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Board » Sailonline Yacht Club » Golden Globe Races 2018 - Seat Of The Pants commitment

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Inviting SOLers to experience ‘old school’ sailing 1968 style.
SRC is inviting SOLers to commit to emulating the real racers in this 50th year anniversary of Robin Knox Johnson’s voyage in Suhaili by committing to race your similar SOL boat (Rustler 36) with no outside assistance, i.e. _NOA, for the feeder, fleet and timed races. See what they have to experience whilst still availing yourself of confirmed six-hour weather (be most grateful as the real sailors do not have even that benefit), dry clothes, a warm and steady bunk, hot food, showers, a country walk to the pub, library etc. and some company etc.!
As a RETRO Race, for the Golden Globe, generally speaking only equipment that was available to Robin Knox Johnston on Suhaili in 1968 may be used. That means NO GPS, Chart plotters, electronic wind instruments, electric autopilots, electronic log, iPhone, satellite phones, digital cameras, computers, cd players, pocket calculators electronic clocks and watches, water makers, carbon fibre, Kevlar, spectra etc… so it is back to film cameras, cassette tapes, sextants, wind up clocks, trailing logs and Dacron sails, wind vanes and typewriters.
Suhaili was a slow, sturdy 32ft double-ended ketch based on a William Atkins ERIC design. She was heavily built of teak and carried no computers, GPS, satellite phone nor water-maker, and Robin completed the challenge with no outside assistance or aid of modern day shore-based weather routing advice. He had only a wind-up chronometer and a barograph to face the world alone, and caught rainwater to survive.
Let us see how we match up to Sir Robin and those brave enough to go out to sea and accept the challenge. Whilst SOL is unable to totally mirror the course for the real racers (see http://goldengloberace.com/the-route/ ) SOL is substantially sailing the same course after a feeder leg and then in a fleet race ,including the 90 minute stopover in Storm Bay Tasmania, followed by a Timed race back to Les Sables d'Olonne.
Please add your boat name below in a response to this post as a record of your commitment to sail Seat Of The Pants (SOTP) for the feeder and then the whole race of about 300 days!
Richard/Go4iT
Chair - SRC


--- Last Edited by Go4iT at 2018-04-15 15:45:37 ---
I will be sailing SOTP, as I always do. Although I prefer to call it MBO = My Brain Only.

I hope there are more races like this so I can see how I compete against other non-routers.

THanks,
SeaBiscuit
Total agreement! I sail SOTP all the time, not because I am old-fashioned, but because I am 84 and need to keep the "old grey cells" churning away at problems---like the wind and weather!
It is just too easy to stop thinking...and then you stop living.
If it breaks, it's not strong enough--if it doesn't, it's too heavy.
I DECLARE I will sail SOTP/NOA (No Outside Assistance). I will not:
use routers (of any make or type),
use spreadsheets or even calculators,
use other external aids made avaIlable to our community by SOLers such as BrainAid, AGage, Kipper1258 and kroppyer.
I may use:
a sliderule, a straight edge and prints of the SOL polar diagram (but probably not).
THIS WILL BE A NEW EXPERIENCE FOR ME, BUT I DO NOT EQUATE IT TO SWITCHING ON MY BRAIN.
Clipping along
So it's "retro".
Ok.

I'll sail it like the first time I SOLed along.

João/psail
Sail Fair.
My proposal so I had better suffer alongside the rest of you!
It is not suffering! It is exercising your OWN brain, rather than relying on the previous exercise of someone else's brain...
Just consider it a Gift from SOL!
If it breaks, it's not strong enough--if it doesn't, it's too heavy.
I will also be a SOTP sailor for these races. The irl sailors will not have routers, electronic/computer tools. With honorable intent, lets level the playing 'field' as much as possible. I encourage all to accept the challenge.

I'm in! ;)
"Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine." ~ Alan Turing
I accept your challenge sir. I vow to race this race SOTP.

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