Massive Southern Ocean Storm Hits Golden Globe Fleet

Dear God...two massive storms indeed. This weather for this year’s race puts the 1968 GGR race to shame.

earth :: a global map of wind, weather, and ocean conditions https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=-117.87,-41.06,368

 

Poor Istvan Kopar! He’s come down with blackened fingernails that are separating from his fingers. Sounds like gangrene or frost bite.

“My nails are separating from the flesh. Cuts don’t bother me, but I’m scared about the state of my nails. They are black. I don’t know if it is caused by a fungal infection, the drinking water, or the fungus inside the boat.”

In my opinion he should get that boat to the closest harbor and seek medical attention. A race isn’t worth sacrificing your body.

 

I am fast getting the impression that the long-keel boats are better for cruising, and the short-keel ones are better for racing. A long keel boat can get out of sorts when running fast before the wind, because the effective Center of Latteral Resistance (CLR) moves forward as the boat sails faster. Maybe this is the reason such keels used to be deeper at the aft end than at the fore end. But such a design feature would only lessen the effect, not eliminate it.

A shorter keel boat does not have this problem, as the keel is short to begin with and there is not far for the CLR to move. Also the rudder is quite far back from the trailing edge of the keel, allowing not only a greater turning moment, but less resistance to turning as well. With a good auto-pilot or an attentive helmsman, the more modern design may actually be superior to the more traditonal design, if the crew is intent on pressing on in worsening conditions.

At some point, the sailor of the more traditional design should probably stop sailing and ride out the conditions. Trying to press on may be the worse thing to do. If I were in this race, my strategy would be simply to make it back to France without putting into port. This strategy worked well in the previous GG race.

If it weren't for D. Crowhurst's lies and Moitessiers mysticism, there would have likely been three finishers to the '68 race. N. Tetly would likey have been able to limp his desintegrating tri back to England, either winning the race or comming in second, and R.K. Johnson would have come in third.

This would mean three boats out of nine finishing the race--about a third of the fleet. My guess is about five to seven boats are going to finish this race. Again, about one third of the fleet.

 

Excellent points. This GGR fleet, more than any other in memory, has succumbed to an invasion of barnacles the likes of which I have never seen.

Theory: Faster racing hulls don’t offer easy sanctuary for these bloody crustaceans. Slower boats, this long keel fleet specifically, make ideal homes for them.

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Golden Globe Race - Day 120 - Barnacles, the scourge of solo circumnavigators https://www.sail-world.com/news/211662/Golden-Globe-Race-day-120-update

 

More on the barnacle problem plaguing the fleet. It appears cooler water temperatures compound the growth of barnacle embryos.

"The volume of the fertilized eggs increased during development and was greater the lower the breeding temperature."

This is referenced from an older study, but the results still stand today. Future racers should definitely pack a mask, fins, wet suit a really good scraper to keep their boats sailing at design speeds.

http://plymsea.ac.uk/2090/1/The_inf...arm-water_species_of_operculate_barnacles.pdf