Slats was the first Golden Globe Race 2018 sailor to cross his outbound track and cross 360 degrees of longitude. Does that mean he circumnavigated the globe in the GGR 2018? This video looks at the definition of a sailing circumnavigation and identifies several sailing voyages that are commonly referred to a circumnavigations that were not. Captain Linus Wilson discusses the famous trips by Laura Dekker, Jessica Watson, and Lin and Larry Pardey in Seraffyn that did or did not meet the definition of a circumnavigation. The hardest part of the definition to satisfy is the antipode rule that you must pass between points on the opposite sides of the earth.
A circumnavigation of the Earth must:
1. start and finish at the same point
2. travel in one general direction
3. reach two antipodes
4. cross the equator
5. cross all longitudes
6. exceed the circumference of the earth at the equator of 21,600nm
The sailing races the GGR and Vendee Globe may often produce finishers who do not circumnavigate because the course does not require that they cross antipode pairs. The easiest antipode to intersect lie just north of the southern tip of New Zealand or just north of Les Sables D’Olonne, France. The racers have to nearly finish the race before they have a chance of satisfying the antipode rule.
Video from VNR/PPL/GGR and Mark Slats was reproduced with the permission of the GGR 2018.
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Mark Slats wants to drop out less than 50 miles from the lead because he cannot receive detailed weather reports via HAM radio anymore.
The Golden Globe Race (GGR) published the following tweet by Australian-born, Dutch sailor Mark Slats on UTC 11:33 on January 15, 2019, “THINKING OF RETIRING FROM IF CANNOT WEATHER SAFETYFIRST”.
The GGR and race chairman Don McInyre declined to explain the tweet. The Golden Globe Race representatives are the only persons who can call Slats via satellite phone according to race rules. GGR did confirm speaking to him and said he was “fine” and not in distress. Instead, they directed Slow Boat Sailing to Mark Slats’ twitter feed and his team for comment. The Mark Slats facebook page operated by his shore side supporters wrote on UTC 17:30 January 15, “We would like to inform you that Mark’s latest message is NOT about his health or about water. The GGR informed us that Mark’s message ‘thinking of retiring from the race’ is about not receiving weather journals via HAM network anymore.”
The Golden Globe Race recently clarified their rules on “weather routing” which is banned in the retro race. Skippers can obtain weather reports via SSB or HAM radio, but they may have been getting more detailed advice than race organizers envisioned. Moreover, penalties are being imposed by government authorities for HAM radio operators who communicate with unlicensed GGR entrants.
At UTC 17:45 the GGR Facebook page wrote:
“Mark Slats can no longer use his HAM RADIO call sign which means he can now only transmit on MARINE HF SSB frequencies. Most of his previous communications have been by HAM radio. This will mean either joining a Private Maritime Net. (there are a few options) for weather or using official Govt. Maritime forecasts, or listen into any English Ham radio weather forecasts. This is what many other GGR entrants without a HAM radio License have done. GGR does not get involved with any radio traffic, or weather reports at all, which is up to the entrant to organize. GGR requires all entrants to have a Licensed MARINE HF SSB radio and station license and the entrant to have a Marine Radio Operators license only. GGR does monitor all strong weather with winds over 40 kts and if appropriate provides both forecasting and routing information to assist the entrant to sail safely.”
GGR confirms that they had nothing to do with the suspension of Slats supposedly bogus radio call sign. Others have researched the HAM call signs of 1st place Van Den Heede and 3rd place Uku Randmaa of Estonia. The call sign of the former is not registered where it is supposed to be, but Randmaa’s call sign is valid. The GGR says it will not penalize skippers without HAM call signs in the 2018 race, but it will in the 2022 edition of the race.
The radio and satellite communications has been an ongoing headache for race organizers who have banned computers and modern communications to simulate conditions of the 1968 Golden Globe Race except for race only communications and distress calls. Below are three problems that have come out of the GPS and Satellite phone bans:
1.Jean Socrates, who is vying to the oldest woman to sail solo-nonstop around the world, has accused Golden Globe Racers of receiving their positions via HAM radio. Socrates has said she has been in calls with or speaking to Mark Slats, Susie Goodall, and Uku Randmaa. The GGR declined to penalize any racers because they did not request their positions, which are available on the internet by way of the race tracker, but not visible to skippers. The GGR’s position is that it cannot penalize racers for overhearing their GPS positions over the radio. The racers cannot use GPS without incurring penalties. They are supposed to use celestial navigation offshore. Socrates disagrees with the GGR’s ban on GPS navigation according to Good Old Boat magazine.
2. Sat phone calls by two-time Jules Verne trophy winner for the fastest non-stop circumnavigation in history Phillip Peche of France disqualified him from the race. Five-time circumnavigator and race leader Jean Luc Van Den Heede served an 18-hour time penalty for calling his wife after he was pitchpoled and planning to abandon the race. He later decided to press on with the time penalty for the banned phone call. Hungarian-born American sailor Istavan Kopar will serve a time penalty for similar infractions of the satellite phone policy. Satellite communications is cheaper to set up and is usually a more reliable way to obtain weather information offshore than SSB radio. The first racer to drop out, Turkish-born, English sailor Ertan Beskardes, said his inability to call his wife on the satellite phone was his reason for retiring early. Beskardes plans to race again in 2022.
3. The GGR has been providing weather warnings to skippers when they face storm conditions, but that puts the race in the awkward position of acting as a weather router. It opens the race up to criticism rightly or wrongly if their weather advice does not prevent disaster in the case of Susie Goodall’s dismasting in the Pacific Ocean for example.
In all three cases, the 2018 racers have far more information and communications ability than the original GGR 1968 skippers. Thus, the re-enactment seems to have failed to recreate the same conditions that the 1968 skippers faced in terms of technology.
Initially, it looked like that Slats would retire in the Canaries to the east where he was headed earlier in the day. Since the “retiring” message, he has turned north towards the Azores to follow first place racer Van Den Heede in the hunt for a first-place finish.
Eighteen 32-to-36-foot boats entered the solo-nonstop sailing race. Only five competitors remain. The race leaders are about two weeks away from the finish of the 30,000 nautical mile race.
The boats did sail through the Canaries on the way down. If Slats stopped there, he would be short of a circumnavigation. For a circumnavigation, a boat must cross antipodes which are two points on opposite sides of the globe connected by a straight line through the center of the Earth. The first antipodal point is off the coast of France close to the finish. Those points near France are on the opposite side of the earth of the waters south of New Zealand.
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