[Closed] Virtual regatta

Stevo, I knew the shiny XTR would attract you in the end, I've broken through the 10000th place barrier overnight and heading to the stronger breezes sw of Cape Verde. The race is on!

Stevo, cheers for the bump up the SO standings 😉

You'll get an even bigger bump up the overall when those east o you hit that still air. The guy in 1st place is already down to 8 knots with those just behind on around 10. They havnt even hit the slowest air yet! The forecast for 36 & 48 hrs looks a bit grim for those guys.

I just hope you haven't stayed too far east.

Not too worried, if it comes to it I can just head south-west for a couple of hours and stay out of the worst of it.

Well at the moment I am second to last of the STW lot. That is if you do not count the ones that have run aground or are heading to Canada.

Hopefully I can make decent progress and make Cape Town for the party at the end of the first leg before you lot drink it all!

Hold on to yer horses Uphillcursing. You're only 400 or so miles ahead of me. 😕

Should have gone west at the start like that lot down there.

Finally managed to overhaul doug and seem to have hit lucky with the winds so far, must avoid the temptation of heading too far west to hunt down the stronger breeze.

For now I'll continue to head south (ish) and hope the strong winds allow for some good tacking action.

Aye, it's going to be a slog for a day or two, then it might get a bit interesting - there are some big winds down south blowing all the way to Cape Town, but is it worth trying to go there?

it's all gone quiet since the winds died down, can you not get a connection from that close to the african coast? or are you scared pirates will kidnap you if you give away your position.

It's really looking it's going to be tacking all the way to Cape Town now. Would be great if a low formed up near Brazil and headed west but I'm not seeing anything in the forecasts.

Ive clawed back warton and njee20.

Next stop dazzlingboy.

Cant wait for the shifty beats - my favourite. Didnt they say an iphone app was due out on Sunday too - just in time to allow me to play the shifts during the night in bed.

All hail Neptune!

Anyone else tried the app yet. Looks like you need to buy per race, or stage?? Not clear as it's in French!

Now in the hunt for the main fleet now. No iPhone here so will just have to start tacking as and when i am online for the great long beat to Capetown..

One of the main reasons I'm so far west is to hopefully avoid all the tacking as I only really have a couple of VR 'windows' per day.

I've given up

What time is the wind change? 20:00 GMT +2 is surely 18:00 GMT - no?

Sorry to see we've had a few that have given up, the going is looking slow to Cape Town now, shame we're not in the southern atlantic in a week, long range forecast has some great looking winds kicking up!

slow drag down to the cape, and I can see it getting tactical as we approach

Should have the Spinny out by tea-time tomorrow. I'm still hoping to get across to the back of that low off Rio as it weakens before the window shuts then be low enough (40S) to ride the front of the next two all the way to CT. :fingers crossed:

i am beating to the east of the rhond line, made a turn back west just now as I read the most up to date wind chart. It is heavy going, I would say the optimal selection seems to have gone west to Rio and steam it across to the east.

Forgot to start the Rhum Baa Baa Route race 🙁 Joined late and both vessels are at the back of the flotilla in around 65,000th 😯

AAAAAAAAAAARGH

Lost nearly 2000 places 🙁

I guess that's what happens when you spend most of the day drinking 🙁

Drink Sailing guys - it's not cool!!!!

I decided more than one race at a time was a bad idea!

I've been playing it cagey over the last couple of days, just making best speed due south. Decided last night to go for broke and try to pick up the westerlies down south.

As expected, dropped nearly 2000 places overnight to my worst position in weeks, but hopefully it'll pay off!

Looks like my trek almost all the way to S America is about to pay off BIG time 8) See you all in Capetown.

I came up about 10miles short of getting into that air-flow. Becalmed for the next few hours, but I think I'll still get going in time. i.e. still ahead of Doug. 😉

And the weathers changed again 🙁

I'll dig around and find some sort of prize I'm sure.

I've been sailing around in circles all afternoon, planning on eating my stock pile of beans to generate some wind though.

The upgraded sails do work, if there's wind....

so here's an idea.. the prize value will increase incrementally with the more sponsorship I get for my London - Paris ride next year,,, [url= http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/jockonabike ]give me all your money![/url]

Massive Error,

Thought I'd try and pick up the stuff at the south, then realised I would effectively have to go below Africa and sail back up.

Balls.

Oh well, I guess I'll be having fun tacking through the wind for the next few days.

Thought I'd try and pick up the stuff at the south, then realised I would effectively have to go below Africa and sail back up.

I just missed the weather window the other day and ended sitting still for the best part of 24hrs. In it now, but annoyingly the weather system is moving faster than I am and I'm struggling to stay in the best winds!

17knots is not to be sneezed at though!

Short of the swift deployment of a torpedo, looks like Doug's got it sewn up for the STW group. Fair play for going for it - I'm blaming some bad luck with the weather off the coast of Brazil, but if I'd been more decisive about going south it wouldn't have mattered!

Tilter is still a few miles ahead, but I'm going to back myself for 2nd place!

[Deploys anti torpedo nets]

Currently fighting it out for a top 200 SO finish 😯 . Anyone know when the next leg starts?

[img] [/img]

Currently fighting it out for a top 200 SO finish . Anyone know when the next leg starts?

No idea. The overall classification is on "points" (combined position over all the legs, with the worst leg not counted) so they need to let a good chunk of the field finish, but they surely can't wait for everyone? (Given that at least 3 of the STW group alone aren't likely to get there any time in the current decade!).

Just realized, they'll probably restart when the real race does. 🙄

12th December apparently. Mrs is going to love me over Xmas.

I just want to make it to Cape Town before the cut off. Shesh, one bad decision took me from jumped me a decimal point to the right with the overall positions..
Must do better next leg

12th December apparently. Mrs is going to love me over Xmas.

Just in time for the start of the winter season! Expect to see me making extended straight-line sprints followed by irregular radical course changes!

I've properly ballsed this up 🙁

Still hopefully I'll be better next time.

buggeration,, a two day business trip to Northern Ireland has seen m yacht turn north and sail away from the finish with a nice strong tail wind,, 😥

oh well, looks like my decent start has come to naught, fingers crossed for the next leg

Doug, where did you get that image from?

i think parkerkr is gona be the first with the no pro sails option. I cant get south quick enough.

Im hoping for the southerly but it is staying SE

It seems having a new job is not conducive to making the regular course changes necessary to be any good at this! I'm hoping a few days actually paying attention may mean some good places made up, but I appear to be heading towards a rather still patch!

Picture [url= http://vr-annexe.akroweb.fr/carte-sat-velux101.php?lang=en ]here[/url].

No XTR sails on my boat.

I've read on the forums to turn off your angle of wind steering for wind changes and to use nav points instead if you have to be away from the PC for several days.

Surely you still need the upgrade to do that though? Which is just as bad as the sail upgrade!

I don't have any upgrades. I was just suggesting to BigG why his boat had gone haywire whilst he was away.

Check the SO (Bog Standard) standings [url= http://vr-annexe.akroweb.fr/velux101.php?page=4&key=d09cf1c667 ]here[/url].

Do we have a finisher yet?

looks like next 3 will be Steveo/PKRecliner/me

Aye, finished last night!

Yup should finish in the next 24 hrs. Awe-some result from Doug to get top 200 without XTR sails. West was definitely best!

(ParkerKnollReciner)

Yup should finish in the next 24 hrs.

Brilliant. Braii in Cape Town tonight then 😆

(Phones favorite Stelenbosch vineyard to deliver to docks)

I cant bloody finish - the wind is driving me south. Hopefully get a header to tack on for the final straight.

*opens another bottle in Cape town* 8)

Finished earlier this evening. 3rd STW boat home.

Well this is the only time I will ever beat Njee20 in any kind of race 😈

hic...

another 36 hours for me I think

It'll be a little longer for me. Should be done by sunday i think 🙄

Yes, I was right up with PKRecliner for a while but got dropped off in an area of calm in the South Atlantic and then took a wrong turning at Crewe so will limp in some time this weekend.

Hoping Mrs Ratadog's real life sailing knowledge of New Zealand waters may help in next leg

Finished 33days 23hrs 6mins - 13281th - quite pleased after entering a day late. Managed to make up a lot of places in the last week after turning and heading east to Cape Town

Rubbish bloody thing wouldn't let me login, after I'd created a boat and everything. Is there a SS Elfinsafety drifting about aimlessly near the start somewhere?

It's crap and I don't want to play anyway. 🙁

Smoke me a kipper. I will be there for breakfast.
Or should that be smoke me a Herring in case there are any pedants reading?

Or should that be smoke me a Herring in case there are any pedants reading?

At long last, finished. Really regretting my two days away from the laptop really screwed my chances of a decent result, struggling to get excited about being 12017th. Oh well, better luck on the next leg.

Think I need to spend the next couple of weeks scrubbing off the barnacles and fine tuning the XTR sails.

I am gutted,

Was away for the weekend, expecting to finish on Saturday evening, when I got home last night I found I had sailed right past the finish line into South Africa 🙁 🙁 🙁

19454th

RUBBISH! Must do better next time!!!!! Bring on the 12th December!

Whats the leader board for non XTR sails?

Doug 1st
PKR 2nd
Me (carbon337) 3rd

Fill in the rest as you know it.

100km to go! was going great guns till I went on holiday first week November - bobbed around the coast of west africa going nowhere for 5 days straight!

Finished - glad of a break until 12 Dec!

17695th!

Doug 1st
PKR 2nd
Me (carbon337) 3rd
Uphill 17098 th place

 

here is the way i see it.

Doug 1st
PKR 2nd
carbon337 3rd
Wrigoletto 4th 13606th
Bawbag(me) 5th 15798th
uphillcruising 6th 17098th

jockonabike came in before wrigoletto but i think he had some pro options.

not sure if i have missed anyone or not.

well done all.

njee20 - turn round! you're going past the finish!

FB you're right I've excluded myself from the competition as I have the pro package (not that it helped).. so you're standings seem to be right.

interesting tactics from some that are lurking in the shallows off USA to catch us on the way back.

I came in between jockonabike and wrigoletto in 13281th (series 1)

Well done all. Getting ready for the next leg?

Getting ready for the next leg?

Decks swabbed, stores laid in, sails furled, sheets tightened..

All set to go on leg two, chin chin for one final sherry before the start!

Good luck and fair winds to all the STW virtual matelots.

IT'S ON!

And.... there off....

Anyone got any top tips?

Those lot shooting off over the horizon with the XTR bling are moving! Knot and a half more than I seem able to eek out of the standard sails.

Right, late start but on it now.

In danger of making excuses, but I've just been hospitalised for 2 days!

(Nothing serious, but trust me, kidney stones really, really suck).

bummer - made a backside of it already. Forgot all about it after this break we have had

Top Tip BTW: The game maps are based on the classic Mercator projection, which is pretty good near the equator, but gets increasingly innaccurate as you move towards the poles. However, your boat's actual movement is NOT based on this projection, it's calculated accurately.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you might want to google "great circle" and consider that this leg takes place a LONG way from the equator...

Boo! The red line at 60° south must not be crossed. If you do, your boat's speed will be reduced by 75%. Note that the speed displayed in your control panel won't change, but your actual speed of advance WILL be reduced!

google has shown the way. AKA the Clipper route.

Good enough for them is good enough for me.

Roaring 40s here we come...

I notice stevomcd now has XTR 10 speed sails. Pah! 😡