congratulations to the whole stw fleet for successfully rounding Cape Horn.
Good luck everyone for a smooth run home.
I'm currently off the coast of Uruguay, quiet enjoying the close battles between us. Amazed that a little change off the line makes ~40k place change.
I think i am going to roll the dice after making a big mistake approaching Cape Horn. Insdide of the Falklands for me I think.
I am firmly at the back of the second group:-/ Every time I manage to get close to the group something happens and I suddenly lose a massive amount of time/distance which is frustrating. Currently watching those immediately ahead of me turn the corner and get twice my boat speed. I suspect I have seen the last of them for a while which is a shame as I managed to get with three hours of someone at one stage and started to feel the excitement....
B&B, you and I were racing really closely a couple of weeks ago, pretty much in each other’s shadows. Then I went north, you went south and that was the end of our racing. Hang in there though, things change all of the time.
I'm still enjoying it! Close racing with the group in off the coast of Uruguay/Brazil - and a few different paths being taken (hugging the coast vs more out in the Atlantic). Be interesting to see where we all line up as we converge again overt he next 3-4 days!
Nick (Kapow)
In the second group. Close racing, but managed to dodge some poor weather approaching Cape Horn and now just north of the Falklands with STWanchor chasing me.
RetroEighty
Be interesting to see where we all line up as we converge again overt he next 3-4 days!
I'm guessing I'll be down the pan Nick!! You make plans for the next couple of days and it's looking OK and then a couple of hours later it's all changed and you're in the poop 🙁
@sharkbait - are you Stapleford Flier? We've been racing pretty close for the past few weeks!
yup!
@sharkbait - I sent you a couple of messages on VR (via their chat feature - click on the speech bubble bottom right) - not sure if you saw them?
My boat appears to want to run into South America. I really didn't want to be this close to the coast...
What Sharkbait/Stapleford Flier says, make plans based on weather predictions which seem to be random picture generators.
Currently heading out east to avoid a building dead zone.
Womble.
Congratulations Rodderz! Just noticed you have finished.
Oooooo, right little dingdong going on with Stapelford Flier and somewhatbehind, dramatic finish coming up??
Is Kapow, the first of us to finish?
Womble.
Edit: just seen post above about Rodderz..
Looks like I should be the second to finish, but I have the full sails package so will exclude myself from the "official listings". Those sails definitely came into their own in the Southern Ocean and helped me get from dead last to where I am. Kapow's been playing a very close chase which has kept me paying more attention in the last week. From 505,925th to 73,890th now, not a bad race.
It's been a blast sailing with you all, see you in one of the other races perhaps
G (jockonabike)
Looks like I (Kapow) should finish this evening. No pro-sails options here so reasonably pleased with the result, and just managed to edge out Stapleford Flier and somewhatbehind.
Fun sailing - I'm going to be both glad it's all over, and miss it, in equal measure!
Nick (Kapow)
And,, I'm done.
81d, 4h, 33m, 39s.
Distance sailed 28,590.2 nm
Final place 73,846th.
See you in four years....
G
Yep I'll not be far behind you Nick.
I got screwed by just one or two days when I woke up to find almost zero wind that hadn't been predicted.
Shame we lost touch with the lead group but that's the thing with this race.... If you miss the gate you'll not get back.
Anyway, good fun - I'll miss it as it's a difficult time here at the moment and it took my mind off things for a few minutes each day!
Yay - I've finished!
83,671st
27,932.2nm
Time doesn't seem to be registering properly yet, but I think it's 81d, 9hr, 57min
Enjoy the last hours/days for everyone still out there!
Nick (Kapow)
Stapleford flier appears to have missed the finish circle and is currently stopped on the beach south of the finish line. May need some interesting sailing to get back against that westerly breeze....
STWanchor chasing me
Still chasing you!
Congratulations to the finishers. Shame to see Stapleford still on the rocks, I wonder if he will finish before us lot in the second group reach the finish!
I've enjoyed the racing so far. Considering I was down at 530,000th at one point and crashed in to land at another, I'm happy to be in 221k position now. Still mainly racing against B&B as he has been my closest competitor throughout.
Finished over the weekend in 140,671th position, from a starting position in the mid 450,000's with a boat with no upgrades, so quite happy with that for my first circumnavigation. I think that puts me 7th in the STW Virtual Vendee, not sure if that includes Stapleford Flyers (@sharkbait) missing of the finish line or not!
Reasonable pleased with that (Somewhatbehind)
114,513th
82d 13h 42m
26626.2 NM
Had some good close battles with people along the way. Maybe see you in another one of their races
probably got another 48 hours to go :/
Shame to see Stapleford still on the rocks,
Viking burial - never liked the boat anyway!!
It's the thought that counts 🙂
Well things are getting a bit tense for wave 2 of STW sailers. I've been chasing Retro80 since the Falklands and currently within touching distance, less than 5000 places between us. Womble's decision to sail so far east seems to be costing him a lot of places and I've overtaken him for the first time during the race.
I should be finished at some point during tonight. I have properly enjoyed it, a bit of escapism during boring lockdown. Such a shame the race is only every 4 years.
It's been fun watching some of the racing across the whole field. VR do run other races (some of us are currently bashing away in the South Atlantic in the Jules Verne trophy). I'm going to try to be competing in one of their events whenever I can, with the exception of the tara foundation race. Flat out at 3 knots in 25 knots of breeze made for very dull racing.
Hope to see some of you in the other events, if not then I'll see you again in a few years
G
Womble here, aye the wind prediction has left a lot to be desired from what I’ve seen, left me right in the multiple duldrums, so it has, aaar.
But that’s boating init.
Thoroughly enjoyed it though and would be up for any other STW fleet if anyone can figure it out.
I forgot to look in for a week or so and was doing donuts in the Atlantic. Will finish in a few days now I have remedied this. Be glad when I finish.
And I’m done
206,983th
89 days 20hrs 30min 1sec
26,915 NM
Finished in the highest placed position that I have been for the whole race so pretty pleased with that.
And I am there
252,975th for me.
90 days, 6 hours, 5mins, 13 seconds
Doing a loop near Cape Verde on the way out meant I was never in contention, but there were a couple of times when I was close to the second pack and they were fun.
Would be interested to join another similar ‘race’ if others are in...
